Jan Oort Birthday and Discovery of the Oort Cloud

April 28, 1900: The birth of Jan Oort

Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, born April 28, 1900, studied physics and astronomy and went on to a long career at Leiden University. Oort was a pioneer in 20th-century astronomy, revolutionizing our understanding of galaxy rotation, radio astronomy, and dark matter. In 1950, Oort proposed the existence of a huge group of trillions of pieces ofContinue reading "April 28, 1900: The birth of Jan Oort" The post April 28, 1900: The birth of Jan Oort appe…

Jan Oort birthday and discovery of the Oort Cloud

Jan Oort. Copyright Leiden Observatory. Used with permission. Jan Oort: Father of the Oort Cloud Jan Hendrick Oort was born on today’s date – April 28, 1900 – in Franeker, Netherlands. We know his name today because he theorized the existence of the Oort Cloud, a vast comet cloud in the outermost reaches of our solar system. As early as 1932, Oort also became one of the first to use the term dark matter. And, when it came to expertise about our …