Seth Barnes Nicholson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Seth Barnes Nicholson
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| Born | November 12, 1891 Springfield, Illinois, U.S.
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| Died | July 2, 1963 (aged 71) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Drake University |
| Awards | Bruce Medal (1963) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | astronomy |
| Institutions | Mount Wilson Observatory |
Seth Barnes Nicholson (born November 12, 1891 – died July 2, 1963) was an American astronomer. He is famous for discovering several moons of Jupiter in the 20th century. He worked at the Lick Observatory and later at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California.
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Early Life and Education
Seth Nicholson was born in Springfield, Illinois. He grew up in the countryside of Illinois. He went to Drake University, where he became very interested in studying the stars and planets. He married Alma Stotts, who was also a student, in 1913.
Discovering Jupiter's Moons
In 1914, while working at the Lick Observatory, Seth Nicholson made an exciting discovery. He was observing a moon of Jupiter called Pasiphaë. During his observations, he found a brand new moon, which he named Sinope. He even calculated its path around Jupiter for his Ph.D. project in 1915.
He spent his entire career at the Mount Wilson Observatory. There, he found three more moons orbiting Jupiter:
For many years, these moons were simply called "Jupiter IX," "Jupiter X," "Jupiter XI," and "Jupiter XII." They didn't get their official names until 1975. Seth Nicholson himself chose not to suggest names for them.
Other Discoveries and Work
Besides Jupiter's moons, Seth Nicholson also discovered two asteroids:
- 878 Mildred in 1916
- 1647 Menelaus in 1957 (found near Jupiter while he was at the Palomar Observatory)
He also worked on figuring out the paths of several comets. He even helped calculate the path of the dwarf planet Pluto.
At Mount Wilson Observatory, a big part of his job was to study the Sun. For decades, he wrote yearly reports about sunspot activity. Sunspots are darker, cooler areas on the Sun's surface. He also went on trips to observe eclipses. During these eclipses, he measured how bright and hot the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the solar corona, was.
Studying Heat from Space
In the early 1920s, Seth Nicholson and another astronomer named Edison Pettit were pioneers. They made the first regular infrared observations of objects in space. Infrared light is a type of light that we feel as heat.
They used a special tool called a vacuum thermocouple. This tool could measure the infrared radiation coming from space. By doing this, they could figure out the temperature of objects. They measured the temperature of the Moon, which led to a theory that the Moon is covered in a thin layer of dust that acts like a blanket. They also measured the temperatures of planets, sunspots, and stars.
Their temperature measurements of large, bright stars called red giants helped scientists figure out the sizes of some stars for the first time.
Hale-Nicholson Law
Seth Nicholson, along with astronomer George Ellery Hale, gave their names to the "Hale-Nicholson law." This law describes how the magnetic poles of sunspots are arranged.
Awards and Recognition
Seth Nicholson received the Bruce Medal in 1963, which is a very important award in astronomy. Many things in space have been named after him to honor his work:
- The asteroid 1831 Nicholson
- A crater on the Moon called Nicholson
- A crater on Mars called Nicholson
- A feature on Jupiter's moon Ganymede called Nicholson Regio
Seth Nicholson passed away in Los Angeles in 1963.
See also
- Timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their moons
- Myrtle L. Richmond
In Spanish: Seth Barnes Nicholson para niños
