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The Day We Found the Universe

Page 31

by Marcia Bartusiak


  Edwin Hubble's later work never quite equaled the amazing discoveries he made in the 1920s and early 1930s. His most productive days were behind him. His scientific life, in a way, came to a standstill as he awaited construction of a bigger telescope to advance his cosmic searches. During World War II, he was stationed at the U.S. Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory at Aberdeen, Maryland. There he applied his student training in orbital mechanics to calculating artillery-shell trajectories. Over the years, his noted arrogance tempered a bit. Astronomer George Abell, who briefly worked for Hubble while a graduate student in the early 1950s, remembered him as a “very gracious, kindly person, a real gentleman… He always seemed to have time to talk to students and night assistants… He may have mellowed in his old age.” Hubble lived long enough to see the opening of the next great telescope after the 100-inch—the 200-inch telescope on Palomar Mountain. He was the first scheduled observer on the giant instrument in 1949 and got started by photographing the variable nebula NGC 2261, his good luck charm. The many snubs toward his colleagues over the years, though, ultimately kept him from his more cherished goal: becoming director of the newly combined Mount Wilson and Palomar observatories. Ira Bowen was appointed instead, a decision that simply stunned Hubble, who was certain the post was his for the taking. During the following summer, on a fishing trip near Grand Junction, Colorado, Hubble experienced a major heart attack and was hospitalized.

  On September 28, 1953, the Hubbles were returning to their San Marino home by car, with Grace driving. Hubble was in the midst of preparations for going to Palomar for four nights of observing. When Grace was about to make a turn into their driveway, though, she noticed Edwin breathing shallowly. “Don't stop,” he said. “Drive on in.” By the time she parked in their front courtyard, he had died of a cerebral thrombosis. He was sixty-three. Grace lived for another twenty-seven years, vigilantly editing her husband's legacy.

  Milton Humason, who had barely finished the eighth grade before dropping out of school to work at Mount Wilson, received an honorary doctorate from Sweden's Lund University in 1950 for his historic contributions to the discovery of the expanding universe, becoming that rare individual who went from elementary school directly to a PhD. By the end of his career, Humason had taken the spectra of more than six hundred galaxies. At his retirement, his son offered to buy him a small telescope to continue viewing the sky. “My God, Bill,” he replied, “I've looked in an eyepiece all my life, I don't want to look in any more eyepieces.” He went salmon fishing instead.

  The Carnegie Institution of Washington continues to own and operate the Mount Wilson Observatory, although now in partnership with the Mount Wilson Institute, a nonprofit corporation established in 1985. The 100-inch Hooker Telescope was temporarily shut down in 1986 as a cost-cutting measure but brought back into operation in 1992. With the use of advanced technology instruments to analyze the light gathered by its mirror, the Hooker continues to carry out valuable research, such as searching for extrasolar planets and monitoring sunspot cycles on other stars.

  The years that Harlow Shapley spent at Mount Wilson, proving our true place within the Milky Way, turned out to be the “high noon of his scientific life.” After World War II, he sharply curtailed his astronomical research efforts and devoted more of his time to national and international affairs. An unabashed liberal, he played a leading role in the formation of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. His activities on behalf of world peace and his continuing contacts with Russian scientists brought him under investigation in 1946 by the infamous House Committee on Un-American Activities. Senator Joseph McCarthy later accused him—wrongly—of being a Communist. After Shapley retired as director in 1952, the Harvard Observatory continued to be his academic home for yet another twenty years, until his death in 1972 at the age of eighty-six. He was buried in Sharon, New Hampshire, where he had lived for many years after his retirement. His grave is marked by a solid granite rock upon which is inscribed, “And We by His Triumph Are Lifted Level with the Skies,” a quotation from the ancient Roman philosopher Lucretius.

