Astronomy 12: Modern and Historical Astronomers Study Guide

Modern Astronomers Project Overview

• Project Scope: The objective is to trace the lineage and connections between modern and historical astronomers, starting with a primary subject and identifying the figures who inspired their work.
• Methodology:
  • Subject A: Select one modern astronomer and create a comprehensive biography.
  • Subjects B (Link 2 and 3): Identify two astronomers who contributed to Subject A's work.
  • Subjects C (Link 4, 5, 6, 7): Identify two astronomers for each person in B who contributed to their respective research.
  • Iteration: Continue this process until a total of $10$ scientists are documented.

Project Research Requirements and Biography Criteria

• Biographical Topics to Include:
  • Visual representation: Include a portrait or picture of the subject.
  • Identity: Full name of the subject.
  • Lifespan: Birth and death dates (or current status if living).
  • Geography: Birthplace and primary residence.
  • Education: Schools and universities attended.
  • Profession: Occupation and primary area of expertise.
  • Major Contributions: Key advancements or discoveries in astronomy.
  • Eponymous Honors: Any theory, satellite, telescope, or space probe named after them.
  • Miscellaneous: Two additional interesting facts.

Database of Potential Astronomers

• Starting Points (Modern):
  • James Peebles
  • George Carruthers
  • Kip Thorne
  • Stephen Hawking
  • Jocelyn Bell Burnell
  • Jill Tarter
  • Mazlan Othman
  • Neil deGrasse Tyson
  • Claudia Alexander
  • Andrea Ghez
  • Priyamvada Natarajan
  • Sarah Al-Amiri
• Historical and Classical Astronomers:
  • Aryabhata
  • Al-Battani
  • Nicolaus Copernicus
  • Tycho Brahe
  • Galileo Galilei
  • Johannes Kepler
  • Christiaan Huygens
  • Robert Hooke
  • Isaac Newton
  • Edmund Halley
  • Charles Messier
  • William Herschel
  • Caroline Herschel
  • Wang Zhenyi
  • Maria Mitchell
  • Max Planck
  • Annie Jump Cannon
  • Henrietta Swan Leavitt
  • Albert Einstein
  • Edwin Hubble
  • Georges Lemaître
  • Fritz Zwicky
  • Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
  • Helen Sawyer Hogg
  • Clyde Tombaugh
  • Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
  • Katherine Johnson
  • Margaret Burbidge
  • Nancy Grace Roman
  • Vera Rubin
  • Frank Drake
  • Carl Sagan

1. Stephen Hawking (Primary Subject)

• Biographical Overview:
  • Born: $January\,8,\,1942$.
  • Died: $March\,14,\,2018$ (aged $76$).
  • Locations: Born in Oxford; lived in cambridge.
  • Education: Attended university of oxford and earned a PHD from university of Cambridge.
  • Profession: Theoretical physicist and cosmologist.
• Astronomy Contributions:
  • Known for extensive research on the nature of black holes and the origins of the universe.
  • Predicted the existence of Hawking radiation.
  • Instrumental in the development of black hole and big bang theory's.
• Namesake: Hawking Radiation.
• Notable Facts:
  • Hawking lived for over $50\,years$ with ALS, significantly defying the average life expectancy of $2\text{--}5\,years$ post-symptom-onset.
  • Author of "A brief history of time", recognized as one of the most successful science books ever published.

2. Roger Penrose (Influenced Hawking)

• Biographical Overview:
  • Born: $August\,8,\,1931$ (Still alive).
  • Locations: Born in colchester; lived in england.
  • Education: university college london.
  • Profession: Mathematical physicist.
• Relationship to Subject 1: Penrose inspired Stephen Hawking; Hawking utilized Penroses singularity work to develop his own cosmological theories.
• Astronomy Contributions:
  • Known for developing theories regarding black holes and spacetime.
  • Created singularity theorems.
• Namesake: The penrose process and the penrose diagram.
• Notable Facts:
  • Recipient of the $2020\,Nobel\,Prize$ in physics.
  • Invented the Penrose triangle, an impossible geometric shape.

3. Albert Einstein (Influenced Hawking)

• Biographical Overview:
  • Born: $March\,14,\,1879$.
  • Died: $April\,18,\,1955$.
  • Locations: Born in Ulm; lived in switzerland and the united states.
  • Education: ETH Zurich.
  • Profession: Physicist.
• Relationship to Subject 1: Hawking's theories regarding black holes depend heavily on Einstein's theory of gravity.
• Astronomy Contributions:
  • Developed the theory of relativity.
  • Predicted the phenomenon of gravitational lensing.
• Namesake: The Einstein Observatory (the first fully imaging X-ray telescope deployed in space).
• Notable Facts:
  • Awarded the Nobel prize in $1921$.
  • Formulated the world's most famous equation: $E = mc^2$.

