Vytautas Straižys (20 August 1936 – 19 December 2021) was a Lithuanian

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

. In 1963–65 he and his collaborators created and developed the Vilnius photometric system, a seven-color intermediate band system, optimized for photometric

stellar classification In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction grati ...

. In 1996 he was elected a Corresponding Member of the

Lithuanian Academy of Sciences The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences or LMA ( lt, Lietuvos mokslų akademija) is a state-funded independent organization in Lithuania dedicated for science and research. Its mission is to mobilize prominent scientists and initiate activities that ...

. Straižys was an editor of the journal ''

Baltic Astronomy ''Open Astronomy'' (formerly ''Baltic Astronomy'') is a peer-reviewed fully open access scientific journal, and currently published by De Gruyter Open. The journal was established in 1992 by the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy (V ...

''. He spent a lot of time working at the Molėtai Astronomical Observatory. Asteroid 68730 Straizys in 2002 was named after him.

Early life and professional history

Straižys was born in

Utena Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the s ...

on 20 August 1936. In 1959, he graduated from

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

in astrophysics. In 1959–62, he was a graduate student of the Institute of Physics and Mathematics of the

. In 1962–67, he was a scientific researcher at the same institute. From 1967 to 1990, he headed the Astrophysical Department of the Institute of Physics, Vilnius. In 1990–2003, he was the head of the

Astronomical Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

of the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy of Vilnius University. In 1991–96 Associate Director of the same Institute. In 2003, he became a chief researcher. In 2013, he became a professor emeritus. In 1992–93 academic year: visiting professor in

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, New York.

Scientific activity

Main directions of the scientific research: multicolor

photometry Photometry can refer to: * Photometry (optics), the science of measurement of visible light in terms of its perceived brightness to human vision * Photometry (astronomy), the measurement of the flux or intensity of an astronomical object's electrom ...

stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

, stellar physical parameters,

interstellar extinction In astronomy, extinction is the absorption and scattering of electromagnetic radiation by dust and gas between an emitting astronomical object and the observer. Interstellar extinction was first documented as such in 1930 by Robert Julius Trumple ...

, interstellar clouds,

star clusters Star clusters are large groups of stars. Two main types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of ten thousand to millions of old stars which are gravitationally bound, while open clusters are more loosely clust ...

, Galactic structure. One of the authors of the Vilnius photometric system for the classification of stars. In 1969–90 conducted the construction of the Molėtai Observatory in Lithuania and the

Maidanak Observatory Meydanak or Maidanak ( fa, ميدانك, link=no, rus, Майданак, link=no) may refer to: *Meydanak, Alborz *Meydanak, Fars *Meydanak-e Bozorg, Isfahan Province *Meydanak-e Kuchak, Isfahan Province *Meydanak, Lorestan *Meydanak, Markazi *Mey ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. He was author of 324 scientific papers published between 1957 and 2009 and of three monographs: ''Multicolor Stellar Photometry'' (Vilnius, 1977, in Russian), ''Metal-Deficient Stars'' (Vilnius, 1982, in Russian) and ''Multicolor Stellar Photometry'' (Tucson, Arizona, 1992 and 1995, revised version, in English). From 1977 to 1991 he was editor of the ''Bulletin of the Vilnius Astronomical Observatory'', from 1992 to 2021 editor of an international journal ''

''. Scientific adviser of 22 doctoral dissertations.

Personal life and death

Straižys died on 19 December 2021, at the age of 85.Mirė astronomijai gyvenimą paskyręs akademikas Vytautas Straižys

Membership

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

(IAU, 1967) * Institute for Space Observations, New York (1988) *

European Astronomical Society The European Astronomical Society (EAS) is a learned society, founded under the Swiss Civil Code in 1990, as an association to contribute and promote the advancement of astronomy in Europe, and to deal with astronomical matters at a European lev ...

(EAS, 1990) *

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

(AAS, 1991) * Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP, 1991) * American Planetary Society (1991) *Astronomical Society of New York (1992) *Lithuanian Astronomical Union (president 1995–2003) *Vice-President and President of the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...

Commission on Stellar Classification (1979–85) *Expert Member (1991–95) and Corresponding Member (since 1996) of the

Honours

Awards *Lithuanian Republic Science Award (1973) *Nomination as a distinguished scientist of Lithuania (1986) *Chretien Grant of the American Astronomical Society (2000) *

Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this O ...

, Officer's Cross (2003) *Lithuanian National Science Award (2004) Named after him *

Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

68730 Straizys

Publications

#V. Straizys, Multicolor Stellar Photometry (in Russian), Mokslas Publishers, Vilnius, Lithuania, 1977 #V. Straizys, Metal-Deficient Stars (in Russian), Mokslas Publishers, Vilnius, Lithuania, 1982 #V. Straizys, Multicolor Stellar Photometry (in English), Pachart Publishing House, Tucson, Arizona, 1992 (2nd publication in 1995) #V. Straizys, The Milky Way (in Lithuanian), Mokslas Publishers, 1992 #V. Straizys, Astronomy, 1993 (a textbook for secondary schools, in Lithuanian) #A. Azusienis, A. Pucinskas, V. Straizys, Astronomy, 1995 (a textbook for universities, in Lithuanian, 2nd revised publication in 2003) #V. Straizys, Astronomical Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Lithuanian), Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, 2002 (2nd publication in 2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straizys, Vytautas 1936 births 2021 deaths Lithuanian astronomers Soviet astronomers Vilnius University alumni Academic staff of Vilnius University People from Utena Officer's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas 21st-century astronomers