PF CARD
FILE: HS9/570/7
NAME: Gehrels, Anton Marie Jacob (Tom).
BORN: 21-02-1925, Haarlemmermeer, Noord-Holland.
EDUCATION: University, Leiden.
OCCUPATION: Astronoom
ARRIVED IN ENGLAND:
ORGANISATION: SOE/BBO
TRAINED AS: agent
TO THE FIELD: 22-04-1945/23-04-1945
MISSION: GRUNT II
DROPPED AT:
NEAR: Ter Aar, Zuid-Holland
DROPPED WITH: Stuvel
OVERRUN: 00-05-1945
PLACE:
RETURNED TO ENGLAND:
AFTER MISSION REPORT:
ARRESTED: NA
PRISONS: NA
DIED: 11-07-2011
PLACE: Tucson, Arizona, USA
ALIAS:
NAMES IN THE FIELD:
RADIOPLANS:
CRYSTALS: NA
SET: NA
PREFIX: unknown
CUTOUT:
WITH ORGANIZATION:
CONTACTS:
SAFEHOUSES:
TX LOCATIONS: NA
WT-OPERATOR(S): Stuvel
SOURCES: Frans Kluiters
REMARKS: Tom Gehrels emigreerde in het begin van de jaren vijftig naar de Verenigde Staten. Na enige omzwervingen langs andere sterrenwachten en instituten verbond hij zich aan het Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) in Tucson, Arizona. Inmiddels is Tucson uitgeroeid tot een enorme wereldstad en kan daar vanwege de lichtvervuiling niet meer worden waargenomen. Aan het begin van de jaren zestig werd de sterrenwacht verplaatst naar de 70 km verderop gelegen bergtop van Kitt Peak. Dat ligt in het reservaat van de Tohono O'Odham-Indianen. Zodoende kreeg Tom ook een heuse Indiaanse bijnaam. De Indianen, die weten dat hij 's nachts vanaf hun berg het heelal in loert, noemen hem 'de man-met-de-lange-ogen'.
"Dat verhaal zit zo," vertelt Tom. "Omdat Kitt Peak een voor de Indianen heilige berg is, moest voor de bouw van het sterrenwachtencomplex eerst hun toestemming worden gevraagd. De raad van stamoudsten werd in 1958 uitgenodigd eens een kijkje te nemen door de toen nog in Tucson opgestelde telescoop van de Steward-sterrenwacht. Daarvan waren ze zo onder de indruk, dat ze ons 'hegam mo ge ce, e cew wu-pui'gingen noemen: 'de mannen-met-de-lange-ogen'. Zij zagen ons als één geheel met onze blinkendwitte kijkerbuis. Overigens gaven ze daarna meteen hun toestemming."
Met Tom correspondeer ik al sinds 1974. Maar nog nooit eerder had ik hem in persoon ontmoet. Dat werd dus nog een hele verrassing. Uit onze correspondentie en sporadische telefoongesprekken, had ik mij een beginnende vijftiger voorgesteld. Maar sinds 1974 heeft de tijd natuurlijk niet stilgestaan. In 1991, toen ik hem opzocht, was hij 66 en naar Nederlandse maatstaven dus al 'emeritus'. Hij denkt er echter niet aan om op te houden. "Ik ga door tot ik het record van George van Biesbroeck verbreek," zegt Tom met grote stelligheid. Later vertelt hij dat Van Biesbroeck, een Belgische sterrenkundige die ook op het LPL heeft gewerkt, tot zijn dood is doorgegaan met waarnemen. Van Biesbroeck was toen 94.
Als een klipgeit klautert Tom op Kitt Peak over de rotsen. En hoewel bijna dertig jaar jonger, moet ik nog moeite doen om hem bij te houden! Dan zijn we eindelijk bij zijn domein aangeland. Met trots toont Tom de zogenoemde Steward-sterrenwacht. Bron: Carl Koppeschaar.
Tom Gehrels was born Anton M. J. Gehrels in Haarlemmermeer, the Netherlands on February 21, 1925. As a teenager, after Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1939, Gehrels became active in the Dutch Resistance. He later escaped to England where he received further training and was sent back by parachute to his native country as an organizer for Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) which committed sabotage and spied on the German forces!
After the war he attended the University of Leiden where he graduated with a degree in physics and astronomy in 1951. He continued his education at the University of Chicago where he obtained his doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics in 1956. Dr. Gehrels was a research associate at Indiana University and McDonald Observatory for five years where he pioneered the first photometric system for asteroids.
In 1961 he joined Dr. Gerard Kuiper at the University of Arizona where he was one of the first members of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and a faculty member of the Department of Planetary Sciences and Astronomy. Gehrels remained at the University for the next 50 years until his death in 2011.
While at the University of Arizona Dr. Gehrels developed a program of photolarimetry. His studies led to the discovery and interpretation of wavelength dependence on the polarization of light from a variety of objects. He was the principle investigator for the team that created the imaging photo-polarimeters for Pioneers 10 and 11 and the 1st flybys of Jupiter and Saturn in the 1970,s.
