Astronomers famous scientists biography
List of astronomers
Aaronson was one of the first astronomers to attempt to image dark matter using infrared imaging. He imaged infrared halos of unknown matter around galaxies that could be dark matter.
Carl Sagan
American scientist and science communicator (1934–1996)
For other uses, see Carl Sagan (disambiguation).
Carl Sagan | |
|---|---|
Sagan in 1980 | |
| Born | Carl Edward Sagan (1934-11-09)November 9, 1934 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 20, 1996(1996-12-20) (aged 62) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Resting place | Lake View Cemetery |
| Education | University of Chicago (BA, BS, MS, PhD) |
| Known for | |
| Spouses | Lynn Margulis (m. 1957; div. 1965)Linda Salzman (m. 1968; div. 1981)Ann Druyan (m. 1981) |
| Children | 5, including Dorion, Nick, and Sasha |
| Awards | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Physical studies of planets (1960) |
| Doctoral advisor | Gerard Kuiper |
| Doctoral students | |
Carl Edward Sagan (; SAY-gən; November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by exposure to light. He assembled the first physical messages sent into space, the Pioneer plaque and the Voyager Golden Record, which were universal messages that could potentially be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that might find them. He argued in favor of the hypothesis, which has since been accepted, that the high surface temperatures of Venus are the result of the greenhouse effect.
Initially an assistant professor at Harvard, Sagan later moved to Cornell University, where he spent most of his career. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books. He wrote many popular science books, such as The Dragons Who are the greatest and most famous astronomers of all time? The history of astronomy is the story of how humanity has uncovered the secrets of the cosmos, from early astronomers defining the mechanics of the Solar System and how the night sky changes over time, to astrophysicists studying the chemistry of stars, the expansion of the Universe and the warping of spacetime. Of course, no single astronomer can strictly be deemed 'the greatest'. Astronomy - like all science - is an accumulative and collaborative effort, each new generation building upon the successes - and mistakes - of the past. Here we've listed some of the most famous astronomers in history: those men and women who revolutionised our view of the night sky, and helped us understand a little better our own place in the vast cosmos. Hipparchus was a Greek mathematician and astronomer. None of his works has survived, but we know of them through Ptolemy, last of the ancient Greek astronomers, who made a star catalogue in 140 AD. After seeing a nova in 134 BC, Hipparchus catalogued the positions of 850 stars in case another popped into view. By comparing his values with some made 150 years earlier, he discovered the precession of the equinoxes. He also founded the stellar magnitude system we use today. Ptolemy of Alexandria, arguably the greatest astronomer of antiquity, wrote a sweeping synthesis of the astronomical philosophy of the ancient Greeks. His great book, the Almagest, is a work of awesome complexity in which he represents planetary motion through interlocking circular orbits, with Earth at the centre of the Solar System. This work was the standard textbook on planetary motion until the 16th century, when Copernicus introduced the heliocentric model. A gifted and greatly respected teacher, Throughout human history, astronomers have helped people understand what they see in the night sky. These famous astronomers — many of them great scientists who mastered many fields — explained space phenomena with varying degrees of accuracy. Over the centuries, a geocentric view of the universe — with Earth at the center of everything — gave way to the proper understanding we have today of an expanding universe in which our galaxy is but one of billions. On this list are some of the most famous scientists from the early days of astronomy through the modern era, and a summary of some of their achievements. When most people believed the world was flat, the notable Greek mathematician, astronomer and geographer Eratosthenes (276–195 B.C.) used the sun to measure the size of the round Earth, according to NASA. His measurement of 24,660 miles (39,690 kilometers) was only 211 miles (340 km) off the true measurement. In ancient Greece, astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy (A.D. 90–168) set up a model of the solar system in which the sun, stars, and other planets revolved around Earth. Known as the Ptolemaic system, it remained in place for hundreds of years, though it turned out to be flat wrong. According to NASA, "Ptolemy represents the epitome of knowledge of Grecian astronomy." As a mathematician, geographer and astronomer, he authored several scientific texts which had considerable impact on Western intellectual thought.50 of the greatest, most famous astronomers of all time
50 famous astronomers you need to know
Hipparchus (circa 190–120 BC)
Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century AD)
Hypatia (c350-415)
Famous astronomers: How these scientists shaped astronomy
Eratosthenes of Cyrene
Claudius Ptolemy
In the 2nd century, Ptolemy published the Almagest, a comprehensive treatise on the movements of the stars and planets. It expanded Hipparchus’ geometric model of celestial motions, utilizing epicycles and eccentric circles in a geocentric theory which placed the Earth at the center of the solar system. This Ptolemaic system presented tables of information allowin