Herbert Gursky

Biography

Gursky's research activities have concentrated in the area of X-ray astronomy. He has published more than 100 articles in this area and has edited two books on the subject Developments in X-ray Astronomy. He was the Principal Investigator for NASA sponsored space programs on the Astronomical Netherlands Satellite and the 1st High Energy Astrophysics Observatory (HEAO-1) satellite and a co-investigator on numerous other rocket and satellite experiments. In addition, Gursky managed research activities encompassing solar physics and magnetospheric research while at AS&E and programs of ground-based astronomy and infrared astronomy at SAO, where he also oversaw the completion of the Multiple Mirror Telescope, a joint program of SAO and the University of Arizona, comprising a 4.5 meter (equivalent) telescope of novel design that is situated at Mt. Hopkins in Arizona. Gursky's work at the Naval Research Laboratory involved the direction of a basic research unit involving 80 Ph.D. scientists conducting investigations in the areas of space astronomy, solar physics and atmospheric science.

Gursky is best known as a member of the group that made the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources in 1961, his work with sounding rockets (he actually launched the June 12, 1962 rocket) that culminated in the optical identification of the bright X-ray source Scorpio X-1 in 1966, and later Cygnus X-1, his work on clusters of galaxies and the diffuse X-ray background from the Uhuru Satellite, and the discovery of X-ray bursters on the Astronomical Netherlands Satellite.

Gursky died of gastric cancer at the age of 76 on December 1, 2006.