Arne Slettebak | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 8, 1925 |
| Died | May 20, 1999 (aged 73) Worthington, Ohio, United States |
| Citizenship | United States (1932–1999) |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago (BS, PhD) |
| Spouse |
Constance Pixler
(m. 1949; died 2006) |
| Children | 2 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | On the Axial Rotation of the Brighter O and B Stars (1949) |
| Doctoral advisor | William Wilson Morgan |
Arne Edwin Slettebak (August 8, 1925 – May 20, 1999) was a naturalized American astronomer who served as chair of the astronomy department at the Ohio State University from 1962 to 1987 and director of the Perkins Observatory from 1959 to 1978.
Slettebak was born in the Free City of Danzig before emigrating to the United States at a young age. He obtained a degree in physics in 1945 and a doctorate in astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1949, the latter under the supervision of William Wilson Morgan with a thesis on O-type and B-type stars.
Slettebak joined the Ohio State University shortly after and was instrumental in re-establishing a separate astronomy department; he retired in 1994. His principal research interests were in stellar rotation and Be stars, and he published over 90 papers, abstracts and articles throughout his career. The main-belt asteroid 9001 Slettebak, discovered in 1981, was named in his honour.