Ernst Julius Öpik
He was a noted
Estonian astronomer and astrophysicst. He went to University of Moscow to
specialize in the study of minor bodies, such as asteroids, comets, andmeteors. He
completed his doctorate at the University of Tartu.
2. After 4 years at Moscow Observatory he became Director of the Astronomy
Department. From 1921-1944 he was an Associate Professor at Tartu University, and
from 1930-34 visiting scientist at Harvard University.
3. Öpik was one of the most outstanding astrophysicists of his generation, with wide-
ranging interests in the physical sciences. Among his many pioneering discoveries
were:the first computation of the density of a degenerate body, named the white dwarf;
the first accurate determination of the distance of an extragalactic object (Andromeda
Nebula;the prediction of the existence of a cloud of cometary bodies encircling the
Solar System, later known as the "Oort Cloud";the first composite theoretical models
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