Stavros Plakidis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 22, 1893 Constantinople, Turkey |
| Died | January 30, 1991 (aged 97) Athens Greece |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Profession | Professor, Dean, Astronomer |
| Alma mater | University of Athens |
| Known for | Penteli Astronomical Station Evgenides Planetarium Variable Stars |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy Astrophysics Mathematics |
| Institutions | University of Athens National Observatory of Athens Evgenides Planetarium |
| Doctoral advisor | Demetrios Eginitis Arthur Eddington |
| Notable students | Jean Focas |
Stavros Plakidis (Greek: Σταύρος Πλακίδης; May 22, 1893 – January 1, 1991) was an astronomer, professor, astrophysicist, mathematician, author, and director of the Astronomical Institute of the National Observatory of Athens and intermittently served as chairman of the National Observatory. He is considered the father of modern astronomy in Greece. Plakidis made systematic observations of variable stars, novae, planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury), minor planets, stellar parallaxes, orbits of comets, and double stars, also contributing to the accurate geographic coordinates of the Athens Observatory. Plakidis independently discovered V1500 Cygni several hours after Minoru Honda claimed the find in Japan.[1][2][3]
Plakidis was born in Constantinople. He attended the University of Athens and became an assistant astronomer at the National Observatory under Demetrios Eginitis eventually traveling to Europe to study in Italy, France, Germany, and England. While in England he collaborated with Arthur Eddington on a paper entitled the Irregularities of the Period of Long-Period Variable Stars and by 1931 Plakidis was awarded a Ph.D.[4] He returned to Greece and became an astronomy professor at the University of Athens. He also worked at the National Observatory of Athens remaining at both institutions until 1964.[5]
Plakidis was honored by countless international institutions for his work in the field of astronomy. He helped erect the Penteli Observatory and added a solar physics section to the National Observatory of Athens while also modernizing the instrumentation. He continued his research on variable stars throughout his life publishing articles in dozens of international publications. He was a member of the Société astronomique de France, French Association of Variable Star Observers, Royal Astronomical Society, and British Astronomical Association. Plakidis also frequently attended meetings of the International Astronautical Federation. He was the first director of the Evgenides Planetarium. He died in Athens Greece at the age of 97.[6][7]
- ^ Contopoulos 1991, pp. 483.
- ^ Nicolaidis & Emanuel 2011, pp. 187.
- ^ Staff Writers (February 16, 2023). "Σταύρος Μ. Πλακίδης (Stavros M. Plakidis) in Greek". Online Compendium of Greek and German. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- ^ Novello & Bergliaffa 2005, pp. 2040.
- ^ Staff Writers (February 16, 2023). "Greeks with a PhD in Astronomy". Hellenic Astronomical Society. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- ^ Stefanidis 1952, pp. 67.
- ^ Staff Writers (February 16, 2023). "Planetarium: A Dome Full of History (Translated from Greek)". Greeks Channel. Retrieved February 16, 2023.