Ernst Julius Öpik ( – 10 September 1985) was an Estonian astronomer and astrophysicist who spent the second half of his career (1948–1981) at the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland. He is best known for his pioneering work on solar system dynamics, and remained there despite offers of lucrative jobs in America. From the early 1960s to the mid-1970s he also held a position at the University of Maryland, which he visited annually, typically for one semester. As air travel became more common, his refusal to fly made travel to the U.S. from Armagh systematically more difficult and he eventually ceased the annual ritual.

Awards

He won the J. Lawrence Smith Medal from the National Academy of Sciences in 1960, the Meteoritical Society Frederick C. Leonard Memorial Medal in 1968, the Kepler Gold Medal from the American Association for the Advancement of Science & Meteoritical Society in 1972, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1975 and the Bruce Medal in 1976.

Papers

  • 1951: "Collision probability with the planets and the distribution of planetary matter", Proc. R. Irish Acad. Sect. A, vol. 54, p. 165-199
  • 1958: "Physics of Meteor Flight in the Atmosphere".

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  • Optical Periscopic Imager for Comets (OPIC) Tartu Observatory Space Exploration Group
  • Sonoma State University on Ernst Öpik
  • Armagh Observatory on Ernst Öpik
  • Evening Standard (London); "Lembit and his Very Cheeky Family"