Whipple, Fred Lawrence

Whipple, Fred Lawrence
▪ 2005

      American astronomer (b. Nov. 5, 1906, Red Oak, Iowa—d. Aug. 30, 2004, Cambridge, Mass.), was an expert on meteors, meteorites, and comets. In 1950 he hypothesized that a comet has a nucleus that is made up of a mixture of dust and frozen water, ammonia, methane, and carbon dioxide and that some of the frozen material is vaporized by solar energy as the comet passes through the inner solar system. This idea, which became known as the dirty-snowball theory, was confirmed in 1986 by close-up space-probe images of Halley's Comet and was an important contribution to the understanding of the solar system. In the 1950s, at the beginning of the space age, he helped develop a satellite-tracking network. Whipple received a Ph.D. (1931) in astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley. He joined (1931) the staff at Harvard College Observatory and was a professor (1950–77) of astronomy at Harvard University. He also served as director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, from 1955 until 1973, when he helped complete a merger between the two observatories. He received a gold medal (1983) from the Royal Astronomical Society. Whipple discovered six comets, all of which bear his name.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Whipple , Fred Lawrence — (1906–) American astronomer Born in Red Oak, Iowa, Whipple graduated from the University of California in Los Angeles in 1927 and obtained his PhD from Berkeley in 1931. He then moved to Harvard where he became professor of astronomy in 1945,… …   Scientists

  • Fred Lawrence Whipple — (* 5. November 1906 in Red Oak/Iowa; † 30. August 2004 in Cambridge/Massachusetts) war ein US amerikanischer Astronom. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Ehrungen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory — Entrance to the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory …   Wikipedia

  • Fred Lawrence Whipple — Infobox Scientist name = Fred Lawrence Whipple box width = image size =200px caption = Fred Lawrence Whipple aged 95 birth date = November 5, 1906 birth place = death date = August 30, 2004 death place = residence = |citizenship = nationality =… …   Wikipedia

  • Fred Lawrence Whipple — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Whipple. Astéroïde découvert : 1 (1252) Celestia 19 février 1933 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Fred-Lawrence-Whipple-Observatorium — Das Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatorium ist ein astronomisches Observatorium im Besitz des Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; es ist seine größte Außenstelle und liegt in der Nähe von Amado (Arizona) auf den Hügeln des Mount Hopkins. Es wurde …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fred Lawrence Whipple — Whipple en 1927. Fred Whipple (5 de noviembre de 1906 30 de agosto de 2004), astrónomo estadounidense que propuso el modelo de la “bola de nieve sucia” para los cometas, y cuya contribución al conocimiento de los cuerpos menores del Sistema Solar …   Wikipedia Español

  • Fred Whipple — Fred Lawrence Whipple (* 5. November 1906 in Red Oak/Iowa; † 30. August 2004 in Cambridge/Massachusetts) war ein US amerikanischer Astronom …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Observatoire Fred Lawrence Whipple — Caractéristiques Organisation Smithsonian Institution Lieu Amado, Nevada Création 1968 Télescopes MMT 6,5 m Tillinghast 1,5 m PAIR …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Fred L. Whipple — Fred Lawrence Whipple Pour les articles homonymes, voir Whipple. Astéroïde découvert : 1 (1252) Celestia 19 février 1933 Fred Lawrence Whipple (5 novembre 1906 – 30 août 2004) était un astronome américain. Il est surtout connu pour avoir… …   Wikipédia en Français

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