William Albert Hiltner (27 August 1914 – 30 September 1991) was an American
astronomer, noted for his work leading up to the discovery of
interstellar polarization
Interstellar or Interstella may refer to:
Space
* Interstellar space
** Interstellar medium
* Interstellar travel
* Interstellar communication
* Interstellar probe
** Interstellar Probe (spacecraft) (ISP), a NASA probe proposed in 2018 for launch ...
.
He was an early practitioner of precision stellar photometry, and a pioneering observer of the optical counterparts of celestial x-ray sources. Director of
Yerkes Observatory for many years, while there he designed and built a rotatable telescope for polarization studies and developed photometric instrumentation.
He was the acting director of the
Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, then president of the Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy from 1968 until 1971, and was appointed Director of the University of Michigan Detroit Observatory in 1970, a post he held until 1982. He established
MDM Observatory and led the construction of the
Hiltner Telescope, which is named for him. After retiring from his professorship at University of Michigan, he joined the staff of the Carnegie Observatories to become the Project Manager for the
Magellan Telescope Project, a program to build two 6.5 meter telescopes on Las Campanas in Chile.
Education
His undergrad was at the
University of Toledo and his graduate studies were at the
University of Michigan culminating in a doctorate in astrophysics in 1942.
Personal life
Hiltner was born on the farm of his parents, John Nicholas and Ida Lavina (née Schafer) Hiltner, in North Creek, Ohio, 45 miles southwest of Toledo. The youngest of four siblings, he received his early education in a one room schoolhouse. Gaining an interest in astronomy at an early age, he graduated from high school in a class of 17, and entered the University of Toledo the following year. During his graduate studies at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, he married Ruth Kreider, daughter of Henry Royer Kreider, a chemist and minister who founded the chemistry department at the
University of Toledo.
They had four children. Anne Hiltner was a polymer chemist at
Case Western Reserve. Kathryn Mook became a professional handweaver and hospital administrator. William A. Hiltner, Jr. became a carpenter and architect. Stephen K. Hiltner is a jazz musician and composer, and founded the nonprofit
Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association and Friends of
Herrontown Woods.
Awards and honors
Asteroid
4924 Hiltner 49 may refer to:
* 49 (number)
* "Forty Nine", a song by Karma to Burn from the album '' V'', 2011
* one of the years 49 BC, AD 49, 1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Paki ...
, discovered by astronomer
Schelte J. Bus
Schelte John "Bobby" Bus (born 1956) is an American astronomer and discoverer of minor planets at the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaii and deputy director of NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) at the Mauna Kea Observat ...
in 1981, was named in his memory.
The official was published by the
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Function
...
on 16 May 1992 ().
References
American astronomers
1991 deaths
1914 births
University of Michigan alumni
University of Toledo alumni
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