Harlow shapley

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HARLOW SHAPLEY Born: 2-Nov-1885 Birthplace: Nashville, MO Died: 20-Oct-1972 Location of death: Boulder, CO Cause of death: Heart Failure By: April Fernandez

Transcript of Harlow shapley

Page 1: Harlow shapley

HARLOW SHAPLEYBorn: 2-Nov-1885

Birthplace: Nashville, MODied: 20-Oct-1972

Location of death: Boulder, COCause of death: Heart Failure

By: April Fernandez

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Shapley's’ Family:His Wife, One duaghter and four sons.

Wife: Martha Betz Shapley (astronomer, b. 1890, d. 1981)

Daughter: Mildred Shapley Matthews (author-astronomer)Son: Alan Shapley (geophysicist, b. 1919, d. 2006)Son: Lloyd Shapley (mathematician, b. 1923)Son: Willis Shapley (NASA official, b. 1917, d. 2005)Son: Carl Shapley (founded New World Educational Foundation)

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HARLOW SHAPLEY WAS BORN NOVEMBER 2 , 1885 , TO PARENTS, WILL IS AND SARAH

SHAPLEY ON A FARM IN NASHVILLE, MISSOURI .

D IED: OCTOBER 20 , 1972 (AGED 86)BOULDER , COLORADO

Discovered: Milky Way Galaxy exponentially larger than previously believed.

HE Focus on globular clusters: gigantic spheroidal agglomerations of stars that orbit the

Milky Way

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BE FOR E, THE M ILKY WAY WA S BELI EV ED TO HAV E A DIA ME TER O F 15 - 20 ,000 L IGHT YE A R S.

SHA PLEY D ETER M IN ED THAT I TS DI AM E TER WA S, IN FA CT, N E A R LY 300 ,000 L I GHT Y EA R S WITH THE SU N

LOCATE D N EA R THE EDGE.

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Finding the structure In 1918 Harlow Shapley estimated the distances to 93 globular clusters. He found a strong concentration of globular clusters in the direction of Sagittarius.

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“THE GREAT DEBATE”

DATE: APRIL 26TH, 1920

PLAYERS: HEBER D. CURTIS VS. HARLOW SHAPLEY

LOCATION: NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN WASHINGTON

CONTROVERSY: THE NATURE OF SPIRAL NEBULAE AND GALAXIES; THE S IZE OF THE UNIVERSE

SHAPLEY (LEFT) : ARGUED THAT THE SUN NOT AT CENTER OF GALAXY

GLOBULAR CLUSTERS AND SPIRAL NEBULAE ARE WITHIN THE MILKY WAY

CURTIS (RIGHT) : RATHER THAN: SUN NEAR THE CENTER OF OUR GALAXY

BELIEF IN ‘EXTERNA L UNIVERSES ’ OR THE ISLAND UNIVERSE HYPOTHESIS

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Shapley did not differentiate himself only in research. Soon the world and not only the astronomers, learned to know him as an outstanding lecturer and successful writer. In 1920 Shapley was offered directorship of the Harvard College Observatory, when the latter fell vacant on the death of E. C. Pickering (1846-1919). Shapley accepted; and this observatory was to remain his academic home for the rest of his life.

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WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING

FUNNY?

Shapley’s famed interest: myrmecology (otherwise known as

the study of ants)