Edward Charles Pickering
Edward Charles Pickering | |
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Born | |
Died | February 3, 1919 | (aged 72)
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Harvard |
Known for | spectroscopic binary stars |
Awards | Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1873) Henry Draper Medal (1888) Valz Prize (1888) Bruce Medal (1908) Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1886 and 1901) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomy |
Edward Charles Pickering ForMemRS HFRSE (July 19, 1846 – February 3, 1919) was an American astronomer and physicist[1] and the older brother of William Henry Pickering. Along with Carl Vogel, Pickering discovered the first spectroscopic binary stars. He wrote Elements of Physical Manipulations (2 vol., 1873–76).
Personal Life
Pickering was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 19, 1846 to a distinguished, cultivated family consisting of his brother, William Henry Pickering, father, Edward Pickering, and his mother, Charlotte Hammond.[2] Edward's brother, William, was a graduate of MIT and professor of photographic tetchiness of objects in motion and was able to assist his brother’s work of photographing astrological phenomena.[3] Edward was interested in the stars as a boy and constructed his own telescope with an age of 12.[4] Pickering enjoyed his work at the observatory, but he was also found of mountain climbing and bicycling in earlier days and later he was an interested spectator of football games. He was co-founder and first president of the Appalachian Mountain Club. He was also a lover of classic music. During the first world war he was busy trying to devise useful applications to win the war. The Pickering Polaris Attachment was a device for finding the range of guns.[5] In 1874, Pickering married Lizzie Wadsworth Sparks, whose father was formerly the President of Harvard.[2] Mrs. Pickering died in 1906, and Edward died in 1919.[2]
Education
He was educated at Boston Latin School, and then studied at the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard (Now known as the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences), where he received his Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in 1865.[2]
Career and Research
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Immediately upon graduating from Harvard he was hired as an instructor of mathematics there, and a year later he moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be an assistant professor of Physics.[2] Two years later, he was made Thayer Professor of Physics.[7] During the 10 years he was there, he created the first physics lab in America that was designed for students to publish their own findings and research.[8] Pickering named this lab the Rogers Laboratory of Physics and pronounced himself to be Director of the Laboratory.[2] Later, he served as director of Harvard College Observatory from 1877 to his death in 1919, where he made great leaps forward in the gathering of stellar spectra through the use of photography.
Shortly after the death of college doctor and amateur astronomer Henry Draper, an opportunity presented itself for Pickering. Draper death left the incompletion of his work studying astronomy using photography. Draper had no children to carry on and finish his legacy, so his wife, Mary Anna Draper, planned on finishing his work. Pickering wrote a letter to Mrs. Draper “…pray recollect that if I can in any way advise or aid you, I shall be doing but little to repay Dr. Draper for a friendship which I shall always value, but which can never be replaced.” Mrs. Draper urgently responded and soon dropped off her husband’s work to Pickering. Pickering concluded that Draper’s use of photography in astronomy was very promising opposed to the traditional method of observation and recording using one’s eye through instruments. In 1884, a paper on such observations was published with the author “the late Henry Draper." After receiving criticism from Dr. William Huggins, a friend of Dr. Draper, Pickering began to hire more assistants to strengthen Draper’s findings. This consequently also strengthened and contributed to Pickering’s Harem.[3]
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In 1882 he started his appeals for international variable star observations. This was met with opposition, but eventually such a cooperation was realized in the Variable Star Section of the British Astronomical Association and the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). Pickering had a good relationship with the AAVSO and received a gold paper knife with precious stones.[4]
In 1882, Pickering developed a method to photograph the spectra of multiple stars simultaneously by putting a large prism in front of the photographic plate.[9] Using this method, Pickering and his team captured images of over 220,000 stars.[7] This immense amount of photographic research has provided scientists for decades with a seemingly endless library containing the history of every visible star's movements.[2] It is said that this research weighs 120 tons due to the size of photographic plates.[2]
He also, along with Williamina Fleming and Annie Jump Cannon[10] designed a stellar classification system based on an alphabetic system for spectral classes that was first known as the Harvard Stellar Classification and became the basis for the Henry Draper Catalog.
