Vesto Melvin Slipher | |
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Born | Mulberry, Indiana, United States | November 11, 1875
Died | November 8, 1969 Flagstaff, Arizona, United States | (aged 93)
Alma mater | Indiana University (BS, MS, PhD) |
Known for |
|
Spouse |
Emma R. Munger (m. 1904) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Earl C. Slipher (brother) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomy |
Institutions | Lowell Observatory |
Vesto Melvin Slipher (/ˈslaɪfər/; November 11, 1875 – November 8, 1969) was an American astronomer who performed the first measurements of radial velocities for galaxies. He was the first to discover that distant galaxies are redshifted, thus providing the first empirical basis for the expansion of the universe.[1][2][3][4] He was also the first to relate these redshifts to velocity.[5]