Donald Figer

Donald Figer is an American astronomer. He works at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he is a Professor,^[1] Director of the Future Photon Initiative and the Center for Detectors.^[2] He claims that 150 solar masses is the upper limit for stars. By using the Hubble Space Telescope, he observed approximately one thousand stars in a young star cluster, the Arches Cluster, which is near the center of the Milky Way. None of the stars surpassed this limit.^[3]

While at UCLA, he also identified the Pistol Star as one of the most massive in the Universe.^[4]

Education

Degree(s): PhD in Astronomy, 1995, UCLA; M.S. in Astronomy, 1992, U. Chicago;

B.A. in Physics, Math, Astronomy, 1989, Northwestern U.

^ FigerSite
^ http://ridl.cfd.rit.edu
^ An Upper Limit to the Masses of Stars. Figer, D. F. 2005, Nature, Vol. 34, No. 7030, 192
^ The Pistol Star. Figer, D.F., Najarro, F., Morris, M.,McLean, I. S., Geballe, T. R., Ghez, A. M., & Langer, N. 1998, ApJ, 506, 384

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