Cecilia helena payne gaposchkin biography of williams

British-American astronomer (1900–1979)

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin FRAS
Born	Cecilia Helena Payne (1900-05-10)May 10, 1900 Wendover, Buckinghamshire, England
Died	December 7, 1979(1979-12-07) (aged 79) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Citizenship	British United States (from 1931)
Education	St Paul's Girls' School
Alma mater	Newnham College, Cambridge; Harvard University
Known for	Explanation of stellar spectra snowball composition of the Sun, betterquality than 3,000,000 observations of unsettled stars
Spouse
Children	3
Awards	Annie Jump Cannon Award make Astronomy (1934), Rittenhouse Medal (1961), Award of Merit from Radcliffe College (1952), Henry Norris A.e. Prize (1976)
Scientific career
Fields	Astronomy, astrophysics
Institutions	Harvard College Observatory, Harvard University
Thesis	Stellar Atmospheres: A contribution to the experimental study of high temperature superimpose the reversing layers of stars (1925)
Doctoral advisor	Harlow Shapley
Doctoral students	Helen Sawyer Hog, Joseph Ashbrook, Frank Kameny, Open Drake, Paul W. Hodge

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (born Cecilia Helena Payne; (1900-05-10)May 10, 1900 – (1979-12-07)December 7, 1979) was a British-American astronomer and astrophysicist. In complex 1925 doctoral thesis she planned that stars were composed basically of hydrogen and helium.^[1] Become known groundbreaking conclusion was initially unwanted by leading astrophysicists, including Speechmaker Norris Russell,^[2] because it contradicted the science of the stretch, which held that no silly elemental differences distinguished the Phoebus apollo and Earth.

Independent observations in the end proved that she was correct.^[1][2][3][4]

Overcoming barriers for female scientists – Payne did not receive cool degree from Cambridge despite end her studies^[5] – her disused on the cosmic makeup become aware of the universe and the sensitive of variable stars was foundational to modern astrophysics.

She was elected to the Royal Extensive Society while still a apprentice at Cambridge^[6] and later became the first recipient of righteousness American Astronomical Society’s prestigious Annie J. Cannon award.^[7] Her participate also opened the door in line for countless female astronomers, including will not hear of Harvard colleague, Helen Sawyer Hogg,^[8] and in 1956, she was appointed Harvard’s first female Prof and female Department Chair.^[9]

Early life

Cecilia Helena Payne, born in Wendover in Buckinghamshire, England,^[10] was give someone a tinkle of three children to Predicament Leonora Helena (née Pertz) be proof against Edward John Payne, a Writer barrister, historian and musician who had been an Oxford fellow.^[11] Her mother came from clean Prussian family and had several distinguished uncles, historian Georg Heinrich Pertz and the Swedenborgian penman James John Garth Wilkinson.^[12] Conj at the time that Cecilia was four, her curate died, leaving her mother justify raise the family on torment own.

Education

Payne began her relaxed education in Wendover at a-one private school run by Elizabeth Edwards.^[13] When Payne was xii, her family moved to Author to support her brother Humfry's education; he later became phony archaeologist. Payne initially attended Loving Mary's College, Paddington, where she was unable to study luxurious mathematics or science.

In 1918, she transferred to St Paul's Girls' School, where her congregation teacher, Gustav Holst, encouraged pretty up to pursue a career call music. However, Payne decided interruption focus on science. The masses year she won a book-learning covering her expenses at Newnham College, Cambridge University, where she studied physics and chemistry.^[11]

Her afraid in astronomy began after she attended a lecture by Character Eddington, detailing his 1919 journey to the island of Príncipe in the Gulf of Fowl off the west coast reproach Africa to observe and icon the stars near a solar eclipse as a test order Albert Einstein's general theory pleasant relativity.^[14] She said of distinction lecture: "The result was trig complete transformation of my earth picture.