In 1896, Pickering published observations of previously unknown lines in the spectra of the star ζ-Puppis.[11] These lines became known as the Pickering series[12] (or the Pickering–Fowler series[13]) and Pickering attributed them to hydrogen in 1897.[14][15] Alfred Fowler gave the same attribution to similar lines that he observed in a hydrogen-helium mixture in 1912.[16] Analysis by Niels Bohr included in his 'trilogy'[17][18] on atomic structure[19] argued that the spectral lines arose from ionised helium, He+, and not from hydrogen.[20] Fowler was initially-skeptical[21] but was ultimately convinced[22] that Bohr was correct,[17] and by 1915 "spectroscopists had transferred [the Pickering series] definitively [from hydrogen] to helium."[12][23] Bohr's theoretical work on the Pickering series had demonstrated the need for "a re-examination of problems that seemed already to have been solved within classical theories" and provided important confirmation for his atomic theory.[12]
Pickering is credited for making the Harvard College Observatory known and respected around the world, and it continues today to be a well-respected observatory and program.[24]
Pickering's Harem
Harvard observatory was becoming a premiere observatory in the world and with it came the demand for more assistants. These assistants were critical for taking notes, running calculations and performing analytics. College educated ladies from around the country offered to work for the Harvard Observatory unpaid to gain experience or until proving their value to be paid. Pickering’s treatment of women, during his time, was considered better than most. This aided to the observatory’s funding through fellowships and the procurement of women including alumnus and professors aiding in the creation of "Pickering's Harem". [3]
At Harvard, he recruited over 80 women to work for him, including Annie Jump Cannon, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Antonia Maury, and Florence Cushman. It was very unusual for such an accomplished scientist to work with this many women, but it has been said that "he became so exasperated with his male assistant's inefficiency, that even his maid could do a better job of copying and computing".[25] These women, the Harvard Computers (also described as "Pickering's Harem" by the scientific community at the time), made several important discoveries at HCO.[26] Leavitt's discovery of the period-luminosity relationship for Cepheids, published by Pickering,[27] would prove the foundation for the modern understanding of cosmological distances.
Death and Legacy
On February 3, 1919, Pickering unexpectedly died after a short illness.[28] He died while holding the position of director of the University Observatory continuing an odd 42 year tradition of HCO Directors dying in office.[29]
Although today his treatment of women is associated with a negative connotation, he paved the way for many more women to become interested and involved in astronomy. Pickering's work with using glass plates to photograph the sky was the start of major technological advances for astrological photography. Although glass plates are no longer used, his work led to modern uses of CCD’s and charged coupled devices in the 1970’s. [3]
Honors and awards
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His awards and honors include:
- Pickering was the youngest person to be elected a Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1873 when he was 26 years old.[31][32]
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1867)[33]
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1886 and 1901)
- Valz Prize of the French Academy of Sciences (1888)[34]
- Henry Draper Medal from the National Academy of Sciences (1888)[35]
- Bruce Medal (1908)
- Prix Jules Janssen, the highest award of the Société astronomique de France, the French astronomical society (1908)
- LL. D. (honorary degree) at six American universities and two doctor degrees at foreign universities[4]
- Rumford Medal[4]
- Pour le Merite[4][36]
The following are named in his honor:
- The crater, Pickering lunar crater
- The crater, Pickering martian crater
- Asteroid 784 Pickeringia
- Part of the Veil Nebula, Pickering's Triangle
Publications
- (1873–76) Elements of physical manipulation New York: Hurd & Houghton OCLC 16078533
- (1882) A plan for securing observations of the variable stars Cambridge: J. Wilson and Son OCLC 260332440
- (1886) An investigation in stellar photography Cambridge: J. Wilson and Son OCLC 15790725
- (1891) Preparation and discussion of the Draper catalogue Cambridge: J. Wilson and Son OCLC 3492105
- (1903) Plan for the endowment of astronomical research Cambridge: Astronomical observatory of Harvard College OCLC 30005226
- Pickering, EC (1912). "The Allegheny Observatory In Its Relation To Astronomy". Science. Vol. 36, no. 927 (published Oct 4, 1912). pp. 417–421. Bibcode:1912Sci....36..417P. doi:10.1126/science.36.927.417. PMID 17788756.
