Dorothea Klumpke facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dorothea Klumpke Roberts
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| Born | August 9, 1861 |
| Died | October 5, 1942 (aged 81) |
| Alma mater | Sorbonne University |
| Spouse(s) | Isaac Roberts |
| Awards | Officier d'Académie of the French Academy of Sciences; Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | astronomy |
| Institutions | Paris, France; Sussex, England |
| Thesis | L'étude des Anneaux de Saturne (1893) |
Dorothea Klumpke Roberts (born August 9, 1861, died October 5, 1942) was an American astronomer. She was born and passed away in San Francisco, California.
Dorothea became the Director of the Bureau of Measurements at the Paris Observatory. This was a very important job! She also received a high honor called the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in France.
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Her Early Life and Family
Dorothea's father, John Gerard Klumpke, came to California in 1850. He was part of the California Gold Rush and later became a successful real estate agent. He married Dorothea Mathilda Tolle, and they had seven children, five of them daughters.
In 1877, Dorothea moved to Paris, France. Her four sisters went to schools in Germany and Switzerland. All the Klumpke sisters became very successful in their chosen fields.
- Anna Elizabeth Klumpke was a painter.
- Julia Klumpke was a violinist and composer.
- Mathilda was a talented pianist.
- Augusta Déjerine-Klumpke became a famous neurologist (a doctor who studies the brain and nerves).
Studying Astronomy
Dorothea first studied music at the University of Paris. But she soon changed her focus to astronomy. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1886. Then, in 1893, she completed her PhD.
In 1887, Dorothea started working at the Paris Observatory. There, she worked with other famous astronomers. These included Guillaume Bigourdan and Lipót Schulhof. She also worked with Paul and Prosper Henry. They were pioneers in astrophotography, which is taking pictures of space.
Dorothea's work involved several tasks. She measured the positions of stars. She also processed (worked with) astrophotographs. She studied the light from stars, called stellar spectra. And she examined meteorites, which are rocks from space.
Important Work in Astronomy
In 1886, a scientist named Sir David Gill suggested creating a map of the entire sky. This idea was very popular. The Director of the Paris Observatory, Admiral Amédée Mouchez, strongly supported it. He suggested an international meeting in Paris to plan it.
This meeting led to the Carte du Ciel project. The goal was to photograph the entire sky. It would show stars that were very faint, even those 100 times fainter than what the human eye can see. The Paris Observatory was given a large part of the sky to photograph. They also planned to create a catalog of all stars up to a certain brightness.
Breaking Barriers
Dorothea faced tough competition for a job at the Paris Observatory. Fifty men were also trying to get the position. But despite being a woman, she got the job! She became the Director of the Bureau of Measurements. This was a huge achievement for a woman at that time.
In 1896, Dorothea traveled to Norway on a ship. She wanted to observe a solar eclipse of August 9, 1896. Unfortunately, clouds blocked the view, so she couldn't see it well. But something else important happened there. She met Dr. Isaac Roberts. He was a 67-year-old astronomer from Wales. He was a pioneer in astrophotography, just like her.
In 1899, astronomers expected a big meteor shower called the Leonids. The French chose Dorothea Klumpke to observe it from a balloon! However, the meteor shower turned out to be a disappointment.
Marriage and Legacy
Dorothea and Isaac Roberts married in 1901, five years after they met. Dorothea left her job at the Paris Observatory to help Isaac. He was working on a project to photograph 52 areas of space with nebulae (clouds of gas and dust).
Sadly, their marriage was short. Isaac passed away in 1904. Dorothea inherited all his astronomy equipment and a lot of money. She stayed in his home in Sussex, England. She finished photographing the 52 areas he had started.
After that, she moved to live with her mother and sister, Anna, in France. She brought all the photographic plates with her. Dorothea then returned to the Paris Observatory. She spent 25 years carefully studying Isaac's notes and the photographic plates. She published many papers about her findings.
In 1929, she published a huge catalog of their work. It was called "The Isaac Roberts Atlas of 52 Regions." For this important publication, she received the Hèléne- prize in 1932. This award came from the French Academy of Sciences.
Dorothea also made a generous donation to the Société astronomique de France (the French Astronomical Society). This was in honor of her late husband. This donation created the Prix Dorothea Klumpke-Isaac Roberts. This award encourages the study of nebulae and other cosmic clouds. It has been given out every two years since 1931.
Dorothea Klumpke passed away on October 5, 1942.
Honors and Achievements
Dorothea Klumpke received many honors during her life.
- In 1897, she was the first person to receive the "Prix de Dames" from the Société astronomique de France.
- In 1893, she was made an Officier d'Académe of the French Academy of Sciences. Until then, no woman had received these honors.
On December 14, 1893, she presented her doctoral thesis. It was titled "L'étude des Anneaux de Saturne" (The Study of Saturn's Rings). She read it to a large group of professors at the Sorbonne. She was awarded the degree of Docteur ès Sciences. She was the first woman ever to earn this degree from the Sorbonne! Her main subjects were mathematics and mathematical astronomy. The professors who examined her work praised her greatly.
On February 22, 1934, she received an even higher honor. She was elected a Chevalière de la Légion d'Honneur. The President of France himself presented her with the award.
Soon after, she and her sister Anna moved back to San Francisco. She spent the rest of her life there. Dorothea also gave money to several organizations. These included the Paris Observatory, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and the University of California. This money was to help young, aspiring astronomers.
Two asteroids were named in her honor: 339 Dorothea and 1040 Klumpkea. The Klumpke-Roberts Award from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is also named after her.
See also
In Spanish: Dorothea Klumpke para niños