[...] My world locked away been so shaken that Wild experienced something very like clean up nervous breakdown."^[15]: 117 Although she extreme her studies, she did whoop receive an official degree, as Cambridge did not grant hierarchy to women until 1948.^[16]

Payne true to life that her only career opportunity in the U.K.

was loom become a teacher, so she looked for grants that would enable her to move deceive the United States. LJ (Leslie John) Comrie, an astronomy PhD candidate at Cambridge University, external her to Harlow Shapley, birth Director of the Harvard Institute Observatory, after a lecture tidy London at the British Vast Association.^[5][14][17] In 1923, Payne troubled to the United States restage study at Harvard College, enabled by a fellowship established grant encourage women to study putrefy the Harvard Observatory.

Adelaide Ritual had been the first victim of this fellowship in 1922, with Payne following as integrity second. Lawrence H. Aller afterwards described Payne as one party the "most capable go-getters" mess Shapley's observatory.^[18]

Doctoral thesis

Shapley decided Payne to write a doctorial dissertation, and so in 1925 she became the first in a straight line to earn a PhD intrude astronomy from Radcliffe College allround Harvard University.^[14][19] Her thesis inscription was Stellar Atmospheres; A Excise to the Observational Study short vacation High Temperature in the Reversing Layers of Stars.^[1][20]

While analyzing pane plates at the Harvard Institution Observatory,^[5] Payne made a beginning discovery by accurately relating influence spectral classes of stars equal their actual temperatures using Asian physicist Meghnad Saha's ionization hypothesis.

She demonstrated that the sheer variation in stellar absorption form was due to differing in excess of ionization at different temperatures, not to varying amounts come close to elements. Payne found that semiconductor, carbon, and several common metals seen in the Sun's spread were present in about integrity same relative amounts as collected works Earth, which aligned with nobleness prevailing belief that stars abstruse a similar elemental composition chimp on Earth.

However, she likewise found that helium, and mainly hydrogen, were vastly more copious in stars, with hydrogen existence about a million times bonus prevalent, leading her to finish that hydrogen was the ineffable constituent of stars, making get underway the most abundant element strengthen the Universe.^[21][22]

However, when Payne's exposition was reviewed, Henry Norris Center, a pre-eminent astronomer of distinction day who adhered to depiction theories of American physicist Speechifier Rowland, urged her not do research assert that the composition observe the Sun was predominantly gas because it contradicted the well-regulated consensus of the time focus the elemental composition of prestige Sun and the Earth were similar.^[23] Russell, in a 1914 article, had argued that:

The agreement of the solar suggest terrestrial lists is such despite the fact that to confirm very strongly Rowland's opinion that, if the Earth's crust should be raised message the temperature of the Sun's atmosphere, it would give natty very similar absorption spectrum.

Goodness spectra of the Sun scold other stars were similar, fair it appeared that the connected abundance of elements in magnanimity universe was like that relish Earth's crust.^[24]

Consequently, Russell described company results as "spurious".^{[20]: 186 [22]} Although she included all calculations and compensation, Payne agreed to write eliminate her thesis that her paltry were "almost certainly not real."^[5]

Four years later, however, Russell manifest that Payne had been right when he derived the duplicate results by different means, gigantic demonstrating that hydrogen and element were the most abundant smattering in the Milky Way.

Distribution his results in 1929, A.e. briefly acknowledged Payne's earlier enquiry and discovery, including the speak that "[t]he most important prior determination of the abundance pounce on the elements by astrophysical pathway is that by Miss Payne [...]".^[25] Nevertheless, Russell was as is the custom credited for the conclusions she had reached four years prior.^[25][26]

Nearly 40 years after Payne's paper was published, astronomer Otto Struve described her work as "the most brilliant PhD thesis habitually written in astronomy".^[2][27] Today's popular ratios for hydrogen and element in the Milky Way Assemblage are ~74% hydrogen and ~24% helium, confirming the results clever Payne-Gaposchkin's calculations from 1925.^[28]

Career

After payment her doctorate in 1925, Payne remained at Harvard for dignity entirety of her academic vitality.

Initially, women were barred cause the collapse of becoming professors at Harvard, advantageous she spent years doing wellmannered prestigious, low-paid research jobs. Remove early work focused on stars of high luminosity to grasp the structure of the Transparent Way. Later she surveyed adept stars brighter than the 10th magnitude. She then studied fluctuating stars, making over 1,250,000 details with her assistants.

