Tom Gehrels Papers, 1894-2010 (Bulk 1960-2000). This collection is comprised of mostly professional papers and some personal papers of Dutch/American astronomer Tom Gehrels. The bulk of the material relates to his career as a professor and astronomical researcher at the University of Arizona.
Collection Number:
MS 541
Language:
Materials are in English.
Repository:
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections
University of Arizona
PO Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
Phone: 520-621-6423
Fax: 520-621-9733
URL: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/
E-Mail: LBRY-askspcoll@email.arizona.edu
Biographical Note
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.
Scope and Content Note
Papers 1894-2010 (bulk 1960-2000). This collection consists of the professional and some personal papers of Tom Gerhels. The bulk of the material consists of his correspondence with other astronomers, scientists, state and federal politicians. There are also scholarly files, research files, and personal interest files. Almost all amassed during his fifty year career at the Lunar Planetary Laboratory and the Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona. Other items in the collection are; environmental files, travel files, instructional files, newspaper clippings, photographs, slides, film, computer disks and CD,s.
Arrangement
This collection is organized into This Collection is organized into fourteen series.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish
from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record,
the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The
user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the
University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all
claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.
This series contains 2 subseries. Subseries 1 contains personal files including his individual interests, family tree, his involvement with Catalina Vista Neighborhood board, personal photographs, the family vacation to Lake Powell in 1963 and his sabbatical in 1970. Subseries 2 includes some of his college class notebooks when he was a student from 1950-1956.
Tom Gehrel’s annual faculty evaluations and other personal data, 1993-1998
1
2
Catalina Vista Neighborhood (Campbell and Grant), 1961-2011
1
3
China Watch Committee to end the Chinese Gulag, 1991
1
4
Gehrels family tree, 1979-1991
1
5
Interests; Environmental, Humanitarian and Political, 1990-2000
1
6
Lake Powell vacation, 1963
1
7
Log book/Employees, 1962-1970
1
8
Miscellaneous items include but not limited to Pioneer patches and awards:
For the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement - See box 28 circa 1970
1
9
Sabbatical, 1970-1972
1
10
Tsunami fund raiser, 2005
1
11
University of Arizona Lunar Planetary Laboratory/Department of
Planetary Sciences, 1969-1978
1
12
Cornelis Adolf Gehrels, 1909-2007
1
13
Car crash, 1992
1
14
Parachutist, 1945, 1987
box
40
Rolodex (Addresses and contacts), alphabetical file system, undated
This series is arranged alphabetically. It’s a record of Dr. Gehrels writing career. This series is divided into 5 subseries: 1. Publications including; articles, lectures, presentations 2. books; 3. book chapters; 4. book reviews; 5. The Space Science Series.
The Attraction of comets and asteroids, circa 1993-1995
9
11
The Beauty and danger of comets and asteroids (lecture), 2001
9
12
The Beauty and danger of comets and asteroids (article), 1993-1995
9
13
Birth statistics of a population that works seasonally, 1983
9
14
Brains, courage and integrity, 2000
9
15
CCD scanning for asteroids and comets, 1982
9
16
College of France lectures, 1997
9
17
Comets and particles, December 1978
9
18
Concepts of universal evolution I, II, III, 1997
9
19
The Convectively unstable atmosphere of Jupiter, 1974
9
20
The Cosmological constants (response letter), undated
9
21
The Cutting age of astronomy in Arizona, May 1989
9
22
Danger from comets and asteroids, circa 1993
9
23
Detection of near earth objects, 1995, 1998
9
24
Dust and rocks. V. cometary Particles near jupiter– unpublished, 1976
9
25
Faint comet searching, 1981
9
26
Finding the killer asteroids, the astronomer’s responsibility, 1991