He participated in the discovery of over 4000 asteroids. This was done in a sky survey using the 48-inch Schmidt telescope at Palomar Observatory in California and shipping the plates to two Dutch astronomers at Leiden Observatory, in the Netherlands who analyzed them for new asteroids. Gehrels also discovered a number of comets
Dr.Gerhels also developed and taught introductory astronomy courses that were popular with non-science undergraduates. Besides teaching at the University of Arizona he also lectured at the Physical Researh Laboratory in Ahmedabad (India), where he was a Lifetime Fellow.
In 1980 Dr. Gehrels started the Spacewatch Project (a program to find dangerous asteroids and to keep them from hitting the earth), this program still uses the telescopes at Steward Observatory and Kitt Peak to survey the sky for asteroids and comets. He was also the founder of the highly recommended Space Science Series which was published by the University of Arizona Press. Gehrels was the editor for the first 30 volumes of the series.
Tom Gehrels was a part of the Dutch resistance during World War II and his brother died at the Dora concentration camp where the VI and V2 rockets were built toward the end of the war. In 1994 he was asked by the journal Nature to write a book review on the biographical memoir “Wernher Von Braun: a crusader for space”. The book praised the life of Wernhen Von Braun as the father of the American Space Program. In his review Gehrel’s claimed the authors glazed over the fact that Von Braun was also the “Rocket Czar” for Nazi Germany and responsible for the suffering and death of hundreds of thousands of people. Tom Gehrels also claims that Von Braun played a role in extending the life of the Third Reich, as well as World War II.
In the latter part of his career Dr. Gehrels focused on the research of cosmology and universal evolution. He published an original paper on the subject titled “The Multiverse and Origin of our Universe”.
In 2007, the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences presented Gehrels with the Harold Masursky Award for meritorious service to planetary science. In April 2011, Gehrels was honored for his 50 years of service at the annual University of Arizona Service Awards luncheon.
Tom Gehrels was the husband of Aleida J. Gehrels (née de Stoppelaar) and father of Neil Gehrels, George Gehrels and Jo-Ann Gehrels. He died in Tucson, Arizona on July 11, 2009 at age 86. . He was devoted to yoga and hiking as well as an active member of Greenpeace and the Humane Farming Association (HFA).
Tom’s interests included environmental, political, and humanitarian issues. Source: Arizona Archives Online.
RELEASED: NA
COMPLETE: NO
© Weggum
w.mugge@home.nl
Datum: 24-08-2019
NAME: Gehrels, Anton Marie Jacob (Tom).
BORN: 21-02-1925, Haarlemmermeer, Noord-Holland.
EDUCATION: University, Leiden.
OCCUPATION: Astronoom
ARRIVED IN ENGLAND:
ORGANISATION: SOE/BBO
TRAINED AS: agent
TO THE FIELD: 22-04-1945/23-04-1945
MISSION: GRUNT II
DROPPED AT:
NEAR: Ter Aar, Zuid-Holland
DROPPED WITH: Stuvel
OVERRUN: 00-05-1945
PLACE:
RETURNED TO ENGLAND:
AFTER MISSION REPORT:
ARRESTED: NA
PRISONS: NA
DIED: 11-07-2011
PLACE: Tucson, Arizona, USA
ALIAS:
NAMES IN THE FIELD:
RADIOPLANS:
CRYSTALS: NA
SET: NA
PREFIX: unknown
CUTOUT:
WITH ORGANIZATION:
CONTACTS:
SAFEHOUSES:
TX LOCATIONS: NA
WT-OPERATOR(S): Stuvel
SOURCES: Frans Kluiters
REMARKS: Tom Gehrels emigreerde in het begin van de jaren vijftig naar de Verenigde Staten. Na enige omzwervingen langs andere sterrenwachten en instituten verbond hij zich aan het Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) in Tucson, Arizona. Inmiddels is Tucson uitgeroeid tot een enorme wereldstad en kan daar vanwege de lichtvervuiling niet meer worden waargenomen. Aan het begin van de jaren zestig werd de sterrenwacht verplaatst naar de 70 km verderop gelegen bergtop van Kitt Peak. Dat ligt in het reservaat van de Tohono O'Odham-Indianen. Zodoende kreeg Tom ook een heuse Indiaanse bijnaam. De Indianen, die weten dat hij 's nachts vanaf hun berg het heelal in loert, noemen hem 'de man-met-de-lange-ogen'.
"Dat verhaal zit zo," vertelt Tom. "Omdat Kitt Peak een voor de Indianen heilige berg is, moest voor de bouw van het sterrenwachtencomplex eerst hun toestemming worden gevraagd. De raad van stamoudsten werd in 1958 uitgenodigd eens een kijkje te nemen door de toen nog in Tucson opgestelde telescoop van de Steward-sterrenwacht. Daarvan waren ze zo onder de indruk, dat ze ons 'hegam mo ge ce, e cew wu-pui'gingen noemen: 'de mannen-met-de-lange-ogen'. Zij zagen ons als één geheel met onze blinkendwitte kijkerbuis. Overigens gaven ze daarna meteen hun toestemming."
