Andrea M. Ghez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andrea M. Ghez
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Ghez in April 2019
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Andrea Mia Ghez
June 16, 1965 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | |
| Known for | Discovery of a supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center Adaptive optics |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellowship (2008) Crafoord Prize (2012) Nobel Prize in Physics (2020) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics |
| Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Thesis | The Multiplicity of T Tauri Stars in the Star Forming Regions Taurus-Auriga and Ophiuchus-Scorpius: A 2.2μm Speckle Imaging Survey (1993) |
| Doctoral advisor | Gerry Neugebauer |
Andrea Mia Ghez (born June 16, 1965) is an American astrophysicist. An astrophysicist is a scientist who studies space and the universe. She is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her main research is about the very center of our Milky Way galaxy.
In 2020, Andrea Ghez won the Nobel Prize in Physics. She shared half of the prize with Reinhard Genzel. The other half went to Roger Penrose. They won for finding a huge, super-heavy object at the center of the Milky Way. This object is now known to be a black hole. Andrea Ghez was the fourth woman ever to win the Nobel Prize in Physics.
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Early Life and Education
Andrea Ghez was born in New York City. When she was young, the Apollo program Moon landings inspired her. She wanted to be the first female astronaut. Her mother helped her by buying a telescope. Her high school chemistry teacher was also a big role model for her.
She first studied mathematics in college. Then she changed her major to physics. She earned her bachelor's degree in physics in 1987. This was from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Later, she earned her PhD from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1992.
Studying the Universe
Andrea Ghez uses special ways to take very clear pictures of space. She uses a system called adaptive optics at the Keck telescopes. This helps her study areas where stars are forming. She also studies the giant supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way. This black hole is called Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*).
She looks at how stars move near the center of the Milky Way. This helps her learn more about this special area. The Keck telescopes give much clearer views than earlier studies.
Andrea Ghez has been recognized for her work. She was chosen for the United States National Academy of Sciences. She has also appeared in many TV shows. These include documentaries on the BBC and Discovery Channel. Discover magazine named her one of 20 promising young American scientists.
Black Hole at the Galactic Center (Sgr A*)
Andrea Ghez and her team take pictures of the Galactic Center using infrared light. This special light can pass through the thick dust that blocks normal visible light. This lets them see the very center of the Milky Way.
They use the huge 10-meter W.M. Keck Telescope. They also use adaptive optics to fix blurry images caused by Earth's atmosphere. These clear images let them watch stars orbit around the black hole, Sgr A*.
They have seen parts of many star orbits. One star, called S2, has completed a full oval-shaped orbit. This has happened since they started watching closely in 1995. Studying these star movements can help test general relativity. This is a theory by Albert Einstein.
In 2012, her team found another star, S0-102, orbiting the Galactic Center. By watching how these stars move, Ghez's team figured out the mass of Sgr A*. They found it is about 4.1 million times heavier than our Sun. The Galactic Center is much closer than other places with supermassive black holes. This makes Sgr A* one of the best examples of a supermassive black hole.
In 2020, Andrea Ghez won the Nobel Prize in Physics. She shared it with Reinhard Genzel. They won for showing that a supermassive black hole controls the stars' orbits. This is at the very center of our Milky Way galaxy. She was the fourth woman to win this prize. The others were Marie Curie (1903), Maria Goeppert Mayer (1963), and Donna Strickland (2018).
Awards and Recognition
- Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy (1994)
- Packard Fellowship award (1996)
- Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy (1998)
- Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award (1999)
- Sackler Prize (2004)
- Marc Aaronson Memorial Lectureship (2007)
- MacArthur Fellowship (2008)
- Crafoord Prize in Astronomy (2012)
- Royal Society Bakerian Medal (2015)
- Honorary Doctorate of Science, University of Oxford (2019)
- Fellow of the American Physical Society (2019)
- Nobel Prize in Physics (2020)
Personal Life
Andrea Ghez has two sons. She also enjoys swimming and is part of the UCLA Masters Swim Club.
See Also
In Spanish: Andrea M. Ghez para niños
