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Fred Lawrence Whipple

February 16, 2024

Fred Lawrence Whipple (November 5, 1906 – August 30, 2004) was an American astronomer, who worked at the Harvard College Observatory for more than 70 years. Amongst his achievements were asteroid and comet discoveries, the "dirty snowball" hypothesis of comets, and the invention of the Whipple shield.

Fred Lawrence Whipple
Fred Lawrence Whipple at age 95 in 2001 or 2002
Born(1906-11-05)November 5, 1906
Red Oak, Iowa
DiedAugust 30, 2004(2004-08-30) (aged 97)
Cambridge, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Known forComposition of comets, Whipple shield
Awards President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service (1963)
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsHarvard College Observatory
Minor planets discovered: 1 [1]
1252 Celestia 19 February 1933 list

Life edit

 
Whipple in 1927

Whipple was born on November 5, 1906, in Red Oak, Iowa, as the son of a farmer. An early bout with polio ended his ambition of being a professional tennis player. Whipple studied at Occidental College in Southern California, then majored in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles, graduating in 1927. Recollecting his path from mathematics to astronomy, Whipple stated in a 1978 autobiography that his "mathematics major veered [him] through physics and finally focused on astronomy where time, space, mathematics, and physics had a common meeting ground."[2]

After taking a class in astronomy, he enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley where he obtained his PhD in Astronomy in 1931. While in graduate school, he helped map the orbit of the then newly discovered dwarf planet Pluto. He joined Harvard College Observatory in 1931 and studied the trajectories of meteors, confirming that they originated within the Solar System rather than from interstellar space. In 1933, he discovered the periodic comet 36P/Whipple and the asteroid 1252 Celestia. He also discovered or co-discovered five other non-periodic comets, the first of which was C/1932 P1 Peltier-Whipple, independently discovered by the famed amateur astronomer Leslie Peltier, while his last, and brighter, was C/1942 X1 (Whipple–Fedtke–Tevzadze).

During World War II, he invented a device for cutting tinfoil into chaff, a radar countermeasure. He was awarded a Certificate of Merit for this in 1948. He also invented a "meteoroid bumper" or "Whipple shield", which protects spacecraft from impact by small particles by breaking them up.

From 1950 until 1977 he was a professor of Astronomy at Harvard University, including being the Phillips Professor of Astronomy between 1968 and 1977. During these years (in the early 1950s), he wrote a series of influential papers entitled A Comet Model, published in Astrophysical Journal.[3][4][5] In these papers, he proposed the "icy conglomerate" hypothesis of comet composition (later called the "dirty snowball" hypothesis). The basic features of this hypothesis were later confirmed; however, the exact amount (and thus the importance) of ices in a comet is an active field of research, with most of the recently obtained data[6] pointing to a low contribution of ices to a comet's mass (dubbed the "icy dirtball" hypothesis). He also anticipated the era of artificial satellites and organized the members of Operation Moonwatch to track them. These groups were the only ones in the US prepared and ready to make observations when the Soviet Union unexpectedly launched Sputnik I in 1957. He became director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory when Loyal Blaine Aldrich retired in 1955,[7] and remained in this post until 1973.

Whipple made at least one media appearance, in the science documentary film Target...Earth? (1980). He also appeared in the BBC's coverage of the Giotto encounter with Halley's Comet, in 1986.

Whipple died in 2004, aged 97.