9
27
Fundamentals of cosmic physics, 1971-1972
9
28
A Historical note on two Indian instruments, undated
9
29
A Hydro-electric plant near Jayapura, undated
9
30
The Imaging photopolarimeter experiment on Pioneer II, 1975
9
31
Interstellar polarization circa 1960’s
9
32
It was the multiverse that evolved our physics with dark matter, 1990-2000
9
33
Killer comets and asteroids …, undated
9
34
Mechanical coordinate converter, 1966-1967
9
35
Midcourse maneuver and extraterrestrial communication for an encounter
by Pioneer 10, 1990
9
36
A Minor planet called Geographos, 1970
9
37
Minor planets I. The Rotation vesta, 1967
9
38
Minor planets II. Photographic magnitudes, 1958, 1967-1968
box
folder
10
1
Minor planets III. Light curves of trojan asteroids, 1967-1969
10
2
Minor planets IV. Color changes with distance from the sun, 1969
10
3
Minor planets and related objects. IV. Asteroid 1566 Icarus, 1969
10
4
Minor planets and related objects. VI. Asteroid Lydia, November 1970
10
5
Minor planets and related objects. VII. Asteroid 1971 FA, 1971
10
6
Minor planets and related objects. XXI. Photometry of eight asteroids, 1976
10
7
Minor planets and related objects. XXII. Phase functions for (6) Hebe, 1976
10
8
Minor planets and related objects. XXVI. Magnitudes for numbered asteroids, , 1978-1979
10
9
Minor planets and related objects. XXVIII. Asteroids magnitudes and Phase relations, 1978-1979
10
10
A Model of the lunar surface, 1965
10
11
A New method for making advances test books, 1990-1991
10
12
On the capabilities of the spin-scan imaging technique, 1971
10
13
On the feasibility of observing small asteroids with the Galileo, Venus, and
comet rendezvous asteroid flyby missions, 1985-1986
10
14
: On the future of mankind, 1973-1975
10
15
The Orientation of the rotation axis of Uranus, 1970
10
16
Photometric astronomy - computerized, 1970
10
17
Photometric studies of Asteroids VIII. Additional photographic magnitudes, 1957-1958
10
18
Photometric studies of asteroids IX. Additional light curves, circa 1961
10
19
Physical parameters of asteroids and interrelations with comets, Nobel Symposia,
1971
10
20
Peace, progress and human rights, 1st International Andre Sakharov
Congress, May 21-25, 1991
10
21
The Physics and Identity of dark energy, January 2001
10
22
Pioneer results on Ganymede, August 1974
10
23
Polarimetry from high altitude, International Conference on the Utilization of
Balloons for Scientific Research, CNES, July 1967
box
folder
11
1
Polarization of Blue Sky's draft, 1960-1961
11
2
Polarization Papers I and II no papers just notes and correspondence, 1959-1962
11
3
Polariscope papers, 1966-1967
11
4
Poles of Jupiter calculations and correspondence, 1960-1968
11
5
Practice for Flandrau and Hehru planetarium, November 1982
11
6
The Ratio of interstellar polarization to extinction very rough draft, undated
11
7
Scanner-scopy, a new discipline of electronic sky survey preliminary draft, June 26, 1981
11
8
Some of my impressions of India, spring 1986
11
9
Satellites and Venus draft, June 27, 1977
11
10
The Collision of an asteroid or comet with Earth, The Spacewatch experience, International Seminar Erice Italy, April, 1993
11
11
Spacewatch scientific endeavor, undated
11
12
Survival through evolution from multiverse to modern society, undated
11
13
Tucson Revised Index of Asteroid data – Triad, 1976-1978
11
14
The Two types of atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn – College Park
Colloquia on chemical evolution, chemical evolution for the giant planets, October 23-26, 1974
11
15
U-V Moon opposition effect Mercury, 1969-1971
11
16
The U.S. pioneering and exploring – AAAS meeting, circa 1976
11
17
The Wavelength dependence of polarization. Program and Preliminary
results,(Applied Optics paper), 1962
11
18
The Wavelength dependence of polarization. Negative polarization at
small phase angles, 1968
11
19
The Wavelength dependence of polarization III. The Lunar surface – drafts,
tables, references, correspondence, 1965
11
20
The Wavelength dependence of polarization III. The Sunlit blue sky, 1961-1962
11
21
The Wavelength dependence of polarization IV. Positions angles of interstellar polarization, circa 1960's
11
