Marcel Golay (astronomer)

For the mathematician, see Marcel J. E. Golay.

Marcel Golay (French: [gɔlɛ]; 6 September 1927 – 9 April 2015) was a Swiss astronomer, professor at Geneva University and the eighth director of the Geneva Observatory from 1956 to 1992. Golay was a member of the International Astronomical Union and president of several of its commissions including "Stellar Classification" and "Astronomical Photometry and Polarimetry".^[1] In 1991, University of Basel awarded him an honorary professorship. Asteroid 3329 Golay is named after him.

Marcel Golay at Geneva Observatory in 1966

Honors and awards

Asteroid 3329 Golay – an 18-kilometer-sized member of the Eos family, that was discovered by Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory in 1985 – was named in his honor.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 September 1993 (M.P.C. 22497).^[3]