George Herbig facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
George Herbig
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| Born | January 2, 1920 |
| Died | October 12, 2013 (aged 93) |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | UCLA University of California, Berkeley (PhD) |
| Known for | Herbig–Haro objects Herbig Ae/Be stars |
| Awards | Helen B. Warner Prize (1955) Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1975) Bruce Medal (1980) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Star formation, interstellar medium |
| Institutions | University of Hawaiʻi |
George Howard Herbig (born January 2, 1920 – died October 12, 2013) was an American astronomer. He worked at the University of Hawaiʻi's Institute for Astronomy. He is most famous for helping to discover Herbig–Haro objects.
Contents
Early Life and Education
George Herbig was born in 1920 in Wheeling, West Virginia. He loved learning about stars and space. He went to the University of California, Berkeley. In 1948, he earned his PhD degree there. His special project was about Variable Stars in Nebulosity. These are stars that change how bright they look.
Discoveries and Research
George Herbig was an expert on young stars. These are stars that are just starting to form. A group of these stars is even named after him: Herbig Ae/Be stars. He also studied the interstellar medium. This is the gas and dust found between stars.
His most famous discovery was the Herbig–Haro objects. He found these with another scientist named Guillermo Haro. These objects are bright patches of gas and dust. They glow because new stars are shooting out powerful jets of material. It's like a star being born with a cosmic firework show!
Herbig also did important work on something called diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). These are mysterious dark lines seen in the light from distant stars. He wrote many articles about them over many years.
Awards and Recognition
George Herbig received many awards for his amazing work. These honors show how important his discoveries were to astronomy.
Major Awards
- Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy (1955) from the American Astronomical Society.
- Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1975) from the American Astronomical Society.
- Bruce Medal (1980) from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
- Petrie Prize and Lectureship (1995) from the Canadian Astronomical Society.
Named After Him
Some things in space are named in honor of George Herbig. This is a special way to remember his contributions.
- Asteroid 11754 Herbig is a small rocky body in space.
- Herbig Ae/Be stars are a type of young, medium-sized star.
- Herbig–Haro objects are the glowing clouds of gas and dust he helped discover.
See also
In Spanish: George Herbig para niños
