Portrait of Gerard Kuiper
University of Arizona, Deparment of Planetary Sciences

Gerard Kuiper

Gerard Kuiper was an American astronomer who lived between 1905-1973. He is considered the father of modern planetary science for his brilliant study of our solar system.

Kuiper developed new techniques of looking at the sky, and discovered a moon of Neptune and Uranus. He also found that Titan had an atmosphere similar to our own.

Kuiper suggested that there was a belt of comet-like debris at the edge of our solar system, a theory that was proven true 20 years after his death.


You might also be interested in:

Ready, Set, SCIENCE!: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms

What types of instructional experiences help K-8 students learn science with understanding? What do science educators teachers, teacher leaders, science specialists, professional development staff, curriculum designers, school administrators need to know to create and support such experiences?...more

Neptune's Moons and Rings

Neptune has // Call the moon count function defined in the document head print_moon_count('neptune'); moons. It also has rings, but its rings are different from Saturn's. Neptune's largest moon is named...more

The Atmosphere of Titan

The atmosphere of Titan is made mostly of nitrogen (80-90%), just like the Earth's atmosphere! Titan is the only other place in the solar system with an atmosphere made out of the same thing as the Earth's....more

Richard Feynman

Richard Feynman was an American physicist who lived between 1918-1988. He contributed to many areas of physics, including atomic theory and quantum electrodynamics, which studies electron behavior. Following...more

Stephen Jay Gould

Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist who was born in 1941. He revised Darwin's theory of evolution, introducing his own concept of punctuated equilibrium. This states that evolution is not...more

Evelyn Granville

Evelyn Granville is an American mathematician who was born in 1924. She was one of the first black women in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics. She has made many contributions to NASA's...more

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking is an English ...more

Gerard Kuiper

Gerard Kuiper was an American astronomer who lived between 1905-1973. He is considered the father of modern planetary science for his brilliant study of our solar system. Kuiper developed new techniques...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA