Frank Pieter Israel (31 December 1946 – 18 September 2026) was a Dutch astronomer.
Life and career Israel was born in Delft, Netherlands on 31 December 1946. He received his PhD in astronomy at Leiden Observatory in 1976 on observations of H II regions with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. He developed the blister-model of H II regions.3D NASA animation shows an old theory from Leiden
From 1977 to 1980 he worked at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory.
Most of his work was dedicated to the Interstellar medium of external galaxies. Since 2005 he was professor of astronomy at Leiden University, teaching the subject of nearby galaxies.Frank Pieter Israel (Frank)
The asteroid 7507 Israel is named after him.(7507) Israel = 7063 P-L = 1985 SK2 = 1974 OC1
Israel was from 2012 to 2023 chairman of the skeptical organisation Stichting Skepsis.
Israel died in Leiden on 18 September 2026, at the age of 79.In memoriam Frank Israel (1946 – 2026)
References
External links Frank Israel's home page