George Ellery Hale

For other uses, see George Hale (baseball).

George Ellery Hale
Born	(1868-06-29)June 29, 1868 Chicago, Illinois
Died	February 21, 1938(1938-02-21) (aged 69) Pasadena
Nationality	American
Fields	Astronomy
Known for	spectroheliograph
Notable awards	Henry Draper Medal (1904) Bruce Medal (1916) Copley Medal (1932)
Spouse	Evelina Conklin Hale

George Ellery Hale (June 29, 1868 – February 21, 1938) was an American solar astronomer.

Hale was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was educated at MIT, at the Observatory of Harvard College, (1889–90), and at Berlin (1893–94). As an undergraduate at MIT, he is known for inventing the spectrohelioscope, with which he made his discovery of solar vortices. In 1908, he used the Zeeman effect with a modified spectrohelioscope to establish that sunspots were magnetic. Subsequent work demonstrated a strong tendency for east-west alignment of magnetic polarities in sunspots, with mirror symmetry across the solar equator; and that the polarity in each hemisphere switched orientation from one sunspot cycle to the next. This systematic property of sunspot magnetic fields is now commonly referred to as the "Hale-Nicholson law," or in many cases simply "Hale's law."

In 1890, he was appointed director of the Kenwood Astrophysical Observatory; he was professor of Astrophysics at Beloit College (1891–93); associate professor at the University of Chicago until 1897, and full professor (1897–1905). He was coeditor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 1892–95, and after 1895 editor of the Astrophysical Journal. He also served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public, from 1921-1923.

Hale was a driven individual, who worked to found a number of significant astronomical observatories, including Yerkes Observatory, Mount Wilson Observatory, Palomar Observatory, and the Hale Solar Laboratory. At Mount Wilson, he hired and encouraged Harlow Shapley and Edwin Hubble toward some of the most significant discoveries of the time. He was a prolific organizer who helped create a number of astronomical institutions, societies and journals. Hale also played a central role in developing the California Institute of Technology into a leading research university. After retiring as director at Mount Wilson, he built the Hale Solar Laboratory in Pasadena, California, as his office and workshop, pursuing his interest in the sun.

Hale suffered from neurological and psychological problems, including insomnia, frequent headaches, and schizophrenia, claiming to have regular visits from an elf who acted as his advisor. He used to take time off to spend a few months at a sanatorium in Maine. These problems forced him to resign as director of Mount Wilson.

Honors

Awards

• The 1894 Janssen Medal from the Paris Academy of Sciences.
• The 1902 Rumford Prize from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
• The 1904 Henry Draper Medal from the National Academy of Sciences.
• The 1904 Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society.
• The 1916 Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
• The 1917 Prix Jules Janssen from the French Astronomical Society
• In 1919 he was elected an associate of Academie des Sciences, Institut de France.
• The 1920 Galileo Medal from the University of Florence.
• The 1921 Actonian Prize from Royal Institution of London.
• The 1926 Elliott Cresson Medal in Physics from the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia.
• The 1926 Arthur Noble Medal from the City of Pasadena.
• The 1927 Franklin Medal from the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia.
• The 1932 Sir Godfrey Copley Medal from the Royal Society of Great Britain.
• The 1935 Frederic Ives Medal from the Optical Society of America.
• Foreign Member of the Royal Society

Legacy

A bust of George Ellery Hale at Palomar Observatory

• Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory.
• 22-year solar Hale cycle.
• Asteroid 1024 Hale.
• Hale (lunar crater).
• Hale (Martian crater).
• George Ellery Hale Middle School, Woodland Hills, CA
• Hale House, Shoreland Hall, University of Chicago
• Hale Building, Pasadena, California
• George Ellery Hale Prize, awarded by the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society

Popular Culture

Fox Mulder uses the pseudonym "George E. Hale" on several occasions in the TV Series The X-Files, most notable in Season 2, Episode 1 "Little Green Men", and Season 2 Episode 4 "Sleepless".

External links

• Bruce Medal page
• Awarding of the Bruce Medal: PASP 28 (1916) 12
• Awarding of the RAS gold medal: MNRAS 64 (1904) 388
• The New Heavens, 1922, by George Hale, from Project Gutenberg
• Franklin Institute The Case Files: George Ellery Hale
• Caltech archive search
• "The Journey to Palomar" (2008) Comprehensive PBS documentary on Hale's personal and career challenges (written, produced and directed by Todd and Robin Mason of Mason Productions, Inc.)
• National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir

Obituaries

• ApJ 87 (1938) 369
• JRASC 32 (1938) 192
• MNRAS 99 (1939) 322
• PASP 50 (1938) 156