"Belgian Astrophysicist" Pol Swings Hand Signed 1.5X2 B&W Photo For Sale

Up for sale a VERY RARE! "Belgian Astrophysicist" Pol Swings Hand Signed 1.5X2 B&W Photo.

ES-4082

Pol F. Swings (24 September

1906 – 28 October 1983) was a Belgian astrophysicist who was known for his studies of the

composition and structure of stars and comets. He used spectroscopy to identify the elements in astronomical

bodies, and, in particular, comets. Swings studied at the University of Liège, where

he was professor of spectroscopy and astrophysics from 1932 to 1975. He was

also a visiting professor at the University of Chicago in

the United States (1939–43,

1946–52). From his study of cometary atmospheres, he is credited with the

discovery of the Swings bands and the Swings effect.

Swings bands are emission lines resulting from the presence of certain atoms of

carbon; the Swings effect was discovered with the aid of a slit spectrograph

and is attributed from solar radiation. Moreover, Swings studied spectroscopy of interstellar space and investigated the

rotation of stars, as well as nebulae, novae, and variable stars. Pol Swings

was awarded the Francqui Prize for

Exact Sciences in 1948. In 1981, Swings became a founding member of the World Cultural Council.  1637 Swings, an asteroid of the Main belt is named after him.