Martin Schwarzschild facts for kids

Martin Schwarzschild (born May 31, 1912 – died April 10, 1997) was a famous German-American astrophysicist. He studied how stars are built and how they change over time.

Who Was Martin Schwarzschild?

Martin Schwarzschild was born in Potsdam, Germany. His father, Karl Schwarzschild, was also a well-known physicist. In 1916, his family moved to Göttingen.

Martin studied at the University of Göttingen. He earned his doctorate degree in 1936. After that, he left Germany and moved to the United States.

Serving His Country

During World War II, Schwarzschild served in the US Army intelligence. He was recognized for his service with the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star medals.

After the war, he married Barbara Cherry, who was also an astronomer. In 1947, he joined his friend Lyman Spitzer at Princeton University. He spent most of his career there.

What Did He Study?

Martin Schwarzschild was a pioneer in understanding how stars are made and how they change. This field is called stellar structure and stellar evolution.

Understanding Stars

His work helped scientists learn more about many things, including:

• Pulsating stars: Stars that grow bigger and smaller.
• Solar rotation: How the Sun spins differently at its equator than at its poles.
• Red giants: How stars become huge, bright red giant stars.
• Star clusters: How to figure out the age of groups of stars.

He also worked with Fred Hoyle to create some of the first computer models of stars. These models showed how stars become red giants by burning hydrogen around their core.

Using Computers for Stars

In 1958, Schwarzschild wrote an important book called Structure and Evolution of the Stars. This book taught many future astrophysicists how to use early computers to study stars. It was a big step forward for astronomy!

Exploring Space with Balloons

In the 1950s and 1960s, Schwarzschild led the Stratoscope projects. These projects used special balloons to carry telescopes high into Earth's atmosphere. This allowed them to get clearer images of space.

Stratoscope Discoveries

The first Stratoscope balloon took amazing, detailed pictures of the Sun. It showed tiny bright spots called solar granules and dark sunspots. These pictures proved that hot gas was bubbling up from inside the Sun, like boiling water.

The second Stratoscope balloon collected infrared light from planets, red giant stars, and the centers of galaxies. This helped scientists understand what these objects were made of.

Studying Galaxies

Later in his career, in the 1980s, Schwarzschild used his computer skills to create models of galaxies. He focused on triaxial galaxies, which are shaped like a football. This helped scientists understand how these galaxies move and change.

Awards and Honors

Martin Schwarzschild received many important awards for his contributions to science.

Major Awards

• Karl Schwarzschild Medal (1959)
• Henry Draper Medal (1960)
• Bruce Medal (1965)
• Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1969)
• Balzan Prize (1994)
• National Medal of Science (1997)

Memberships

He was also a member of several important scientific groups, including:

• American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1954)
• United States National Academy of Sciences (1956)

Named After Him

• An asteroid called 4463 Marschwarzschild was named in his honor.

See also

• Stratoscope
• Stellar evolution