Carlos Jaschek
Carlos Jaschek (March 2, 1926 – April 12, 1999) was a German-born Argentine astrophysicist[1] who spent time in the United States, lived in Switzerland, settled in France, became a French citizen[3] and worked to make astronomical data accessible to all nations.
As the second Director of a new center in Strasbourg, France, designed to be a computerized repository for data about the stars, he was part of its early team who were determined, clearsighted decision-makers when its resources were limited.
[4] Jaschek began in astronomy at La Plata, in South America, later directing its Astrophysics Department.
With his wife and his other colleagues, Jaschek was involved with both stellar spectroscopy and photometry,[3] the newly-accessible infrared(IR) and ultraviolet (UV) as well as visible light,[5] astronomical statistics[3] and guidelines for designating stars,[6] and with the chemically peculiar stars[1] In addition to his research discoveries, he co-created atlases and catalogues and published them.
[2] His wife, Mercedes Isabel Corvalán de Jaschek, was an Argentine stellar spectroscopist,[1] who also began at the National University of La Plata in 1947.
[2] Jaschek's initial research at La Plata involved observing minor planets.
[3] Mercedes Jaschek also conducted research at Cordoba, Perkins, Yerkes, Michigan and Geneva.
The best procedure is probably the creation of one or several data centers which would store information continuously and distribute it at convenient intervals to the scientific community.
[8]After a year at Geneva, Jaschek became Director of the Center de Données Stellaires(CDS) in Strasbourg.
[4] In 1977, Jaschek summarized the strengths and weakness of the world's astronomical data bases and noted that, with the exception of peculiar stars, considerable advances were being made.
Jaschek noted: We could all be very satisfied with this state of affairs, were it not for the disturbing fact that few of our colleagues use the information stocked at these centers.
In 1979 at an IAU meeting in Canada, over 100 astronomers from 15 Commissions met regarding the designation of objects, and before William P. Bidelman gave the report on their suggested reforms, Carlos Jaschek began to introduce the need for them by saying: I think there is no need to emphasize the reason for a meeting on designations.
I hope you are all convinced that the present way of baptizing new objects, or renaming old friends, is just a patchwork of responses to different needs at different times.
[14]In 1986, he listed the 10 different factors for which a star may be named, noting that the variety was for historical reasons and "It is certainly not very rational to have 10 different practices for the same operation", before suggesting some guidelines.
[6] Jaschek was also interested in the Set of Identifications, Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data (SIMBAD).
[15] In addition to working to make the CDS the world's largest astronomical database, Jaschek helped with the creation of astronomical data centers in China, Japan, India, Argentina and the U.S.S.R.[10] Jaschek worked in spectroscopy, photometry, and classification of stars and in statistical astronomy.
They produced a catalogue and bibliography of 2,000 Be stars for the period from 1950 to 1970 based on Mercedes Jaschek's survey of the Southern Celestial Hemisphere.
[5] Due to poor health, they moved to Salamanca (Spain) to live with their daughter's family,[3] and continued their scientific activities from their new location.
[2] He was remembered as someone who loved his family, astronomy and its impact on culture, teaching and history books, and was regarded as kind, optimistic, upright, and helpful.
Jaschek, Carlos; Conde, Horacio; de Sierra, Amelia C. "Catalogue of stellar spectra classified in the Morgan-Keenan system".