4. Karl Schwarzschild (Influenced Penrose)

• Biographical Overview:
  • Born: $october\,9,\,1873$.
  • Died: $may\,11,\,1916$.
  • Locations: Born and lived in Frankfurt.
  • Education: University of Strasbourg.
  • Profession: Astronomer and physicist.
• Relationship to Subject 2: Roger Penrose’s black hole research was reliant on Schwarzschild’s mathematical solutions.
• Astronomy Contributions:
  • Provided the first exact solution to Einstein's equations.
  • Facilitated advancements in the comprehension and measurement of stellar motions.
• Namesake: The schwarzschild radius (a specific formula).
• Notable Facts:
  • Solved the complex Einstein equations just months after their initial publication.
  • Conducted significant scientific work while serving in world war 1.

5. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Influenced Penrose)

• Biographical Overview:
  • Born: $october\,1910$.
  • Died: $august\,21,\,1995$.
  • Locations: Born and lived in Lahore.
  • Education: University of Cambridge.
  • Profession: Astrophysicist.
• Relationship to Subject 2: His extensive work on stellar collapse established the fundamental groundwork for Penrose’s black hole studies.
• Astronomy Contributions:
  • Studied the evolution of stars.
  • Discovered the Chandrasekhar limit.
• Namesake: The Chandra X-ray observatory (the most powerful X-ray telescope in the world).
• Notable Facts:
  • Awarded the Nobel prize in $1983$.
  • Served as a faculty member at the university of chicago for several decades.

6. Isaac Newton (Influenced Einstein)

• Biographical Overview:
  • Born: $January\,4,\,1643$.
  • Died: $March\,31,\,1727$.
  • Locations: Born and lived in Woolsthorpe.
  • Education: University of cambridge.
  • Profession: Physicist, mathematician, and astronomer.
• Relationship to Subject 3: Newton's theory of gravity served as the precursor that Albert Einstein expanded upon.
• Astronomy Contributions:
  • Formulated the Law of Universal Gravitation.
  • Developed the fundamental laws of motion.
• Namesake: The Newton telescope.
• Notable Facts:
  • Co-invented the mathematical field of calculus.
  • Held the position of master of the royal mint.

7. James Clerk Maxwell (Influenced Einstein)

• Biographical Overview:
  • Born: $June\,13,\,1831$.
  • Died: $November\,5,\,1879$.
  • Locations: Born and lived in Edinburgh.
  • Education: university of edinburgh and university of cambridge.
  • Profession: Physicist.
• Relationship to Subject 3: Einstein's relativity theory was constructed upon foundations established by Maxwell.
• Astronomy Contributions:
  • Established the electromagnetic theory.
  • Provided the foundation for modern astrophysics.
• Namesake: Maxwell’s equation.
• Notable Facts:
  • Historically predicted the existence of radio waves.
  • Successfully produced the world's first color photograph.

8. Arthur Eddington (Influenced Chandrasekhar)

• Biographical Overview:
  • Born: $December\,28,\,1882$.
  • Died: $November\,22,\,1944$.
  • Locations: Born in Kendal.
  • Education: university of manchester and university of cambridge.
  • Profession: Astronomer and Physicist.
• Relationship to Subject 5: Eddington debated with Chandrasekhar regarding his theories on collapsing stars, facilitating further investigation.
• Astronomy Contributions:
  • Confirmed Einstein’s theory of relativity through observation.
  • Directed the investigation of the $1919$ eclipse structure.
• Namesake: Eddington Luminosity.
• Notable Facts:
  • Integral in making Albert Einstein famous by empirically proving the theory of general relativity.
  • Recognized as one of the premier astronomers in Britain. Adn is known for profession of Astronomer and Physicist.

9. Johannes Kepler (Influenced Newton)

• Biographical Overview:
  • Born: $december\,27,\,1571$.
  • Died: $November\,15,\,1630$.
  • Locations: Born in Weil der Stadt.
  • Education: university of Tubingen.
  • Profession: Astronomer and mathematician.
• Relationship to Subject 6: Isaac Newton utilized Kepler's laws as the basis for developing his Law of Universal Gravitation.
• Astronomy Contributions:
  • Formulated the three laws of planetary motion.
  • Proved that planetary orbits are ellipses.
  • Significantly enhanced the contemporary understanding of the solar system.
• Namesake: The Kepler Space Telescope.
• Notable Facts:
  • Was a proponent of the heliocentric model of the solar system.
  • Authored one of the earliest examples of science fiction literature.

10. Galileo Galilei (Historical Predecessor)

• Biographical Overview:
  • Born: $february\,15,\,1564$.
  • Died: $january\,8,\,1642$.
  • Locations: Born in Pisa.
  • Education: university of Pisa.
  • Profession: Astronomer, physicist, and mathematician.
• Astronomy Contributions:
  • Made significant improvements to the design of the telescope.
  • Discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter.
  • Observed and recorded the phases of Venus.
• Namesake: The Galileo spacecraft (the first robotic probe to orbit Jupiter).
• Notable Facts:
  • Known as the "Father of modern science".
  • Arrested and placed under house arrest for his vocal support of heliocentrism.