Scott Tremaine facts for kids

Scott Duncan Tremaine (born 1950) is a Canadian astrophysicist. An astrophysicist is a scientist who studies space, stars, and galaxies. He is known as one of the world's top experts in how planets and galaxies move.

Scott Tremaine is a member of important science groups like the Royal Society of London. An asteroid, 3806 Tremaine, is even named after him! He also helped name the "Kuiper belt", a big area of icy objects beyond Neptune.

Scott Tremaine's Journey in Science

Scott Tremaine started his science journey at McMaster University, getting his first degree in 1971. He then earned his PhD from Princeton University in 1975. Later, McMaster University gave him another special degree in 1996.

He taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1981 to 1985. In 1986, he became the first director of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) at the University of Toronto. He led CITA for ten years.

In 1997, Scott Tremaine moved to Princeton University as a professor. He even led the Astrophysical Sciences department there from 1998 to 2006. Since 2007, he has been a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Scott Tremaine is married to Professor Marilyn Mantei Tremaine. She is an expert in how people use computers.

Amazing Discoveries in Space

Scott Tremaine has made many important discoveries about how things move in space.

Saturn's Rings and Shepherd Moons

In 1979, Scott Tremaine and Peter Goldreich made an amazing prediction. They said that tiny moons, called "shepherd moons," help keep Saturn's thin F ring in place. They also predicted this for the thin rings around Uranus.

Later, in 1981, the moons Prometheus and Pandora were seen near Saturn's F ring. In 1986, shepherd moons were found around Uranus's rings too! This showed their prediction was correct.

Pandora and Prometheus shepherding Saturn's F ring, as predicted by Goldreich and Tremaine

Understanding Galaxies and Comets

Scott Tremaine also co-wrote a very important book called Galactic Dynamics with James Binney. This book is used by many scientists to understand how galaxies move.

He also helped show that short-period comets, which orbit the Sun quickly, come from the Kuiper belt. This is the icy region beyond Neptune.

Tremaine also suggested that what looked like a "double center" in the Andromeda Galaxy was actually a ring of old red stars.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Scott Tremaine has received many awards for his important work:

• 2020: Elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.
• 2013: Won the Tomalla Foundation Prize for his work on how gravity affects movement in space.
• 2010: Received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto.
• 2005: Won the Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
• 2002: Became a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
• 1999: Received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from St. Mary's University.
• 1998: Won the Dirk Brouwer Award for his many contributions to how things move in our solar system and galaxies.
• 1997: Awarded the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics for his smart ideas about planets, rings, comets, and galaxies.
• 1996: Received an honorary Doctor of Science award from McMaster University.
• 1994: Became a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and the Royal Society of Canada.
• 1990: Awarded the Rutherford Memorial Medal in Physics for his amazing work in astrophysics, especially predicting how planetary rings work.
• 1990: Won the C.S. Beals Award from the Canadian Astronomical Society.
• 1983: Won the Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy for his many contributions to understanding movement in space.