[1] He began a systematically study of double stars, measuring their positions and calculating their orbits around one another.

The results were published in 1932 and entitled New General Catalogue of Double Stars Within 120° of the North Pole,[1] with the orbit information enabling astronomers to calculate stellar mass statistics for a large number of stars.

[3] During his career, Aitken measured positions and computed orbits for comets and natural satellites of planets.

[3] Their son Robert Thomas Aitken was an anthropologist who studied Pacific island cultures.

Their grandson, Robert Baker Aitken, was a widely known Zen Buddhist teacher and author.