Biographical Note
Dr. Kaj Aage Strand specialized in positional astronomy, photographic astrometry, and astrometric instrumentation research. His work focused on the determination of stellar parallaxes, proper motions of stars, and use of visual and photographic observation of nearby double stars with an interest in the detection of unseen companion stars in binary systems and extrasolar planets. He is noted for proposing, designing, and supervising the construction of the United States Naval Observatory's pioneering 61-Inch Astrometric Reflector in Flagstaff, Arizona, the first telescope engineered specifically for astrometric purposes. The 61-Inch reflector surpassed refractors in faint object measurement and advanced parallax measurement accuracy from hundredths of an arcsecond to near milliarcseconds. He also designed and supervised the construction of the Strand Automatic Measuring Machine (SAMM) for precision measurement of the plate material being produced with the new astrometric reflector. Strand garnered publicity in 1943 after announcing evidence of a planetary companion in the binary system 61 Cygni AB, which reopened broad public debate on planetary bodies outside of the solar system.
While serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, Strand flew and was chief navigator during B-29 test flights. He was in charge of testing new types of navigation equipment and developing new types of instrumentation for obtaining accurate ballistic data in aerial bombing. He participated in the operational training of special air crews, including the crew of the Enola Gay, first to drop the atomic bomb.
Strand served as International Astronomical Union President of Commissions 24 (Photographic Astrometry) and 26 (Double Stars). He sat on advisory panels for the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, National Research Council, National Bureau of Standards, and Senior Fulbright-Hays Program Committee. He was awarded fellowships from the Danish Rask-Oersted Foundation (1938-1940) and the John Guggenheim Foundation (1946). Samples of Strand's awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, United States Army Air Forces (1946) and the Knight, 1st Class, Danish Royal Order of Dannebrog (1977). A minor planet, 3236 Strand = 1982 BH1 was named in his honor and the 61-Inch Reflector was rededicated and renamed the Kaj Strand Astrometric Telescope in 1997.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1907, Feb. 27 | Born, Hellerup, Denmark |
| 1926 | B.A., University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 1931 | M.Sc., University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 1931-1933 | Geodesist, Royal Geodetic Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 1933-1938 | Assistant to Director Ejnar Hertzsprung, University Observatory, Leiden, Netherlands |
| 1938 | Ph.D., University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 1938-1942 | Research associate in astronomy, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. |
| 1942-1945 | Chief, Navigation Department, Proof Division, Air Force Proving Ground Command, Eglin Field, Fla. |
| 1945-1946 | Research astronomer, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. |
| 1946-1947 | Associate professor of astronomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. |
| 1947-1958 | Professor of astronomy; Chairman, Astronomy Department; and director of the Dearborn Observatory, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. |
| 1958-1963 | Director, Astrometry and Astrophysics Division, U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington D.C. |
| 1963-1977 | Scientific director, U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C. |
| 1977-1979 | Part-time consultant, National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| 1981-1985 | Part-time consultant, Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lexington, Mass. |
| 2000, Oct. 31 | Died, Washington, D.C. |