Forest Ray Moulton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Forest Ray Moulton
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1947 at the AAAS
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| Born | April 29, 1872 |
| Died | December 7, 1952 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Doctoral students | Walter Bartky Edwin Hubble W. D. MacMillan |
Forest Ray Moulton (April 29, 1872 – December 7, 1952) was an American astronomer. He was famous for his ideas about how planets form. He also did important work on how objects move in space and helped with calculations during World War I.
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About Forest Ray Moulton
Forest Ray Moulton was born in Le Roy, Michigan. He went to Albion College and earned his first degree in 1894. Later, he studied at the University of Chicago. He received his Ph.D. in 1899.
Moulton's Career in Astronomy
After getting his Ph.D., Moulton became a professor at the University of Chicago. He worked there for many years. He started as an associate in astronomy in 1898 and became a full professor after 1912.
How Planets Form: The Planetesimal Hypothesis
Moulton is well-known for an idea he developed with Thomas Chamberlin. It was called the Chamberlin–Moulton planetesimal hypothesis. They suggested that planets formed from many small pieces of rock and dust. They called these small pieces "planetesimals."
Their idea was that a star passed very close to our Sun. This close pass pulled material away from the Sun. These materials then cooled and clumped together to form planetesimals. Over time, these planetesimals crashed into each other and grew into planets. While the idea of a passing star is not widely accepted today, the concept of planetesimals is still important.
Jupiter's Moons: Captured Objects
In the early 1900s, astronomers found more small moons orbiting Jupiter. Dr. Moulton had an idea about these new moons. He suggested they were actually planetesimals that Jupiter's gravity had "captured." This means Jupiter's strong pull trapped them in orbit. This idea is now widely accepted by astronomers.
Things Named After Him
Forest Ray Moulton's work was very important. Because of his contributions, several things are named in his honor:
- A crater on the Moon, called Moulton.
- Special math methods for solving equations, known as the Adams–Moulton methods.
- A concept in geometry, called the Moulton plane.
Moulton's Other Work
Moulton was also a critic of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. During World War I, he was in charge of ballistics. This means he worked on the science of how projectiles, like bullets or shells, fly through the air. He helped develop new ways to calculate their paths.
His work on ballistics led to a popular method of numerical integration. This is a math technique that helps solve complex problems. He also wrote many books, including a famous one on how objects move in space, called Periodic Orbits.
Moulton's Published Books
Forest Ray Moulton wrote many books on astronomy and mathematics. He also helped edit many scientific papers. Here are some of his important books:
- An Introduction to Celestial Mechanics (1902)
- An Introduction to Astronomy (1906)
- Descriptive Astronomy (1912)
- Periodic Orbits (1920)
- New Methods in Exterior Ballistics (1926)
- Differential Equations (1930)
- Astronomy (1931)
- Consider the Heavens (1935)
See also
In Spanish: Forest Ray Moulton para niños
