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Tadeusz Banachiewicz (1882-1954)

Renowned Polish astronomer and mathematician, long-time professor in Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland, and head of its Astronomical Observatory, member of Polish Academy of Learning and Polish Academy of Sciences. He worked on celestial mechanics (Banachiewicz-Olbers method for calculation of parabolic orbits), spherical astronomy and geodesy, observations of the Sun and eclipsing binary stars. He also was a pioneer of Polish radioastronomy.

1919-1954:

Head of the Jagiellonian University Observatory in Cracow.

1925:

Founded the Acta Astronomica journal, and served as its Editor-in-Chief until his death in 1954.

1925:

Developed the so-called cracowian calculus - a special kind of matrix algebra, used, for example, in spherical astronomy (polygonometry), geodesy, celestial mechanics, and calculation of orbits.

1927:

Developed the chronocinematographical camera for recording eclipses of the Sun.

1930:

Using cracowians , he was the first to calculate the orbit of Pluto (using its discovery observations from 1930 and an older photo from 1927 found later).

1932-1938:

Vice-President of International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Named after Banachiewicz were :

• a large crater (92 km diameter) on the near side of the Moon ,
• an asteroid 1286 Banachiewicza.

[ZK]

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