Met Tom correspondeer ik al sinds 1974. Maar nog nooit eerder had ik hem in persoon ontmoet. Dat werd dus nog een hele verrassing. Uit onze correspondentie en sporadische telefoongesprekken, had ik mij een beginnende vijftiger voorgesteld. Maar sinds 1974 heeft de tijd natuurlijk niet stilgestaan. In 1991, toen ik hem opzocht, was hij 66 en naar Nederlandse maatstaven dus al 'emeritus'. Hij denkt er echter niet aan om op te houden. "Ik ga door tot ik het record van George van Biesbroeck verbreek," zegt Tom met grote stelligheid. Later vertelt hij dat Van Biesbroeck, een Belgische sterrenkundige die ook op het LPL heeft gewerkt, tot zijn dood is doorgegaan met waarnemen. Van Biesbroeck was toen 94.
Als een klipgeit klautert Tom op Kitt Peak over de rotsen. En hoewel bijna dertig jaar jonger, moet ik nog moeite doen om hem bij te houden! Dan zijn we eindelijk bij zijn domein aangeland. Met trots toont Tom de zogenoemde Steward-sterrenwacht. Bron: Carl Koppeschaar.
Tom Gehrels was born Anton M. J. Gehrels in Haarlemmermeer, the Netherlands on February 21, 1925. As a teenager, after Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1939, Gehrels became active in the Dutch Resistance. He later escaped to England where he received further training and was sent back by parachute to his native country as an organizer for Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) which committed sabotage and spied on the German forces!
After the war he attended the University of Leiden where he graduated with a degree in physics and astronomy in 1951. He continued his education at the University of Chicago where he obtained his doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics in 1956. Dr. Gehrels was a research associate at Indiana University and McDonald Observatory for five years where he pioneered the first photometric system for asteroids.
In 1961 he joined Dr. Gerard Kuiper at the University of Arizona where he was one of the first members of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and a faculty member of the Department of Planetary Sciences and Astronomy. Gehrels remained at the University for the next 50 years until his death in 2011.
While at the University of Arizona Dr. Gehrels developed a program of photolarimetry. His studies led to the discovery and interpretation of wavelength dependence on the polarization of light from a variety of objects. He was the principle investigator for the team that created the imaging photo-polarimeters for Pioneers 10 and 11 and the 1st flybys of Jupiter and Saturn in the 1970,s.
He participated in the discovery of over 4000 asteroids. This was done in a sky survey using the 48-inch Schmidt telescope at Palomar Observatory in California and shipping the plates to two Dutch astronomers at Leiden Observatory, in the Netherlands who analyzed them for new asteroids. Gehrels also discovered a number of comets
Dr.Gerhels also developed and taught introductory astronomy courses that were popular with non-science undergraduates. Besides teaching at the University of Arizona he also lectured at the Physical Researh Laboratory in Ahmedabad (India), where he was a Lifetime Fellow.
In 1980 Dr. Gehrels started the Spacewatch Project (a program to find dangerous asteroids and to keep them from hitting the earth), this program still uses the telescopes at Steward Observatory and Kitt Peak to survey the sky for asteroids and comets. He was also the founder of the highly recommended Space Science Series which was published by the University of Arizona Press. Gehrels was the editor for the first 30 volumes of the series.
Tom Gehrels was a part of the Dutch resistance during World War II and his brother died at the Dora concentration camp where the VI and V2 rockets were built toward the end of the war. In 1994 he was asked by the journal Nature to write a book review on the biographical memoir “Wernher Von Braun: a crusader for space”. The book praised the life of Wernhen Von Braun as the father of the American Space Program. In his review Gehrel’s claimed the authors glazed over the fact that Von Braun was also the “Rocket Czar” for Nazi Germany and responsible for the suffering and death of hundreds of thousands of people. Tom Gehrels also claims that Von Braun played a role in extending the life of the Third Reich, as well as World War II.
In the latter part of his career Dr. Gehrels focused on the research of cosmology and universal evolution. He published an original paper on the subject titled “The Multiverse and Origin of our Universe”.
In 2007, the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences presented Gehrels with the Harold Masursky Award for meritorious service to planetary science. In April 2011, Gehrels was honored for his 50 years of service at the annual University of Arizona Service Awards luncheon.
Tom Gehrels was the husband of Aleida J. Gehrels (née de Stoppelaar) and father of Neil Gehrels, George Gehrels and Jo-Ann Gehrels. He died in Tucson, Arizona on July 11, 2009 at age 86. . He was devoted to yoga and hiking as well as an active member of Greenpeace and the Humane Farming Association (HFA).
Tom’s interests included environmental, political, and humanitarian issues. Source: Arizona Archives Online.
RELEASED: NA
COMPLETE: NO
© Weggum
w.mugge@home.nl
Datum: 24-08-2019