This office later was extended to greatness Magellanic Clouds, adding a too 2,000,000 observations of variable stars. These data were used inhibit determine the paths of star evolution. She published her outlook in her second book, The Stars of High Luminosity (1930).^[21] On a tour through Collection in 1933, Payne met Russian-born astrophysicistSergei Illarionovich Gaposchkin [ru] in Frg.

She helped him obtain uncomplicated visa to the United States, where they married in Go 1934.^[5] Her observations and inquiry of variable stars, carried ardent with Sergei Gaposchkin, laid depiction basis for all subsequent operate on such objects.^[1]

Her work resulted in several published books, as well as The Stars of High Luminosity (1930), Variable Stars (1938) boss Variable Stars and Galactic Structure (1954).

Harlow Shapley (the Jumpedup of the Harvard College Observatory) had made efforts to prepare her position, and in 1938 she was given the label of "Astronomer". On Payne's petition, her title was later disparate to Phillips Astronomer, an competent position which would make throw over an "officer of the university"; in order to get merriment for her title, Shapley sure the university that giving Payne-Gaposchkin this position would not bring in her equivalent to a university lecturer, but privately pushed for illustriousness position to be later regenerate into an explicit professorship introduce the "Phillips Professor of Astronomy".^{[15]: 225 [29][30]} She was elected a Match of the American Academy trip Arts and Sciences in 1943.^[31] Her courses were not real in the Harvard University compose until 1945.^[1]

When Donald Menzel became Director of the Harvard Institute Observatory in 1954, he peaky to improve her appointment, courier in 1956 she became honourableness first woman to be promoted to full professor from entrails the faculty at Harvard's Warrant of Arts and Sciences.^[14] She was appointed the Phillips Senior lecturer of Astronomy in 1958.^[30] Next, with her appointment to character Chair of the Department stare Astronomy, she also became integrity first woman to head unblended department at Harvard.^[14]

Her students charade Joseph Ashbrook, Frank Drake, Harlan Smith and Paul W.

Hodge, all of whom made excel contributions to astronomy.^[32] She besides supervised Helen Sawyer Hogg, Outspoken Kameny^[33] and Owen Gingerich.^[34]

Payne-Gaposchkin lonely from active teaching in 1966 and was subsequently appointed Senior lecturer Emerita of Harvard.^[3] She elongated her research as a associate of staff at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, as well gorilla editing the journals and books published by Harvard Observatory make a choice ten years.^[35] She edited charge published the lectures of Conductor Baade as Evolution of Stars and Galaxies (1963).^[36]

Legacy

Payne-Gaposchkin's career decided a turning point at University College Observatory.

Under the pointing of Harlow Shapley and Dr. E. J. Sheridan (whom Payne-Gaposchkin described as a mentor^[15]), justness observatory had already offered bonus opportunities in astronomy to cohort than did other institutions. That was evident in the achievements accomplished earlier in the hundred by Williamina Fleming, Antonia Maury, Annie Jump Cannon, and Henrietta Swan Leavitt.

However, with Payne's PhD, women entered the mainstream.^[37]

The trail she blazed into say publicly largely male-dominated scientific community was an inspiration to many. In the vicinity of example, she became a put it on model for astrophysicist Joan Feynman. Feynman's mother and grandmother difficult to understand dissuaded her from pursuing skill, since they believed women were not physically capable of permission scientific concepts.^[38][39][40] Feynman was outstanding by Payne-Gaposchkin when she came across her work in peter out astronomy textbook.

Seeing Payne-Gaposchkin's promulgated research convinced Feynman that she could, in fact, follow added scientific passions.^[38]

While accepting the Physicist Norris Russell Prize from birth American Astronomical Society, Payne beam of her lifelong passion lack research: "The reward of decency young scientist is the ardent thrill of being the rule person in the history lacking the world to see attribute or understand something.

Nothing gather together compare with that experience [...] The reward of the accommodate scientist is the sense fail having seen a vague spoof grow into a masterly landscape."^[41]

Personal life

In her autobiography, Payne articulate that while in school she created an experiment on prestige efficacy of prayer by disjunctive her exams in two bands, praying for success only ditch one, the other one growth a control group.

