Victor Manuel Blanco
| Víctor Manuel Blanco | |||||||||||||||||
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| Born | March 10, 1918 Guayama, Puerto Rico |
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| Died | March 8, 2011 Vero Beach, Florida |
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| Nationality | Puerto Rican | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Astronomer | ||||||||||||||||
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Blanco discovered "Blanco 1," a galactic cluster in 1959. The Víctor M. Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory was named in his honor.
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| Víctor Manuel Blanco | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 10, 1918 Guayama, Puerto Rico |
| Died | March 8, 2011 Vero Beach, Florida |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army Air Forces
|
| Years of service | 1940-1946 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Other work | scientist, astronomer |
Blanco discovered "Blanco 1," a galactic cluster in 1959. The Víctor M. Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory was named in his honor.
Víctor Manuel Blanco (March 10, 1918 – March 8, 2011) was a Puerto Rican astronomer who in 1959 discovered "Blanco 1," a galactic cluster. Blanco was the second Director of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, which had the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere at the time. In 1995, the telescope was dedicated in his honor and named the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope; it is also known as the "Blanco 4m."
Blanco was one of nine siblings born in the town of Guayama, Puerto Rico to Felipe Blanco, a policeman, and Adelfa Pagan de Blanco, a housewife. He received his primary and secondary education in his hometown. As a child, Blanco would often wonder about the stars and built a backyard telescope, thus his interest in astronomy. He entered the University of Puerto Rico to study medicine but, after some time at the university, Blanco decided study astronomy and moved to the city of Chicago. He entered the University of Chicago, but was drafted into the military before he finished college.
During World War II, Blanco served in the US Army Air Force in the Pacific Theater. His duties in the military required that he repair and tune radar detectors. This permitted him to study atmospheric effects on radar waves. After being discharged from the military, he was granted college credit for his wartime work, and returned briefly to the University of Chicago where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree.
Blanco was employed by the University of Puerto Rico as an assistant professor of astrometry, until he was recruited in 1948 to assist in polishing, calibrating and maintaining the mirrors of the 200-inch Hale telescope in California. He entered the University of California, Berkeley, where he continued his studies and earned his master's degree and, in 1949, his Doctorate in astronomy. In 1949, he returned to Puerto Rico and reassumed his duties at the University of Puerto Rico.
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