German-American astronomer who joined Baade in studying the spectra supernovae. Minkowski and Baade divided into two classes on the basis of spectral characteristic. Minkowski was charged with inspection and preparation of copies of the Palomar Sky Survey. He also studied the physics and expansion of the Crab Nebula (a pulsar remnant). Also with Baade, Minkowski identified the optical counterparts of the radio sources Cygnus A, Virgo A (M87), Perseus A (NGC 1275), and Centaurus A (NGC 5128), although simultaneous identifications of Centaurus A and Virgo A were made by Bolton, Slee, and Stanley. In 1951, Minkowski discovered the asteroid Geographos.

Minkowski (Hermann)

Additional biographies: Bruce Medalists, Bonn