Carlyle Smith Beals facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carlyle Smith Beals
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1960
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| Born | June 29, 1899 Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada
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| Died | July 2, 1979 (aged 80) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Education | Acadia University (BA) University of Toronto (MA) Imperial College London (PhD) |
| Known for | Research on Wolf-Rayet and P Cygni stars, the Interstellar Medium and meteorite impact craters. Assistant Director of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Dominion Astronomer at the Dominion Observatory. |
| Awards | Henry Marshall Tory Medal (1957), Leonard Medal, Order of Canada, Fellow of the Royal Society |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Doctoral advisor | Alfred Fowler |
Carlyle Smith Beals (born June 29, 1899, died July 2, 1979) was a famous Canadian astronomer. He was known for his important studies of stars and the gas and dust found between them in space. He also researched meteorite impact craters on Earth.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Carl Beals was born in Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada, on June 29, 1899. His parents were Reverend Francis H. P. Beals and Annie Florence Nightingale Smith. He also had a sister, Helen D. Beals, who was an artist.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Acadia University in 1919. He studied physics and mathematics. Carl wanted to keep learning, but he had to wait because he wasn't feeling well. In 1920, he taught at a small country school in Nova Scotia.
In 1921, he started his PhD studies in physics at Yale University. But he had to go home again because of his health. He went back to school in 1922 at the University of Toronto. There, he earned a master's degree in Physics in 1923. For his master's project, he studied triboluminescence spectra. This is the light made when chemical bonds break. He worked with John Cunningham McLennan, a top physicist in Canada.
After that, Beals taught science at the High School of Quebec for a year. Then, in 1924, he joined a physics program at the Royal College of Science in Imperial College London. He worked with Alfred Fowler and studied the Zeeman effect. This effect shows how light changes in a magnetic field. He also looked at the light from elements like palladium, copper, and silver. During this time, he started learning about observing the sky using a small observatory. He finished his PhD in 1926.
Career as an Astronomer
After getting his PhD, Carl Beals went back to Acadia University. He worked there as an assistant professor of physics. But a year later, he moved to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) in Victoria, British Columbia. He started as an Assistant Astronomer in 1927.
Beals worked at the DAO from 1927 to 1946. In 1940, he became the Assistant Director of the observatory. At the DAO, he studied the light from hot stars and gas clouds in the interstellar medium. This is the gas and dust found between stars. His work helped scientists figure out how hot different stars are based on their light.
He showed that the wide, bright lines of light from Wolf-Rayet and P Cygni-type stars were caused by strong winds coming from the stars. Beals was the first astronomer to measure the amounts of sodium and calcium in the interstellar medium. He also found that the interstellar medium was not smooth. Instead, it was clumpy and moved at different speeds.
While at the DAO, he also invented new tools for studying starlight. These included a special machine to measure light and a high-efficiency spectrograph. A spectrograph helps break down light into its different colors.
During World War II, Beals spent two years doing research for the war effort. He worked on ways to defend against chemical weapons and designed gas masks.
In 1946, he left the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. He started working at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa, Ontario. A year later, he became the Dominion Astronomer. He worked to rebuild the observatory's science programs. These programs had faced problems due to money cuts and a lack of staff during the war. He also helped set up the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in Penticton, British Columbia.
While in Ottawa, he became interested in studying Earth's geology. He started looking for meteorite impact craters in the Canadian Shield. He searched for round shapes in aerial photos. He also organized studies of rock samples from promising areas.
He retired in 1964. But he kept working on impact craters and published more research even after retiring.
Awards and Recognition
Beals was chosen as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1933. He was president of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada from 1949 to 1950. In 1957, he received the Henry Marshall Tory Medal for his amazing scientific research.
He was also president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada from 1951 to 1952. From 1962 to 1964, he was president of the American Astronomical Society. He was the only Canadian to hold this position.
In March 1951, Beals became a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. In 1966, he received the first Leonard Medal from the Meteoritical Society. This award was for his work finding Canadian impact craters. In 1969, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He also received special honorary degrees from several universities. These included Acadia University, the University of New Brunswick, Queen's University, and the University of Pittsburgh.
An asteroid called 3314 Beals and a crater on the Moon named Beals are both named after him.
Personal Life
In 1931, Carl Beals married Miriam White Bancroft. She was a professional musician and piano teacher. Her father was Joseph Bancroft, a politician. Carl and Miriam adopted a daughter named Janitza.
Carlyle Beals passed away on July 2, 1979, at the age of 80.
Images for kids
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An aerial photo of the Pingualuit (New Quebec) Crater. Carlyle Beals used photos like this in his research on Canadian impact craters.
