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Paper: Utrecht and Galactic Radio Astronomy
Volume: 470, 370 Years of Astronomy in Utrecht
Page: 413
Authors: van Woerden, H.
Abstract: Important roles in early Dutch Galactic radio astronomy were played by several Utrecht astronomers: Van de Hulst, Minnaert and Houtgast. The poster announcing the conference contained a number of pictures referring to scientific achievements of the Astronomical Institute Utrecht. One of these (Figure 1) appears to show the spiral structure of our Galaxy. Detailed comparison with the famous H I map (Figure 2), published by Oort, Kerr, and Westerhout (1958) in their paper “The Galactic System as a Spiral Nebula”, indicates that both are based on the same data. However, the “OKW map” resulted from work done at Kootwijk, Leiden and Sydney. What claim does Utrecht have to this pinnacle of early Galactic Radio Astronomy? Let us trace the history behind this H I map, as sketched in more detail by Van Woerden & Strom (2006).
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