Vera Rubin

Vera Rubin
Photograph
Rubin in 2009
Born
Vera Florence Cooper

(1928-07-23)July 23, 1928
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedDecember 25, 2016(2016-12-25) (aged 88)
Alma mater
Known for
Spouse
(m. 1948; died 2008)
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
Institutions
ThesisFluctuations in the Space Distribution of the Galaxies (1954)
Doctoral advisorGeorge Gamow
Other academic advisors
Notable students
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory and its target

Vera Florence Cooper Rubin (/ˈrbɪn/; July 23, 1928 – December 25, 2016) was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates.[1][2] She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studying galactic rotation curves. These results were later confirmed over subsequent decades. Her work on the galaxy rotation problem was cited by others as evidence for the existence of dark matter.[3] The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is named in her honor.[4]

Beginning her academic career as the sole undergraduate in astronomy at Vassar College, Rubin went on to graduate studies at Cornell University and Georgetown University, where she observed deviations from Hubble flow in galaxies and provided evidence for the existence of galactic superclusters.[1][5] She was honored throughout her career for her work, receiving the Bruce Medal, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the National Medal of Science, among others.[5][6]

Rubin spent her life advocating for women in science, and she was known for her mentorship of aspiring female astronomers. Her legacy was described by The New York Times as "ushering in a Copernican-scale change" in cosmological theory.[1][5]

  1. ^ a b c Overbye, Dennis (December 27, 2016). "Vera Rubin, 88, Dies; Opened Doors in Astronomy, and for Women". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference VOX-20210817 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ de Swart, Jaco; Bertone, Gianfranco; van Dongen, Jeroen (2017). "How dark matter came to matter". Nature Astronomy. 1 (59): 0059. arXiv:1703.00013. Bibcode:2017NatAs...1E..59D. doi:10.1038/s41550-017-0059. S2CID 119092226.
  4. ^ Falk, Dan, This Revolutionary New Observatory Will Locate Threatening Asteroids and Millions of Galaxies: Beginning next year, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will use the world’s largest digital camera to give us a whole new view of the universe, Smithsonian, June 20, 2024
  5. ^ a b c "1996 November 8 meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society". The Observatory. 117: 129–135. June 1997. Bibcode:1997Obs...117..129.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference DomonoskeNPR161226 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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