References
- ^ "PICKERING, Edward Charles". The International Who's Who in the World. 1912. p. 856.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Metcalf, Joel H. (1922). "Edward Charles Pickering (1846-1919)". Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 57 (18): 502–506. ISSN 0199-9818.
- ^ a b c d Sobel, Dava (2017). The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars. London: 4th Estate.
- ^ a b c d e Cannon, Annie J. (1919). "Edward Charles Pickering". Popular Astronomy. 27: 177. Bibcode:1919PA.....27..177C. ISSN 0197-7482.
- ^ Cannon, Annie J. (1919). "Edward Charles Pickering". Popular Astronomy. 27: 177. Bibcode:1919PA.....27..177C. ISSN 0197-7482.
- ^ Harvard. "Harvard Art Museums". www.harvardartmuseums.org. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
- ^ a b "Collection: Edward C. Pickering papers | MIT ArchivesSpace". archivesspace.mit.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- ^ Plotkin, Howard (1978). "Edward C. Pickering and the Endowment of Scientific Research in America, 1877-1918". Isis. 69 (1): 44–57. doi:10.1086/351932. ISSN 0021-1753. JSTOR 230607. S2CID 143532997.
- ^ Bunch, Bryan H. and Hellemans, Alexander (2004) The History of Science and Technology: A Browser's Guide to the Great Discoveries, Inventions, and the People Who Made Them, from the Dawn of Time to Today. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
- ^ "Annie Jump Cannon -". www.projectcontinua.org. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
- ^ Pickering, E. C. (1896). "Stars having peculiar spectra. New variable stars in Crux and Cygnus". Harvard College Observatory Circular. 12: 1–2. Bibcode:1896HarCi..12....1P. Also published as: Pickering, E. C.; Fleming, W. P. (1896). "Stars having peculiar spectra. New variable stars in Crux and Cygnus". Astrophysical Journal. 4: 369–370. Bibcode:1896ApJ.....4..369P. doi:10.1086/140291.
- ^ a b c Robotti, Nadia (1983). "The Spectrum of ζ Puppis and the Historical Evolution of Empirical Data". Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences. 14 (1): 123–145. doi:10.2307/27757527. JSTOR 27757527.
- ^ Lakatos, Imre (1980). "Bohr: A Research Programme Progressing on Inconsistent Foundations". In Worrall, John; Currie, Gregory (eds.). The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes. Cambridge University Press. pp. 55–68. ISBN 9780521280310.
- ^ Pickering, E. C. (1897). "Stars having peculiar spectra. New variable Stars in Crux and Cygnus". Astronomische Nachrichten. 142 (6): 87–90. Bibcode:1896AN....142...87P. doi:10.1002/asna.18971420605.
- ^ Pickering, E. C. (1897). "The spectrum of zeta Puppis". Astrophysical Journal. 5: 92–94. Bibcode:1897ApJ.....5...92P. doi:10.1086/140312.
- ^ Fowler, A. (1912). "Observations of the Principal and other Series of Lines in the Spectrum of Hydrogen". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 73 (2): 62–63. Bibcode:1912MNRAS..73...62F. doi:10.1093/mnras/73.2.62.
- ^ a b Hoyer, Ulrich (1981). "Constitution of Atoms and Molecules". In Hoyer, Ulrich (ed.). Niels Bohr – Collected Works: Volume 2 – Work on Atomic Physics (1912–1917). Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Company. pp. 103–316 (esp. pp. 116–122). ISBN 978-0720418002.
- ^ Kennedy, P. J. (1985). "A Short Biography". In French, A. P.; Kennedy, P. J. (eds.). Niels Bohr: A Centenary Volume. Harvard University Press. pp. 3–15. ISBN 978-0-674-62415-3.
