Tom Marsh (astronomer)
Thomas Richard Marsh (1961–2022) was a highly regarded astronomer and astrophysicist working in the field for four decades, recently specialising in the accretion and evolution of binary star systems.[1]
Tom Marsh | |
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 Marsh in 2010 | |
| Born | Thomas Richard Marsh 1961 |
| Died | 2022 (aged 60–61) |
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He was awarded the Herschel Medal in 2018 for his development of doppler tomography which he used to study compact binary stars.[2][3]
International and public engagement
Thomas Marsh worked to bring astronomy to less affluent countries and maintained a strong link with Thailand. This enabled astronomers there to use his high-speed cameras and be part of these international endeavours. He was also happy to engage with the public and share his enthusiasm for the cosmos in radio and TV interviews as well as on stage at a Warwick Christmas Lecture. Indeed, one of Marsh’s high-profile papers resulted from an initial observation by an amateur astronomer that he followed up.[4]
While visiting La Silla Observatory in Chile, he went missing on 16 September 2022 and his body was found in the Atacama Desert on 10 November 2022.[5][6]
References
- Simion @Yonescat, Florin. "Professor Tom Marsh". The Royal Astronomical Society. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- "Professor Tom Marsh, astrophysicist whose research on binary stars helped shed light on how the universe evolved", The Daily Telegraph, 18 November 2022
- RAS medals and awards honour leading astronomers and geophysicists, Royal Astronomical Society, 2018, archived from the original on 14 January 2018
- "Professor Tom Marsh". warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- Keith Perry (11 November 2022), "Body of missing astronomer Tom Marsh found in Chile's Atacama desert", The Times
- "Body confirmed as Warwick University professor missing in Chile". BBC News. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.