NOTABLE SCIENTISTS A TO Z OF SCIENTISTS IN SPACE AND ASTRONOMY DEBORAH TODD AND JOSEPH A. ANGELO,JR. A TO Z OF SCIENTISTS IN SPACE AND ASTRONOMY Notable Scientists Copyright © 2005 by Deborah Todd and Joseph A. Angelo, Jr. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Todd, Deborah. A to Z of scientists in space and astronomy / Deborah Todd and Joseph A. Angelo, Jr. p. cm.—(Notable scientists) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8160-4639-5 (acid-free paper) 1. Astronomers—Biography. 2. Space sciences—Biography. I. Angelo, Joseph A. II. Title. III. Series. QB35.T63 2005 520'.92'2—dc22 2004006611 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Text design by Joan M. Toro Cover design by Cathy Rincon Chronology by Sholto Ainslie Printed in the United States of America VB TECHBOOKS 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. “I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream.” —Vincent Van Gogh “All of us are truly and literally a little bit of stardust.” —William Fowler To the loves on this very tiny planet who have sprinkled their stardust into my life and believed in my dreams. To Jason, my original and brightest star. To A from T. To Rob, as always, with love. To Jenny. To Gregg, thank you for everything. To Rusty, our beloved star. To Mom and Dad. To my Sister. Out of stardust comes poetry... To Jeb, for the music and art. To Omar, my favorite poet of all time. —Deborah Todd To my special friend, Michael Joseph Hoffman, his brother, Daniel, and all the other wonderful children of planet Earth who will inherit the stars. At just three years old, with the same unquenchable curiosity that inspired so many of the interesting people in this book, Michael asked me: “Where does the Sun go at night?” This book is written to help him discover an incredible universe that is now both a destination and a destiny through space technology. —Joseph A. Angelo, Jr. CONTENTS List of Entries ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Entries A to Z 1 Entries by Field 286 Entries by Country of Birth 289 Entries by Country of Major Scientific Activity 291 Entries by Year of Birth 293 Chronology 295 Bibliography 299 Index 305 LIST OF ENTRIES Adams, John Couch Boltzmann, Ludwig Fleming, Williamina Paton Adams, Walter Sydney Bradley, James Stevens Alfonso X Brahe, Tycho Fowler, William Alfred Alfvén, Hannes Olof Gösta Braun, Wernher Magnus von Fraunhofer, Joseph von Alpher, Ralph Asher Bruno, Giordano Galilei, Galileo Alvarez, Luis Walter Bunsen, Robert Wilhelm Galle, Johann Gottfried Ambartsumian, Viktor Burbidge, Eleanor Margaret Gamow, George Amazaspovich Peachey Giacconi, Riccardo Anderson, Carl David Campbell, William Wallace Gill, Sir David Ångström, Anders Jonas Cannon, Annie Jump Goddard, Robert Hutchings Arago, Dominique-François- Cassini, Giovanni Domenico Hale, George Ellery Jean Cavendish, Henry Hall, Asaph Aratus of Soli Chandrasekhar, Halley, Sir Edmund Argelander, Friedrich Wilhelm Subrahmanyan Hawking, Sir Stephen August Charlier, Carl Vilhelm Ludvig William Aristarchus of Samos Clark, Alvan Graham Herschel, Caroline Lucretia Aristotle Clausius, Rudolf Julius Herschel, Sir John Frederick Arrhenius, Svante August Emmanuel William Aryabhata Compton, Arthur Holly Herschel, Sir William Baade, Wilhelm Heinrich Copernicus, Nicolas Hertz, Heinrich Rudolf Walter Curtis, Heber Doust Hertzsprung, Ejnar Barnard, Edward Emerson Dirac, Paul Adrien Maurice Hess, Victor Francis al-Battani Doppler, Christian Andreas Hewish, Antony Bayer, Johannes Douglass, Andrew Ellicott Hohmann, Walter Beg, Muhammed Taragai Drake, Frank Donald Hubble, Edwin Powell Ulugh Draper, Henry Huggins, Sir William Bell Burnell, Susan Jocelyn Dyson, Sir Frank Watson Jeans, Sir James Hopwood Bessel, Friedrich Wilhelm Eddington, Sir Arthur Stanley Jones, Sir Harold Spencer Bethe, Hans Albrecht Ehricke, Krafft Arnold Kant, Immanuel Bode, Johann Elert Einstein, Albert Kapteyn, Jacobus Cornelius Bok, Bartholomeus Jan Euler, Leonhard Kepler, Johannes ix x A to Z of Scientists in Space and Astronomy al-Khwarizmi, Abu Olbers, Heinrich Wilhelm Schwabe, Samuel Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert Matthäus Heinrich Korolev, Sergei Pavlovich Oort, Jan Hendrik Schwarzschild, Karl Kuiper, Gerard Peter Penzias, Arno Allen Secchi, Pietro Angelo Lagrange, Comte Joseph-Louis Piazzi, Giuseppe Shapley, Harlow Laplace, Pierre-Simon, Pickering, Edward Charles Sitter, Willem de Marquis de Planck, Max Karl Slipher, Vesto Melvin Leavitt, Henrietta Swan Plato Somerville, Mary Fairfax Lemaître, Abbé-Georges- Ptolemy Stefan, Josef Édouard Reber, Grote