22
The Wavelength dependence of polarization V. Earthlight depolarization, draft, 1964
11
23
The Wavelength dependence of polarization VII. Molecular scattering at
the skin of interstellar particles, 1965-1966
11
24
The Wavelength dependence of polarization IX. Poles of Jupiter, 1966
11
25
The Wavelength dependence of polarization IX. Interstellar particles, 1967
11
26
The Wavelength dependence of polarization X. Interstellar polarization, 1967
11
27
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XII. Red variables, 1968
11
28
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XIII. Interstellar extinction and polarizations, 1968
11
29
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XV. Observations of Venus, 1966-1968
11
30
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XVI. Atmosphere of Jupiter, 1968
11
31
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XVII. Be-type stars, 1969
box
folder
12
1
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XVIII. Interstellar polarization
and composite interstellar particles, 1969
12
2
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XX. The Integrated disk of the moon, 1969
12
3
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XXII. A Reconnaissance of circular polarization, 1969-1970
12
4
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XXII. Infrared objects, 1969-1970
12
5
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XXV. Interstellar polarization from 0.22 to 2.2 um, 1971-1973
12
6
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XXVII. The wavelength of
maximum polarization as characteristic parameter of interstellar grains, 1974
12
7
Polarization from 0.22 to 2.2, XXVII. February 1974
12
8
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XXXIII. Venus, 1978-1979
12
9
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XXXIII – figures, graphs,photos (no paper). Venus, 1978-1979
12
10
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XXXV. The Planet Mercury, 1986-1987
12
11
Interview with Kelly Beatty from Skye and Telescope October 15, 1982
12
12
Ballooning for astronomy and meteorology I. Scope, 1966
12
13
A Review of comet and asteroid statistics October 7, 1998
12
14
A Wollaston photometer, 1960
12
15
What would Darwin do? 1997
12
16
A CCD search for geosynchronous debris, 1984-1986
12
17
Dust and rocks, I. Statistics of asteroids, comets and satellites, circa 1974
12
18
Dust and rocks, II. The Spin of small asteroids, September 1976
12
19
Dust and rocks, III. The rotation of small asteroids, 1975
12
20
Fundamental studies of asteroids, circa 1980
12
21
Some interrelations asteroids, Trojans and satellites, 1977
12
22
Saturn’s rings, 1977
12
23
The Physical basis of the polarimetric method for deriving asteroid Albedos, 1977
12
24
The Giant planet Jupiter, undated
12
25
Space Astronomy, 1974
12
26
The Palomar Leiden survey of faint minor planets, February 1970
12
27
Asteroids and comets, 1971
12
28
The Flyby of Jupiter, undated
12
29
Ultraviolet polarimetry using high altitude balloons, 1967
12
30
Universal evolution, 2011
box
folder
13
1
Instrumental polarization, undated
13
2
Vainu Bappu Lecture, circa 1994
13
3
Pioneer exploration of Saturn (Vikram Sarabhai Memorial lectures), circa 1980
13
4
An Astronomer looks at our future of asteroids and atomic bombs, circa 1983
13
5
Saturn publications, circa 1979
13
6
Ultraviolet polarimetry of planets, 1970
13
7
The Transparency of the Jovian polar zones, 1969
13
8
The Shape of Geographos and other asteroids, 1979
13
9
Pioneer fly-by of Saturn and its rings, 1981
13
10
Polarization phase relations for Venus, 1961
13
11
Optical polarization of the Crab Nebula Pulsar, 1970
13
12
Coral reefs (never published), undated
13
13
Cloud-forms seen in the Pioneer-10 images of Jupiter, undated
13
14
Outstanding problems in planetary science 1994
13
15
Vlucht langs Jupiter, undated
13
16
Minor planets and related object XXV. UVB photometry of 145 faint
asteroids, 1978
13
17
Accreted molecules, 1966
13
18
Bimodality and the formation of Saturn’s ring particles, 1980
13
19
Astrometry with a scanning CCD, 1986
13
20
Cloud forms on Saturn, 1980
13
21
The Search earth approaching celestial bodies, 2000
13
22
