Charlotte Moore Sitterly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charlotte Moore Sitterly
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Charlotte Moore Sitterly, from a 1961 publication of the United States federal government
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| Born | September 24, 1898 |
| Died | March 3, 1990 (aged 91) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
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| Awards | Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy (1937) Federal Woman's Award (1961) Bruce Medal (1990) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | astronomy |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Atomic lines in the sun-spot spectrum (1931) |
| Influences | Henry Norris Russell Bancroft W. Sitterly |
| Influenced | William C. Martin |
Charlotte Emma Moore Sitterly (born September 24, 1898 – died March 3, 1990) was an American astronomer. She was famous for her detailed studies of the Sun and different chemical elements. Her tables of scientific data are very reliable. Scientists still use them regularly today.
Contents
Becoming a Scientist: Early Life and School
Charlotte Moore was born in a small village called Ercildoun, Pennsylvania. Her dad was a school superintendent, and her mom was a teacher. Her family were Quakers, and Charlotte was part of the Fallowfield Friends Meeting her whole life.
She went to Swarthmore College. There, she was very active in many groups. She played ice hockey, helped with student government, and sang in the glee club. She also tutored other students. To pay for college, Charlotte worked as a substitute teacher. But she didn't want to be a teacher forever. She found it "too wearing."
In 1920, Charlotte finished college with a degree in math. Then, she went to Princeton. She got a job there as a "human computer." This meant she did many calculations by hand.
Exploring the Stars: Charlotte's Career
Charlotte's math professor at Swarthmore suggested she work at the Princeton University Observatory. She started working for Professor Henry Norris Russell. Her job was to do calculations for studying the Moon's position using photos. At first, Charlotte felt unsure because she was new to this kind of work. But soon, she became very interested in astrophysics, which is the study of how stars and planets work.
Professor Russell and Charlotte studied binary stars (two stars orbiting each other) and the mass of stars. They published many papers together. Charlotte also worked to classify 2,500 stars based on their light patterns.
Even though she worked at Princeton for five years, she couldn't get a PhD there. At that time, Princeton did not allow women into its graduate programs. This rule stayed in place until 1961. Charlotte said she was "used to prejudice against women" at Princeton. But in 1926, Professor Russell published a paper with only her name on it, showing his respect for her work.
After Princeton, Charlotte took a break because she wasn't feeling well. She then moved to the Mount Wilson Observatory. There, she focused on studying the Sun's light, called spectroscopy. She looked at the different colors in the Sun's light to figure out what chemical elements were in the Sun. She also studied sunspots and found their temperature was about 4,700 degrees Kelvin.
In 1931, Charlotte earned her PhD in astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley. This university had different rules and accepted women for advanced degrees. After getting her PhD, she went back to Princeton. She continued to work with Professor Russell as a research assistant.
One of her biggest discoveries was finding the element technetium in sunlight. This was the first time technetium was found naturally. In 1945, she joined the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). Her tables of atomic spectra (light patterns of atoms) and energy levels became very important. Scientists used them for many years. At NBS, she also studied the Sun's infrared light and atomic energy levels.
From 1946, Charlotte could study ultraviolet light from space. This was possible thanks to Richard Tousey and measurements taken from V-2 rockets. Before this, Earth's atmosphere blocked much of the ultraviolet light. Charlotte worked with Tousey for decades. This led to her 1950 publication, "Ultraviolet Multiplet Table."
In 1949, she became the first woman to be an associate of the Royal Astronomical Society of Great Britain. This honor was for her work on light tables and identifying solar spots. Throughout her career, she wrote or co-wrote over 100 scientific papers. She also attended many international meetings. Charlotte retired from NBS in 1968 when she was 70. But she kept doing research at the Naval Research Laboratory. In 1988, the Journal of the Optical Society of America honored her with a special issue.
Photographs from the Utrecht astronomy symposium 1963
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From the left Albrecht Unsöld, Charlotte Moore Sitterly, Mr. Moore
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Charlotte Moore Sitterly and Marcel Minnaert
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Jan Hendrik Oort, Donald Menzel, Charlotte Moore Sitterly, Marcel Minnaert, Albrecht Unsöld
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Kees de Jager, Jean-Claude Pecker, Charlotte Moore Sitterly, Mr. Moore
Personal Life and Legacy
While working at Princeton in the 1920s, Charlotte met physicist Bancroft W. Sitterly. They married on May 30, 1937. She kept publishing her scientific papers under her maiden name, Moore. This was because most people knew her work by that name. She believed that traveling was very important for scientists. It helped them work together with other researchers. She enjoyed gardening, traveling, and music with her husband. He passed away in 1977. Charlotte continued her research until she died from heart failure at age 91.
Awards and Recognition
Awards
- Annie J. Cannon Award (1937)
- Fellow of the Optical Society (1959) - She was one of the first members, and one of only five women in a group of 115.
- Federal Woman's Award (1961)
- William F. Meggers Award of the Optical Society (1972)
- Bruce Medal (1990)
Service
- Vice President, American Astronomical Society
- Vice President, American Association for the Advancement of Science Section D
- President, Commission on Fundamental Spectroscopic Data, International Astronomical Union
Named After Her
- Asteroid 2110 Moore-Sitterly
Important Works
- A Multiplet Table of Astrophysical Interest, 1933
- The Solar Spectrum (with Harold D. Babcock), 1947
- The Masses of the Stars (with Henry Norris Russell), 1940
- Ultraviolet Multiplet Table, 1950
- Atomic Energy Levels as Derived from the Analyses of Optical Spectra, 1958
Images for kids
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Portrait of Charlotte Moore Sitterly
See also
In Spanish: Charlotte Moore Sitterly para niños