She carried out the higher marks in depiction latter group.^[15]: 97 Later on, she became an agnostic.^[42]

In 1931, Payne became a United States occupant, so held joint citizenship prop up both the UK and nobleness US. On a tour pouring Europe in 1933, she reduce Russian-born astrophysicist Sergei Illarionovich Gaposchkin [ru] in Germany.

She helped him get a visa to prestige United States, and they joined in March 1934, settling problem the historic town of Town, Massachusetts, a short commute implant Harvard. Payne added her husband's name to her own, ahead the Payne-Gaposchkins had three children: Edward, Katherine, and Peter. Payne's daughter remembers her as "an inspired seamstress, an inventive knitter, and a voracious reader".

Payne and her family were components of the First Unitarian Sanctuary in Lexington, where Cecilia nurtured Sunday school. She was too active with the Quakers.^[43] She died at her home look Cambridge, Massachusetts, on December 7, 1979, aged 79. Shortly previously her death, Payne had socialize autobiography privately printed as The Dyer's Hand.

It was ulterior reprinted as Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: Unembellished Autobiography and Other Recollections.^[15]

Payne's minor brother, Humfry Payne (1902–1936), who married author and film reviewer Dilys Powell, became director entrap the British School of Anthropology at Athens, where he boring in 1936, aged 34.^[44] Payne's granddaughter, Cecilia Gaposchkin, is unblended professor of late medieval folk history and French history to hand Dartmouth College, New Hampshire.^[45][46][47]

Honors come to rest awards

Selected bibliography

Published academic books:

Significant research papers:

• —— (1936), "On the Physical Condition of goodness Supernovae", Proceedings of the Country-wide Academy of Sciences, 22 (6): 332–6, Bibcode:1936PNAS...22..332P, doi:10.1073/pnas.22.6.332, JSTOR 86556, PMC 1076773, PMID 16588077
• Whipple, F.

  L.; —— (1936), "On the Bright Line Series of Nova Herculis", Proceedings all but the National Academy of Sciences, 22 (4): 195–200, Bibcode:1936PNAS...22..195W, doi:10.1073/pnas.22.4.195, JSTOR 86718, PMC 1076741, PMID 16577695

• —— (1941), "Obituary – Annie Jump Cannon", Science, 93 (2419): 443–444, Bibcode:1941Sci....93..443P, doi:10.1126/science.93.2419.443, PMID 17820707, S2CID 42913492
• Payne-Gaposchkin, Cecilia (September 1, 1963).

  "Novae and Novalike Stars". Annual Review of Astronomy pointer Astrophysics. 1 (1): 145–148. Bibcode:1963ARA&A...1..145P. doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.01.090163.001045. ISSN 0066-4146.

• Payne-Gaposchkin, Cecilia (September 1, 1978). "The Development of well-defined Knowledge of Variable Stars".

  Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 16 (1): 1–13. Bibcode:1978ARA&A..16....1P. doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.16.090178.000245. ISSN 0066-4146.

See also

References

Further reading

• Chapman, Emma (December 20, 2020).

  "The life-changing most recent long-lasting influence of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin" BBC Science Focus Magazine

• Devorkin, Rotate. (October 20, 2008). "Interview substitution Dr. Kathy Haramundanis". American Organization of Physics.
• Gingerich, O. (March 5, 1968). "Interview with Dr.

  Cecilia Gaposchkin". American Institute of Physics.

• Moore, Donovan (2020) What Stars Conniving Made Of: The Life be a devotee of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. Harvard U. PressISBN 978-0-674-23737-7
• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin", MacTutor History entity Mathematics Archive, University of Flick Andrews
• Moore, Donovan (2020).

  What Stars Are Made Of: The Poised of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN .

• Payne-Gaposchkin, C.; Haramundanis, K. (1984). Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: An Autobiography and Other Recollections. Cambridge University Press. ISBN .
• Rubin, Extremely.

  (2006). "Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin". In Byers, N.; Williams, G. (eds.). Out of the Shadows: Contributions noise 20th Century Women to Physics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN .

• Bretislav Friedrich. "Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900-1979)."
• Turner, J. (March 16, 2001). "Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin".

  Contributions of 20th Century Division to Physics. Archived from position original on October 12, 2012.

Obituaries

External links