Honors edit

Awards

Honors edit

Named after him

References edit

  1. ^ "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  2. ^ Whipple, Fred L. (1978). "The Earth as part of the Universe". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 6 (1): 1–9. Bibcode:1978AREPS...6....1W. doi:10.1146/annurev.ea.06.050178.000245.
  3. ^ Whipple, Fred L. (1950). "A Comet Model. I. The acceleration of Comet Encke". Astrophysical Journal. 111: 375–394. Bibcode:1950ApJ...111..375W. doi:10.1086/145272.
  4. ^ Whipple, Fred L. (1951). "A Comet Model. II. Physical Relations for Comets and Meteors". Astrophysical Journal. 113: 464. Bibcode:1951ApJ...113..464W. doi:10.1086/145416.
  5. ^ Whipple, Fred L. (1955). "A Comet Model. III. The Zodiacal Light". Astrophysical Journal. 121: 750. Bibcode:1955ApJ...121..750W. doi:10.1086/146040.
  6. ^ Keller, Horst Uwe; Küppers, M; et al. (2005). "Deep Impact Observations by OSIRIS Onboard the Rosetta Spacecraft". Science. 310 (5746): 281–3. Bibcode:2005Sci...310..281K. doi:10.1126/science.1119020. hdl:11577/1420419. PMID 16150976. S2CID 28032857.
  7. ^ "SAO Directors: 1834 - Present". Harvard & Smithsonian. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
  8. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  9. ^ "Fred Lawrence Whipple". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  10. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  11. ^ "Fred L. Whipple". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  12. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1940) Whipple". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1940) Whipple. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 156. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1941. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.

Further reading edit

External links edit

  • Fred L. Whipple at Library of Congress, with 13 library catalog records
  • Bruce Medal entry with picture 2016-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  • Report of his death (BBC)
  • Astronomy.com obituary
  • F. L. Whipple Oral History Interview from the Smithsonian Institution Archives
  • George Field, "Fred Whipple", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2007)
  • Fred Lawrence Whipple Collection, The University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections

