Guido Münch

Guido Münch died peacefully at home in Pasadena, California, on 29 April 2020.

Münch was recognized early in his career for his exceptional capability as both a theoretical and observational astrophysicist by such renowned scientists as Otto Struve and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Münch conducted research in IR radiometry for NASA’s Mariner, Viking, and Pioneer planetary probes, and he made important contributions to the understanding of galactic structure, solar physics, and stellar atmosphere theory.

Born in 1921 in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, Münch received his BS in civil engineering and mathematics (1939) and MS in mathematics (1944) from the Autonomous National University of Mexico. He then received a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Chicago (1946). He returned to Mexico that year to work at the Tacubaya Observatory at the University of Mexico as an astronomer. In 1947 he accepted a position as an instructor at the University of Chicago; he was promoted to assistant professor two years later. From 1951 to 1977, Münch was an assistant professor and then full professor at Caltech, and concurrently a staff member of the Mount Wilson and Palomar observatories. He then spent 14 years as scientific director of the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie in Heidelberg, Germany (1977–91) and was subsequently the institute’s director emeritus. Münch was also a research associate at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in Tenerife, Spain (1992–96).

He received a Fulbright Grant in 1958 and competitive awards from the Guggenheim Foundation in 1944, 1945, and 1958.

Among the most significant of his many publications are “Interstellar absorption lines in distant stars” (1957), “Galactic structure and interstellar absorption lines” (1965), and, significantly, “An analysis of the spectrum of Mars” (1964), which appeared in volume 139 of The Astrophysical Journal. Coauthored with Lewis D. Kaplan and Hyron Spinrad, the “analysis” correctly revised downward by a factor of 10 the then-accepted value for the atmospheric pressure of Mars, which led to fundamental changes in NASA’s plans to explore the planet.

Over the course of his six-decade career, Münch’s honors included: election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1963), the National Academy of Sciences (1967), and the Third World Academy of Sciences (now The World Academy of Sciences), in Trieste, Italy (1984); the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1974); the Prince of Asturias Prize for Scientific Investigation (1989); an honorary doctorate from the Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE); and the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise (Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio) from the Kingdom of Spain (1998). In 1989 the International Astronomical Union organized a special conference in Granada, Spain, in his honor, titled “Guido’s Jubilee.”

Münch is survived by his four children: Frederick, SiriJodha, Amelia, and Christopher.