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Michel Mayor

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Michel Mayor
Mayor in 2012
Born
Michel Gustave Édouard Mayor

(1942-01-12)12 January 1942(age 82)
Lausanne,Switzerland
EducationUniversity of Lausanne(MS)
University of Geneva(PhD)
Known forDiscovered first planet orbiting around a normal star,51 Pegasi
AwardsPrix Jules Janssen(1998)
Albert Einstein Medal(2004)[1]
Shaw Prize(2005)
Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences(2015)
Wolf Prize(2017)
Nobel Prize in Physics(2019)
Scientific career
FieldsAstrophysics
InstitutionsUniversity of Geneva
Thesis"The kinematical properties of stars in the solar vicinity: possible relation with the galactic spiral structure"(1971)
Doctoral studentsDidier Queloz

Michel Gustave Édouard Mayor(French pronunciation:[miʃɛlmajɔʁ];born 12 January 1942)[2]is a Swissastrophysicistand professor emeritus at theUniversity of Geneva's Department ofAstronomy.[3]He formally retired in 2007, but remains active as a researcher at theObservatory of Geneva.He is co-laureate of the 2019Nobel Prize in Physicsalong withJim PeeblesandDidier Queloz,[4]and the winner of the 2010Viktor Ambartsumian International Prize[5]and the 2015Kyoto Prize.

Together withDidier Quelozin 1995, he discovered51 Pegasi b,the firstextrasolar planetorbiting a sun-like star,51 Pegasi.[6]For this achievement, they were awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star"[7]resulting in "contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos".[8] Related to the discovery, Mayor noted that humans will never migrate to such exoplanets since they are "much, much too far away... [and would take] hundreds of millions of days using the means we have available today".[9]However, due to discoveries by Mayor, searching forextraterrestrial communicationsfromexoplanetsmay now be a more practical consideration than thought earlier.[10]

Mayor holds MS inPhysicsfrom theUniversity of Lausanne(1966) and PhD inAstronomyfrom theGeneva Observatory(1971). He was a researcher at theInstitute of Astronomyat theUniversity of Cambridgein 1971. Subsequently, he spentsabbaticalsemesters at theEuropean Southern Observatory(ESO) in northern Chile and at theInstitute for Astronomyof theUniversity of Hawaiʻi System.[11]

Career

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From 1971 to 1984, Mayor worked as a research associate at theObservatory of Geneva,which is home to the astronomy department of theUniversity of Geneva.He became an associate professor at the university in 1984.[2]In 1988, the university named him a full professor, a position he held until his retirement in 2007. Mayor was director of the Observatory of Geneva from 1998 to 2004.[2]He is a professor emeritus at the University of Geneva.[12]

Research

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Didier Quelozand Michel Mayor at theLa Silla Observatory(2012)
Video: Michel Mayer speaks about the discovery of exoplanets (after 2:07)

Mayor's research interests include extrasolar planets (also known asexoplanets), instrumentation, statistical properties ofdouble stars,globular clusterdynamics, galactic structure andkinematics.Mayor's doctoral thesis at the University of Geneva was devoted to the spiral structure of galaxies.[2]

During his time as a research associate, there had been strong interest in developingphotoelectric-basedDoppler spectrometersto obtain more accurate measurements ofradial velocitiesof stellar objects compared to existing photographic methods. Following preliminary work byRoger Griffinin 1967 to show the feasibility of photoelectric measurements of radial velocities, Mayor worked with André Baranne at theMarseille Observatoryto develop CORAVEL, a photoelectric spectrometer capable of highly accurate radial velocity measurements, which allow measurement of star movements, orbital periods ofbinary stars,and even the rotational speed of stars.[13]

This research led to various fields of interest, including the study of statistical characteristics of solar-type binary stars. With fellow researcher Antoine Duquennoy, they examined the radial velocities of several systems believed to be binary stars in 1991. Their results found that a subset of these may in fact be single star systems with substellar secondary objects.[14]Desiring more accurate radial velocity measurements, Mayor, along with Baranne at Marseille, and with graduate studentDidier Queloz,developedELODIE,a new spectrograph based on the work of CORAVEL, which was estimated to have an accuracy of 15 m/s for bright stars, improving upon the 1 km/s from CORAVEL. ELODIE was developed with the specific intent to determine if the substellar secondary objects werebrown dwarfstars or potentially giant planets.[15]

