Yucatecan astronomer that discovered Jupiter’s ‘twin’, Arcadio Poveda Ricalde, passed away at 91

Mexican astronomer, born in Mérida, Yucatán, awarded the National Science Prize in 1975, thanks to his contribution to a method that calculates the mass of elliptical galaxies, where the longest-lived stars live, Renan Arcadio Poveda Ricalde passed away on March 24th.

(TYT).- At 91 years of age, Poveda Ricalde starred one of the most prolific and important careers in astronomy, not only in Mexico; he was a professor at the French Institute of Astrophysics (CNRS) in 1963, at Columbia University in 1967, at the Kitt Peak National Observatory from 1981 to 1984; and at the University of California at San Diego from 1982 to 1983.

Throughout his life, he also received various awards, such as the Luis G. León Medal by the Astronomical Society of Mexico; the Scientific Research Prize of the Mexican Academy of Sciences in 1966; the National Prize for Sciences and Arts in 1975; the Dorothea Kumpke Award from the University of California in 1955 and the Eligio Ancona Medal from the Yucatan government in 1977.

In addition, three Honorary Doctorates, from the Autonomous University of Yucatan in 1977, the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics in 1988, and another one from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 2001.

In addition, the public planetarium in his native Mérida, Yucatán, bears his name due to his notorious and extensive professional career.

A renowned character in Mexican astronomy, Renan Arcadio Poveda Ricalde published his first popular science article at the age of 15; his interest in the cosmos arose thanks to his father, who would take him to the shores of Playa Progreso, Yucatán, and talk to him about the stars and the different phases of the Moon.

DISCOVERY OF “JUPITER’S TWIN”

Salvador Curiel Ramírez, together with his colleagues Jorge Cantó Illa, Leonid N. Georgiev, Carlos Chávez Pech, and Arcadio Poveda Ricalde, discovered an exoplanet similar to Jupiter, orbiting the star Upsilon Andrómeda in the constellation Andrómeda, located within the “solar neighborhood”, at least about 44 light-years from Earth.

Upsilon Andrómeda e, or ups And-e was the name this planet received, according to the international nomenclature; According to the UNAM report, at the time, in December 2010, said exoplanet was one of the most similar to Jupiter, along with CoRot-9b, another giant discovered that same year.

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