- ^ Bohr, N. (1913). "On the constitution of atoms and molecules, part I" (PDF). Philosophical Magazine. 26 (151): 1–25. Bibcode:1913PMag...26....1B. doi:10.1080/14786441308634955.
Bohr, N. (1913). "On the constitution of atoms and molecules, part II: Systems Containing Only a Single Nucleus" (PDF). Philosophical Magazine. 26 (153): 476–502. Bibcode:1913PMag...26..476B. doi:10.1080/14786441308634993.
Bohr, N. (1913). "On the constitution of atoms and molecules, part III: Systems containing several nuclei". Philosophical Magazine. 26 (155): 857–875. Bibcode:1913PMag...26..857B. doi:10.1080/14786441308635031. - ^ Bohr, N. (1913). "The Spectra of Helium and Hydrogen". Nature. 92 (2295): 231–232. Bibcode:1913Natur..92..231B. doi:10.1038/092231d0. S2CID 11988018.
- ^ Fowler, A. (1913). "The Spectra of Helium and Hydrogen". Nature. 92 (2291): 95–96. Bibcode:1913Natur..92...95F. doi:10.1038/092095b0. S2CID 3972599.
- ^ Fowler, A. (1913). "Reply to: The Spectra of Helium and Hydrogen". Nature. 92 (2295): 232–233. Bibcode:1913Natur..92..232F. doi:10.1038/092232a0. S2CID 3981817.
- ^ Bohr, N. (1915). "The Spectra of Hydrogen and Helium". Nature. 95 (6–7): 6–7. Bibcode:1915Natur..95....6B. doi:10.1038/095006a0. S2CID 3947572.
- ^ Clark, David H. and Clark, Matthew D. H. (2004). Measuring the Cosmos: How Scientists Discovered the Dimensions of the Universe. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press.
- ^ Rossiter, Margaret W. (1980). ""Women's Work" in Science, 1880-1910". Isis. 71 (3): 381–398. doi:10.1086/352540. ISSN 0021-1753. JSTOR 230118. S2CID 143706974.
- ^ The 19th century women who catalogued the cosmos, Michelle Starr, Cnet News, March 7, 2016
- ^ Miss Leavitt in Pickering, Edward C. "Periods of 25 Variable Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud" Harvard College Observatory Circular 173 (1912) 1–3.
- ^ "Pickering, Edward Charles, (19 July 1846–3 Feb. 1919), Director of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College, since 1877", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 2007-12-01, retrieved 2020-11-06
- ^ Russell, H. N. (1919-02-14). "EDWARD CHARLES PICKERING". Science. 49 (1259): 151–155. doi:10.1126/science.49.1259.151. ISSN 0036-8075.
- ^ "APOD: 2015 September 17 - Pickering's Triangle in the Veil". apod.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
- ^ Anon (2019). "Membership FAQ". Nationalacademies.org. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Archived from the original on 2018-03-05.
- ^ Archibald, Raymond Clare (1936). "The Youngest Member Elected to the National Academy of Sciences". Science. 83 (2158): 436–437. doi:10.1126/science.83.2158.436-a. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17820127.
- ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter P" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
- ^ "Miscellaneous". Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, Part 1. Smithsonian Institution, Board of Regents. 1890. p. 192.
- ^ "Henry Draper Medal". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Edward Charles Pickering | ORDEN POUR LE MÉRITE". www.orden-pourlemerite.de (in German). Retrieved 2020-08-23.
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External links
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- Works by Edward Charles Pickering at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Edward Charles Pickering at the Internet Archive
- Works by Edward Charles Pickering at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Edward Charles Pickering — Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences
- Women Astronomers at Harvard at the Turn of the Century
- Obituaries
- 1846 births
- 1919 deaths
- Harvard University alumni
- Harvard University staff
- American astronomers
- American astrophysicists
- Boston Latin School alumni
- Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- Foreign Members of the Royal Society
- Recipients of the Bruce Medal
- People from Boston