By 1994, ELODIE was operational at Geneva and Mayor and Queloz began their survey of Sun-like systems with suspected substellar secondary objects.[16]In July 1995, the pair's survey of51 Pegasiaffirmed that there was anexoplanetorbiting it, identified as51 Pegasi b,which was later classified as ahot-Jupiter–type planet. This was the first exoplanet to be found orbiting amain-sequencestar, as opposed to planets that orbited the remains of a star.[17]Mayor's and Queloz's discovery of an exoplanet launched great interest is searching for other exoplanets since.[18]On 21st March 2022, the 5000th exoplanet beyond our solar system was confirmed.[19]

Mayor's work focused more on improving instrumentation for radial velocity measurements to improve detecting exoplanets and measuring their properties. Mayor led a team to further improve ELODIE to increase velocity measurement accuracy to 1 m/s via theHigh Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher(HARPS) installed on theESO 3.6 m TelescopeatLa Silla Observatoryin Chile by 2003.[20]Mayor led the team that used HARPS to seek out other exoplanets. In 2007, Mayor was one of 11 European scientists who discoveredGliese 581c,the first extrasolar planet in a star's habitable zone, from the ESO telescope.[21]In 2009, Mayor and his team discovered the lightest exoplanet ever detected around amain sequencestar:Gliese 581e.[22]Nonetheless, Mayor noted that humans will never migrate to such exoplanets since they are "much, much too far away... [and would take] hundreds of millions of days using the means we have available today".[9]However, due to discoveries by Mayor, searching for extraterrestrial communications from exoplanets may now be a more practical consideration than thought earlier.[10]

Awards and distinctions

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In 1998, Mayor was awarded the SwissMarcel Benoist Prize[2]in recognition of his work and its significance for human life. As of 2003, he was a member of the board of trustees. He received thePrix Jules Janssenfrom theSociété astronomique de France(French Astronomical Society) in 1998.[23]

In 2000, he was awarded theBalzan Prize.[2]Four years later, he was awarded theAlbert Einstein Medal.[2]In 2005, he received theShaw Prizein Astronomy, along with American astrophysicistGeoffrey Marcy.[24]Mayor was made a knight of the FrenchLegion d'Honneurin 2004.[25]

In collaboration with Pierre-Yves Frei, Mayor wrote a book in French calledLes Nouveaux mondes du Cosmos(Seuil,260 pages), which was awarded theLivre de l'astronomie 2001prize by the 17th Astronomy Festival Haute Maurienne.[25]

Mayor has received honorary doctorate degrees from eight universities:Katholieke Universiteit Leuven(Belgium), 2001;École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)(Lausanne,Switzerland) (2002);Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte(Brazil), 2006;Uppsala University(Sweden), 2007;Paris Observatory(France), 2008;Université Libre de Bruxelles(Belgium), 2009;University of Provence(Marseille, France), 2011, andUniversité Joseph Fourier(Grenoble, France), 2014.[25]

Mayor has received the 2011BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awardof Basic Sciences (together with his former studentDidier Queloz) for developing new astronomical instruments and experimental techniques that led to the first observation of planets around Sun-like stars.[26]Asteroid125076 Michelmayor,discovered by Swiss amateur astronomerMichel Oryat theJura Observatoryin 2001, was named in his honor.[3]The officialnaming citationwas published by theMinor Planet Centeron 21 August 2013 (M.P.C.84674).[27]

In 2015, he was awarded theGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society,[28]and theKyoto Prize in Basic Sciences.In 2017, he received theWolf Prize in Physics.[29]He andDidier Queloz(also from Switzerland) were awarded one half of the 2019Nobel Prize in Physicsfor the discovery of the exoplanet51 Pegasi b.[30]

