Carole Jordan facts for kids

Dame Carole Jordan (born 19 July 1941) is a famous British scientist. She is a physicist, astrophysicist, and astronomer. She studies the stars and space.

Currently, she is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Oxford. This means she is a retired professor who still has a special title. She was the first woman to be President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1994 to 1996. In 2005, she won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. She was only the third woman to receive this important award.

Dame Carole Jordan was also one of the first female professors in Astronomy in Britain. In 2006, she was given the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. This was for her amazing work in physics and astronomy.

Becoming a Scientist

Carole Jordan went to Harrow County Grammar School for Girls. Then she studied at University College London. She earned her first degree in 1962 and her PhD in 1965. A PhD is a very high university degree.

Even before she finished her first degree, she wrote her first science paper. It was about how lunar craters look distorted. For her PhD, she studied under a scientist named C. W. Allen. Her research opened up new areas in atomic physics. She looked at how different elements like iron appear in the Sun's extreme ultraviolet light. She also studied early experiments on fusion energy.

Her first paper about the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona, was published in 1965. It was about how much silicon, iron, and nickel are in the Sun's corona.

Studying the Stars and Sun

Carole Jordan figured out how elements become charged particles, called ions. She combined this with observations from the Sun and other stars. Her work on the Skylab space station's ultraviolet images helped us understand certain types of ions better. This research was important for developing new technologies like X-ray lasers.

She also developed ways to measure the density and temperature of gases in space. When she combined these methods, she gained new insights into the outer layers of cool stars, young stars (called T Tauri Stars), and the Sun.

During a solar eclipse in 1970, she found new types of light emissions from the Sun. After a satellite called the International Ultraviolet Explorer was launched in 1978, she started looking at the outer layers of other stars. These layers are similar to the Sun's corona and chromosphere.

Her deep knowledge of the Sun helped her explore this new area of astrophysics. She identified many elements in the light from other stars. Since the 1980s, she has been a key part of many teams. These teams develop and use instruments to study ultraviolet and X-ray light from the Sun and stars.

Her Career Journey

Carole Jordan has held many important positions throughout her career:

• She was a research associate at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1966.
• From 1966 to 1969, she was an Assistant Lecturer at University College London. During this time, she continued her work on ions and light from the Sun. She also started to find ways to understand the structure of the Sun's transition region.
• She worked at the Astrophysics Research Unit at Culham Laboratory from 1969 to 1976. She moved up from post-doctoral research assistant to Principal Scientific Officer.
• In 1976, she became a Fellow at Somerville College, Oxford.
• At the University of Oxford, she became a reader in physics in 1994 and a professor of physics in 1996. She was also head of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics from 2003 to 2008. She became an emeritus professor in 2008.

She has written many scientific papers. These papers are about how hot gases in space behave and how energy moves in the outer layers of cool stars.

Her picture is displayed at the National Portrait Gallery, London. This shows how important her career achievements are.

Important Groups and Awards

Carole Jordan has been a part of many important scientific groups:

• She became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1966. She also served as its secretary, vice-president, and president.
• She became a member of the International Astronomical Union in 1967.
• She was an editor for The Observatory journal from 1968 to 1973.
• She became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 1973.
• In 1990, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very prestigious honor for scientists.
• She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Surrey in 1991.
• She was a member of the Science and Engineering Research Council from 1985 to 1990. She also chaired its Solar System Committee.
• She was a member of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council from 1994 to 1997.

Becoming a Dame

Carole Jordan was given the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) on June 17, 2006. This is a special honor given by the British monarch for great achievements.

See also

In Spanish: Carole Jordan para niños