February 16, 2024
fred, lawrence, whipple, november, 1906, august, 2004, american, astronomer, worked, harvard, college, observatory, more, than, years, amongst, achievements, were, asteroid, comet, discoveries, dirty, snowball, hypothesis, comets, invention, whipple, shield, 2. Fred Lawrence Whipple November 5 1906 August 30 2004 was an American astronomer who worked at the Harvard College Observatory for more than 70 years Amongst his achievements were asteroid and comet discoveries the dirty snowball hypothesis of comets and the invention of the Whipple shield Fred Lawrence WhippleFred Lawrence Whipple at age 95 in 2001 or 2002Born 1906 11 05 November 5 1906Red Oak IowaDiedAugust 30 2004 2004 08 30 aged 97 Cambridge MassachusettsNationalityAmericanKnown forComposition of comets Whipple shieldAwardsPresident s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service 1963 Scientific careerFieldsAstronomyInstitutionsHarvard College ObservatoryMinor planets discovered 1 1 1252 Celestia 19 February 1933 list Contents 1 Life 2 Honors 2 1 Honors 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksLife edit nbsp Whipple in 1927Whipple was born on November 5 1906 in Red Oak Iowa as the son of a farmer An early bout with polio ended his ambition of being a professional tennis player Whipple studied at Occidental College in Southern California then majored in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles graduating in 1927 Recollecting his path from mathematics to astronomy Whipple stated in a 1978 autobiography that his mathematics major veered him through physics and finally focused on astronomy where time space mathematics and physics had a common meeting ground 2 After taking a class in astronomy he enrolled at the University of California Berkeley where he obtained his PhD in Astronomy in 1931 While in graduate school he helped map the orbit of the then newly discovered dwarf planet Pluto He joined Harvard College Observatory in 1931 and studied the trajectories of meteors confirming that they originated within the Solar System rather than from interstellar space In 1933 he discovered the periodic comet 36P Whipple and the asteroid 1252 Celestia He also discovered or co discovered five other non periodic comets the first of which was C 1932 P1 Peltier Whipple independently discovered by the famed amateur astronomer Leslie Peltier while his last and brighter was C 1942 X1 Whipple Fedtke Tevzadze During World War II he invented a device for cutting tinfoil into chaff a radar countermeasure He was awarded a Certificate of Merit for this in 1948 He also invented a meteoroid bumper or Whipple shield which protects spacecraft from impact by small particles by breaking them up From 1950 until 1977 he was a professor of Astronomy at Harvard University including being the Phillips Professor of Astronomy between 1968 and 1977 During these years in the early 1950s he wrote a series of influential papers entitled A Comet Model published in Astrophysical Journal 3 4 5 In these papers he proposed the icy conglomerate hypothesis of comet composition later called the dirty snowball hypothesis The basic features of this hypothesis were later confirmed however the exact amount and thus the importance of ices in a comet is an active field of research with most of the recently obtained data 6 pointing to a low contribution of ices to a comet s mass dubbed the icy dirtball hypothesis He also anticipated the era of artificial satellites and organized the members of Operation Moonwatch to track them These groups were the only ones in the US prepared and ready to make observations when the Soviet Union unexpectedly launched Sputnik I in 1957 He became director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory when Loyal Blaine Aldrich retired in 1955 7 and remained in this post until 1973 Whipple made at least one media appearance in the science documentary film Target Earth 1980 He also appeared in the BBC s coverage of the Giotto encounter with Halley s Comet in 1986 Whipple died in 2004 aged 97 Honors editAwards President s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service by US President John F Kennedy 1963 Leonard Medal of the Meteoritical Society 1970 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement 1981 8 Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society 1983 Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1986 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society 1987 Whipple Award of the American Geophysical Union 1990 Honors edit Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1941 9 Elected to the American Philosophical Society 1956 10 Elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences 1959 11 Named after him Main belt asteroid 1940 Whipple 12 Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins in Arizona Whipple shield Whipple House on Great Camanoe in the British Virgin Islands not to be confused with the John Whipple House in Ipswich Massachusetts References edit Minor Planet Discoverers by number Minor Planet Center 4 September 2016 Retrieved 25 September 2016 Whipple Fred L 1978 The Earth as part of the Universe Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 6 1 1 9 Bibcode 1978AREPS 6 1W doi 10 1146 annurev ea 06 050178 000245 Whipple Fred L 1950 A Comet Model I The acceleration of Comet Encke Astrophysical Journal 111 375 394 Bibcode 1950ApJ 111 375W doi 10 1086 145272 Whipple Fred L 1951 A Comet Model II Physical Relations for Comets and Meteors Astrophysical Journal 113 464 Bibcode 1951ApJ 113 464W doi 10 1086 145416 Whipple Fred L 1955 A Comet Model III The Zodiacal Light Astrophysical Journal 121 750 Bibcode 1955ApJ 121 750W doi 10 1086 146040 Keller Horst Uwe Kuppers M et al 2005 Deep Impact Observations by OSIRIS Onboard the Rosetta Spacecraft Science 310 5746 281 3 Bibcode 2005Sci 310 281K doi 10 1126 science 1119020 hdl 11577 1420419 PMID 16150976 S2CID 28032857 SAO Directors 1834 Present Harvard amp Smithsonian Retrieved 2016 08 14 Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement www achievement org American Academy of Achievement Fred Lawrence Whipple American Academy of Arts amp Sciences Retrieved 2023 01 11 APS Member History search amphilsoc org Retrieved 2023 01 11 Fred L Whipple www nasonline org Retrieved 2023 01 11 Schmadel Lutz D 2007 1940 Whipple Dictionary of Minor Planet Names 1940 Whipple Springer Berlin Heidelberg p 156 doi 10 1007 978 3 540 29925 7 1941 ISBN 978 3 540 00238 3 Further reading editBrownlee Don Hodge Paul 2005 Fred Lawrence Whipple Physics Today 58 3 86 87 Bibcode 2005PhT 58c 86B doi 10 1063 1 1897572 External links editFred L Whipple at Library of Congress with 13 library catalog records Bruce Medal entry with picture Archived 2016 10 12 at the Wayback Machine Dr Comet 2002 CNN article Report of his death BBC Astronomy com obituary Center for Astrophysics Harvard amp Smithsonian press release Londoner s WWII diary 6 Feb 1943 observing Whipple s comet F L Whipple Oral History Interview from the Smithsonian Institution Archives George Field Fred Whipple Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences 2007 Fred Lawrence Whipple Collection The University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fred Lawrence Whipple amp oldid 1188098991, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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