Participation in professional associations

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References

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  1. ^"Michel Mayor received Einstein Medal".einstein-bern.ch.
  2. ^abcdefg"Conference du 26 Septembre 2007"(in French). Cercle des amities internationales, Geneve. September 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 4 August 2020.Retrieved9 October2019.
  3. ^ab"125076 Michelmayor (2001 UD6)".Minor Planet Center.Retrieved12 August2019.
  4. ^Chang, Kenneth; Specia, Megan (8 October 2019)."Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded for Cosmic Discoveries".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 8 October 2019.Retrieved8 October2019.
  5. ^"Viktor Ambartsumian International Prize".Vaprize.sci.am.18 July 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 14 September 2016.Retrieved26 March2017.
  6. ^Mayor, Michel;Queloz, Didier(November 1995). "A Jupiter-mass companion to a solar-type star".Nature.378(6555): 355–359.Bibcode:1995Natur.378..355M.doi:10.1038/378355a0.S2CID4339201.
  7. ^"The Nobel Prize in Physics 2019".Nobel Media AB.Archivedfrom the original on 10 October 2019.Retrieved8 October2019.
  8. ^Wenz, John (10 October 2019)."Lessons from scorching hot weirdo-planets".Knowable Magazine.Annual Reviews.doi:10.1146/knowable-101019-2.Retrieved4 April2022.
  9. ^abStaff (9 October 2019)."Humans will not 'migrate' to other planets, Nobel winner says".Phys.org.Archivedfrom the original on 10 October 2019.Retrieved9 October2019.
  10. ^abShostak, Seth(9 October 2019)."How a discovery that earned the Nobel Prize in Physics transformed the hunt for alien life".NBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 10 October 2019.Retrieved9 October2019.
  11. ^"Michel Mayor".The Planetary Society.Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2019.Retrieved8 August2019.
  12. ^"Michel Mayor".The Planetary Society.Retrieved9 October2019.
  13. ^Hearnshaw, John B. (2014).The Analysis of Starlight: Two Centuries of Astronomical Spectroscopy.Cambridge University Press.pp. 114–116.ISBN978-1107031746.
  14. ^Duquennoy, Antoine; Mayor, Michel (August 1991)."Multiplicity among solar-type stars in the solar neighbourhood. II. Distribution of the orbital elements in an unbiased sample"(PDF).Astronomy & Astrophysics.248:485–524.Bibcode:1991A&A...248..485D.
  15. ^Baranne, A.; et al. (11 October 1996)."ELODIE: A spectrograph for accurate radial velocity measurements"(PDF).Astronomy & Astrophysics Supplement Series.119(2): 373–390.Bibcode:1996A&AS..119..373B.doi:10.1051/aas:1996251.Archived(PDF)from the original on 9 August 2017.Retrieved9 October2019.
  16. ^Springer (16 April 2018)."Once upon a time, an exoplanet was discovered".Science Daily.Archivedfrom the original on 2 April 2019.Retrieved9 October2019.
  17. ^Mayor, Michael; Queloz, Didier (1995). "A Jupiter-mass companion to a solar-type star".Nature.378(6555): 355–359.Bibcode:1995Natur.378..355M.doi:10.1038/378355a0.S2CID4339201.
  18. ^Gibney, Elizabeth (18 December 2013)."Michael Mayor: In search of sister earths".Nature.504(7480): 357–365.Bibcode:2013Natur.504..357..doi:10.1038/504357a.PMID24352276.
  19. ^"Cosmic Milestone: NASA Confirms 5,000 Exoplanets".NASA. 21 March 2022.Retrieved5 April2022.
  20. ^Queloz, D.;Mayor, M.; et al. (September 2001)."From CORALIE to HARPS. The way towards 1 m s−1precision Doppler measurements "(PDF).The Messenger.No. 105. pp. 1–7.Archived(PDF)from the original on 30 January 2018.Retrieved10 October2019.
  21. ^Borenstein, Seth (25 April 2007)."Red dwarf is mother to an Earth-like planet".The Sydney Morning Herald.Associated Press.Archivedfrom the original on 10 October 2019.Retrieved17 March2009.
  22. ^Mayor, Michel; Bonfils, Xavier; Forveille, Thierry; et al. (2009)."The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets, XVIII. An Earth-mass planet in the GJ 581 planetary system"(PDF).Astronomy and Astrophysics.507(1): 487–494.arXiv:0906.2780.Bibcode:2009A&A...507..487M.doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200912172.S2CID2983930.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 21 May 2009.
  23. ^"Prix Janssen"(in French).Société astronomique de France.Retrieved9 October2019.
  24. ^Overbye, Dennis(12 May 2013)."Finder of New Worlds".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 17 May 2014.Retrieved13 May2014.
  25. ^abcdefghijklmno"Michel Mayor"(PDF)(in French).French Academy of Science.3 May 2010.Archived(PDF)from the original on 10 October 2019.Retrieved9 October2019.
  26. ^"The BBVA Foundation presents its Frontiers of Knowledge Awards at a ceremony enthroning science and culture as motors of development".BBVA Foundation.12 June 2012.Retrieved9 October2019.
  27. ^"MPC/MPO/MPS Archive".Minor Planet Center.Retrieved12 August2019.
  28. ^"Winners of the 2015 awards, medals and prizes - full details".Royal Astronomical Society.Archivedfrom the original on 20 March 2017.Retrieved26 March2017.
  29. ^Jerusalempost Wolf Prizes 2017,jpost; accessed 26 March 2017.
  30. ^"The Nobel Prize in Physics 2019".Nobel Media AB.Retrieved8 October2019.
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