Peter Nilson

Summary

Peter Nilson (17 October 1937 – 8 March 1998) was a Swedish astronomer and novelist. Active at Uppsala University, he compiled a catalogue of galaxies containing nearly 13,000 entries.[1] He was appreciated for a number of essay books (primarily about science) and for a number of science fiction novels like Rymdväktaren, or "The Space Guardian" and Nyaga.

Peter Nilson
Born17 October 1937 Edit this on Wikidata
Näsby Edit this on Wikidata
Died8 March 1998 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 60)
OccupationAstronomer Edit this on Wikidata

He was born in the Smålandian village of Näsby[2] and under the early teens a farmer, but science, with its celebrities such as Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein made such an impression on him, as to motivate him to accomplish college studies by letter correspondence. In the early 1960s he began his studies in Uppsala University, initially in mathematics, and thereafter theoretical physics, aesthetics, history of ideas and astronomy.

He was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1993.

Works edit

  • Lysande stjärnor (1970)
  • Uppsala General Catalogue of Galaxies (1973)
  • Upptäckten av universum (1975)
  • Himlavalvets sällsamheter (1977)
  • Trollkarlen (1979)
  • Främmande världar (1980)
  • Arken (1982)
  • Mitt i labyrinten (1983)
  • Guldspiken (1985)
  • Avgrundsbok (1987)
  • Äventyret (1989)
  • Messias med träbenet (1990)
  • Stjärnvägar (1991)
  • Rymdljus (1992)
  • Solvindar (1993)
  • Hem till jorden (1994)
  • Rymdväktaren (1995)
  • Nyaga (1996)
  • Den gamla byn (1997). Illustrated by Björn Gidstam
  • Ljuden från kosmos (2000, posthum)

References edit

  1. ^ Claus Madsen, The Jewel on the Mountaintop: The European Southern Observatory through Fifty Years (2013), p. 82.
  2. ^ "Peter Nilson". Projekt Runeberg. Retrieved 2 January 2022.