Paul Wild (Swiss astronomer)

Paul Wild
Paul Wild at University of Bern in 2006
Born	(1925-10-05)5 October 1925 Wädenswil, Switzerland
Died	2 July 2014(2014-07-02) (aged 88) Bern, Switzerland
Nationality	Swiss
Fields	Astronomy
Alma mater	ETH Zürich
Known for	discoveries of comets and asteroids

Paul Wild (German: [ˈvɪlt]; 5 October 1925 – 2 July 2014) was a Swiss astronomer and director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern, who discovered numerous comets, asteroids and supernovae.

Wild was born on 5 October 1925 in the village of Wädenswil near Zürich, Switzerland. From 1944 through 1950, he studied mathematics and physics at the ETH Zurich. Thereafter, he worked at the California Institute of Technology where he researched galaxies and supernovas under the leadership of countryman Fritz Zwicky from 1951 through 1955.

At the Zimmerwald Observatory, near Bern, Wild made his first cometary discovery C/1957 U1 (1957 IX) on 2 October 1957. The parabolic comet was later named "Latyshev-Wild–Burnham".

Professor Wild became director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern in 1980, and remained in this position until 1991. He died on 2 July 2014 at the age of 88 in Bern.

During countless nights Wild observed the skies at the Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern and discovered numerous asteroids, comets and supernovae including:

The best known discovery of a comet occurred on January 6, 1978. This Jupiter-family comet was designated 1978 XI, P/WILD 2 or 81P/Wild. WILD 2 was chosen by NASA for its Stardust mission launched in 1999. The stardust spacecraft flew through the comet’s trail and collected samples of the tail’s dust. After the return of the spacecraft to earth, analysis of the dust particles by different researcher provided new insights about the evolution of the solar system. Organic compounds such as glycine, a fundamental chemical building block of life, were found on a comet for the first time. In addition, evidence of the presence of liquid water was detected.