Tereshkova, Valentina Leverrier, Urbain-Jean-Joseph Rees, Sir Martin John Tombaugh, Clyde William Lippershey, Hans Rossi, Bruno Benedetto Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin Lockyer, Sir Joseph Norman Russell, Henry Norris Eduardovich Lowell, Percival Ryle, Sir Martin Urey, Harold Clayton Messier, Charles Sagan, Carl Edward Van Allen, James Alfred Michelson, Albert Abraham Scheiner, Christoph Wilson, Robert Woodrow Newcomb, Simon Schiaparelli, Giovanni Wolf, Maximilian Newton, Sir Isaac Virginio Zwicky, Fritz Oberth, Hermann Julius Schmidt, Maarten ACKNOWLEDGMENTS he creation of the universe took a matter of the change you made in my computer situation, Tseconds. The creation of this book took but I guess honestly I am liking it more and more somewhat longer. These acknowledgments are to every day, and my computer and I have both thank those wonderful people who helped de- been virus free since the switch! I know—you velop it from its original flicker of light into the told me so. Thank you. shining example of the completed collaboration To Roger Eggleston for his great research, at that it is today. First and foremost: to Chris Van a moment’s notice, with a smile. To Elizabeth Buren, who is now living the life of his dreams in Eggleston for always smiling and always believ- a land far, far away, thank you for working us ing in this project and me. Thank you to both through the spark phase and into the realm of re- of you for your always-present support. Who’s in ality; to Margo Maley Hutchison for picking charge? I know! things up in the middle of it all with kindness and Special thanks to Kasey Arnold-Ince for her grace; to Kimberly Valenti for taking it the final research skills, Heather Lindsay for her photo mile—the hardest part of the journey—you are expertise on both books, Gregg Kellogg for again deeply appreciated; and to Bill Gladstone for in- discussing biography candidates with me and the sisting that I meet your “first writer,” because we multitude of offers to help, and Curtis Wong for both live in the same county—thank you for in- always asking how my book was coming along troducing me to someone who has surely become and the many varied discussions we had on this a lifelong friend, and now part-time collaborator. topic and others. To Ed Addeo, a fabulous friend, and an Thank you to John Newby, who continues equally wonderful writer. Your help was above the mantra “Keep moving forward.” I am glad and beyond the call of duty and/or friendship. you were passing through. You are a collection You kept me afloat and made this book possible. of very special stardust. And to think we did it all without being in the Thank you to Matt Beucler. You know why, same room, except of course for those occasional coach. lunches that kept us going and kept me sane. A special thank you to the editorial staff at Thank you, thank you, thank you. Facts On File, especially Frank Darmstadt, for To Rob Swigart for the use of your office, pulling the project through and helping bring it your house, your kitchen, your desk, your other to completion with patience and understanding desk in the library and that wonderful chair, and through cancer, physical disabilities, and the your apartment in Paris. I’m still not sure about passing away of loved ones, and Laura Magzis, xi xii A to Z of Scientists in Space and Astronomy for an excellent copyediting job. To Joe Angelo This book could not have been prepared with- for his expertise, dedication, and years of expe- out the generous support and assistance of Ms. rience in this book-writing process that proved Heather Lindsay, curator of the Emilio Segrè invaluable in getting it completed. Visual Archives (ESVA) of the American To my sister, Drena Large, I simply say Institute of Physics (AIP). Special thanks also go “Thanks, Sis” for being the great listener and to the staff at the Evans Library of Florida Tech, problem solver that you are. You didn’t know it, whose assistance in obtaining obscure reference but you helped tremendously. materials proved essential in the success of this Thank you to Jennifer Omholt. You prove project. Finally, a special thanks is extended to to me daily that laughter is the best medicine. the editorial team at Facts On File, particularly Thanks for listening and for the perspective. executive editor Frank K. Darmstadt, who kept My fondest thank you to Jeb Brady, for be- a steady hand at the wheel while the draft ing an amazing collection of stardust and for manuscript traveled through uncharted, often continuing to shine brilliantly. Thank you for turbulent, waters.