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Lyman Spitzer

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Lyman Spitzer

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Also known as Lyman Strong Spitzer, Jr.

American astronomer (1914–1997)

Person · Open Library

Born
1914
Works
13

Top works

  • The dissipation of planetary filaments
  • The stability of isolated clusters
  • The beginnings and future of space astronomy
  • Physical processes in the interstellar medium
  • Physics of fully ionized gases

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Group
Origin
France

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Key facts

Born
Lyman Spitzer Jr. , ( 1914-06-26 ) June 26, 1914, Toledo, Ohio , U.S.
Died
March 31, 1997 (1997-03-31) (aged 82) , Princeton, New Jersey , U.S.
Resting place
Princeton Cemetery
Alma mater
Princeton University (Ph.D.), Yale University (B.A.), Phillips Academy
Known for
Research in star formation and plasma physics , Promotion of space telescopes
Spouse
Doreen Canaday (m. 1940)
Awards
Henry Draper Medal (1974), James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics (1975) , National Medal of Science (1979), Crafoord Prize (1985)
Fields
Theoretical physics
Doctoral advisor
Henry Norris Russell
Doctoral students
John Richard Gott , Bruce Elmegreen , George B. Field , J. Beverley Oke , Trinh Xuan Thuan , J. Michael Shull

via Wikipedia infobox

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Lyman Spitzer Jr. (June 26, 1914 – March 31, 1997) was an American theoretical physicist, astronomer and mountaineer. As a scientist, he carried out research into star formation and plasma physics and in 1946 conceived the idea of telescopes operating in outer space. Spitzer invented the stellarator plasma device and is the namesake of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. As a mountaineer, he made the first ascent of Mount Thor, with Donald C. Morton.

Early life and education

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Lyman Spitzer” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.