È morto Johannes Geiss, cofondatore e direttore onorario dell’Istituto internazionale di scienze spaziali di Berna. Lo studioso è deceduto lo scorso giovedì all’età di 93 anni, ma la notizia è stata resa pubblica solo oggi, lunedì.
Nato nel 1926, Geiss è stato uno dei maggiori fisici di rilevanza internazionale, nonché professore ordinario di fisica sperimentale presso l’Università di Berna per 31 anni (dal 1960 al 1991) nel corso dei quali ha assunto anche la carica di rettore.
Durante la sua carriera, Geiss si è distinto soprattutto per aver collaborato a numerose missioni spaziali, tra cui Apollo 11, e per essere stato il primo scienziato ad essere riuscito a catturare le particelle presenti nel vento solare, grazie ad un apposito strumento da lui stesso ideato e posato sulla superficie della Luna da Buzz Aldrin nel 1969.
Lo strumento di misurazione del vento solare inventato da Geiss fu piantato nel terreno lunare da Buzz Aldrin
Insieme a Hubert Reeves, Geiss determinò pure la frequenza cosmica del Deuterio e calcolò la densità barionica di 0,2 atomi per metro cubo.
Con le sue numerose pubblicazioni, lo scienziato contribuì a cambiare la nostra percezione del sistema solare e dell’Universo.
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