Scanning with charge-coupled devices, 1991
13
23
Interstellar Grains Colloquium, Troy, New York, August 24-26, 1965
13
24
Effects of a National Space Program on universities, University of Denver
Colloquium, April 4-5, 1968
13
25
1st meeting of the Planetary Astronomy Division of American Astronomical
Society, Austin, Texas, December 10, 1968
13
26
Use of a scanning CCD discriminate asteroid images moving in a field of
stars, Proceedings of the S.P.I.E. 1986
13
27
Toro asteroid meeting, Tucson, AZ, 1972
13
28
Committee for space research (Cospar) plenary 19th meeting (no paper), June 8-19, 1976
13
29
Asteroid Conference, 1979
13
30
Near earth asteroids, San Juan Capistrano, June 30-July 3, 1991
13
31
Hazards due to comets and asteroids, Tucson, AZ, January 4-9, 1993
13
32
Seventy five years of Hirayama collisional families: past, present and
future, Sagamihara, Japan, November 29-December 3, 1993
13
33
Workshop on meteorites, asteroids and planets, Physical Research
Laboratory, India December 15-21, 2001
13
34
20 years that changed the world, 1985-2005, March 4-6, 2005
13
35
Possibilities for astrophysics in Sri Lanka, circa 1980
13
36
Talk in Rotterdam, 1980
13
37
COSPAR meeting XXVI, Toulouse, France, 1986
13
38
Snowmass workshop, Colorado, July 13-16, 1981
13
39
Lunar Planetary exploration colloquium 10th meeting, May 16-17, 1961
13
40
Lunar Planetary exploration colloquium 10th meeting, May 16-17, 1961
13
41
LPL Planetary Astronomy Committee, circa 1985
13
42
Repeat Blue Sky, circa 1960
13
43
Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), The Eighteenth Plenary
Meeting, May 29th-June 7, 1975
13
44
Polariscopic meetings, circa 1970
13
45
Saturn meeting, Tucson, Tucson, May 11-15, 1982
13
46
Tucson, May 11-15, 1982
13
47
NATO Advanced Workshop on physical studies of asteroids, Italy, 1984
13
48
The Wavelength dependence of polarization XVII. The Pulsar in the crab
nebula, circa 1969
13
48
Working paper-IR polarimetry HER-KS, 1971
box
folder
14
1
The Polarization of 3C 283 at 0.41u and 0.85u, circa 1964
14
2
Encounters with comets and asteroids, 1984-1985
14
3
A CCD system to detect fast moving asteroids, 1983
14
4
Astronomers and their observations, circa 1980’s 1983
14
5
On the slope-albedo law for the moon and asteroids, undated
Research files are divided into 10 subseries all have the involvement of Dr. Gehrels: 1. Proposals and grants National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); 2. Proposals and grants Jet Proposal Laboratory (JPL); 3. Proposals and grants National Geographic Society (NGS); 4.Proposals and grants National Science Foundations (NSF); 5. Proposals and grants Office of Naval Research (ONR; 6. Proposals and grants United States Air Force (USAF); 7. Proposals and grants other agencies; 8. observations; 9. subject files; 10. Spacewatch.
Spacewatch is the name of a group at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory founded by Prof. Tom Gehrels and Dr. Robert S. McMillan in 1980. The primary goal of Spacewatch was to explore the various populations of small objects in the solar system, and study the statistics of asteroids and comets in order to investigate the dynamical evolution of the solar system populations. Spacewatch also finds potential targets for interplanetary spacecraft missions, provides follow-up astrometry of such targets, and finds objects that might present a hazard to the Earth.
box
folder
22
6
Fund raising letters and mailing lists, 1971-1986
22
7
Spacewatch program, 1977-1981
22
8
Camera, 1992
22
9
Camera; scanning the sky with the CCD, 1980-1983
22
10
Camera - SETS. Inc., 1984
22
11
The First Spacewatch survey of faint minor planets; an observing plan for March 1984-1985
22
12
Spacewatch Program 1984-1985
22
13
Reports and photographs, 1984-1997
22
14
Camera fund raising packet, 1985
22
15
72” telescope, 1990-1994
22
16
Spacewatch Program, 1995
22
17
Spacewatch Program, 1996-1998
22
18
Spacewatch telescope history of the 72” telescope, undated
There are approximately 100 disks, very few of the disks are dated, there are numerous subjects such as; grant files, proposals, reports, Spacewatch publications, Gehrels publications, Space Science Series files, and the book “Origin”, etc.