Prof. Dr. Laurent Loinard

Profil

Derzeitige StellungProfessor W-3 und Äquivalente
FachgebietAstronomie
KeywordsStar-formation, Astrometry, Interferometry, Astrochemistry, Molecular clouds

Aktuelle Kontaktadresse

LandMexiko
OrtMorelia
Universität/InstitutionUniversidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM)
Institut/AbteilungInstituto de Radioastronomia y Astrofisica
Websitehttp://www.crya.unam.mx/~l.loinard

Gastgeber*innen während der Förderung

Prof. Dr. Karl M. MentenMax-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn
Beginn der ersten Förderung01.08.2011

Programm(e)

2011Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel-Forschungspreis-Programm

Projektbeschreibung der*des Nominierenden

Professor Laurent Loinard is an internationally renowned astronomer who has made prominent contributions in several areas of radio astronomy. In recent years his efforts have concentrated in ultra-high angular resolution observations achieved by linking radio telescopes together. With this technique he has determined accurate distances to nearby star forming regions by the method of the annual trigonometric parallax. This is of course the technique that was used for the very first time by Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel to measure the distance to a fixed star, in 1838, which secured him immortality in the pantheon of astronomy. The targets whose distances Prof. Loinard measures are more than 50 times further away! During his stay in Bonn, he has initiated a program with the APEX telescope operated by the institute in Chile. It resulted in the first detection of an astounding richness of molecules from one of the most remarkable stars in the Milky Way, eta Carinae.