  Shapley's former boss and harshest critic, Walter Adams, succeeded Hale as director of the Mount Wilson Observatory in 1923 and remained at that post until his retirement in 1946. He continued to work at the Hale Solar Laboratory in Pasadena until his death ten years later. Staff astronomers on Mount Wilson noticed that Adams was more at ease once Shapley left the observatory, and the two actually reconciled a few years later. For Adams, Shapley was easier to take once he was firmly ensconced at Harvard. It is interesting to note, however, that when Adams wrote a thirty-nine-page memoir of his early days at Mount Wilson, published by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1947, he made no mention of Shapley whatsoever.

  Adriaan van Maanen was on staff at the Mount Wilson Observatory for thirty-four years. For a while, he hoped that his flawed spiral measures would still have value by at least demonstrating a spiral's direction of rotation. But in the early 1940s Hubble proved once and for all that van Maanen had been wrong about that as well; as others had seen earlier, a spiral's arms are trailing as they rotate, not leading. Van Maanen died of a heart attack in 1946. Just weeks before his death he finished the measurement of his five hundredth parallax field at the observatory's Pasadena headquarters. Though he was wrong on spiral rotations, van Maanen remained a world-class surveyor of stellar parallaxes.

  Georges Lemaître made few notable contributions to cosmology after 1934 but continued to publish reviews and discussions. Although Einstein abandoned the cosmological constant λ in 1931, Lemaître continued to champion it. They had friendly arguments about this issue whenever they met, which led to the joke that “everywhere the two men went, the lambda was sure to go.” Lemaître went on to do important work in celestial mechanics and pioneered the use of electronic computers for numerical calculations. He always hoped the explosive origin of the universe would be validated by astronomical observations and at last received news of the discovery of the cosmic microwave background, the remnant echo of the Big Bang, shortly before he died in 1966. His successor at Louvain, Odon Godart, brought the July 1, 1965, issue of the Astrophysical Journal that contained the Nobel Prize-winning report to Lemaître's hospital bed.

  After his great surge of creativity between 1905 and 1917—the period when he generated both special and general relativity, introduced us to the particle of light called a photon, and fashioned the first relativistic model of the universe—Albert Einstein stepped away from further major developments in either quantum or cosmological theory and primarily tried, unsuccessfully, linking the forces of nature in one grand unified theory. He died in 1955, still thinking the cosmological constant was his biggest blunder. Ironically, astronomers have recently brought back the constant to help explain a universe that is not only expanding but accelerating, a behavior that Lemaître anticipated in the 1930s.

  Notes

  Abbreviations

  AIP Niels Bohr Library and Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, Maryland

  CA The Caltech Institute Archives, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

  HL Henry Huntington Library, San Marino, California

  HP George Ellery Hale Papers, Caltech Institute Archives, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California. (There is also a microfilm edition of these papers at other libraries.)

  HUA Harvard University Archives, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

  HUB Hubble Papers, Henry Huntington Library, San Marino, California

  LOA Mary Lea Shane Archives of the Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, California

  LPV Plate Vault, Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton, California

  LWA Lowell Observatory Archives, Flagstaff, Arizona

  MWDF Mount Wilson Observatory Director's Files, Henry Huntington Library, San Marino, California

  NAS The Archives of the National Academies, Washington, D.C.r />
  Preface: January 1, 1925

  ix “redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery”: Fitzgerald (1925), p. 133.

  ix some four thousand scientists descended upon Washington, D.C.: “Thirty-Third Meeting” (1925), p. 245.

  x uncharacteristically chatty: According to Grace Coolidge, the president's wife, a young woman once sat next to her husband at a dinner party and bet the normally taciturn president that she could wring at least three words of conversation from him. Coolidge promptly responded, “You lose.”

  x “It has taken endless ages to create in men”: “Welfare of World Depends on Science, Coolidge Declares” (1925), pp. 1, 9.

  x “occurred an event which was marked on the program”: “Thirty-Third Meeting of the American Astronomical Society” (1925), p. 159.

  x give holiday sleds a good tryout: “Blanket of Snow Covers the City” (1925), p. 1.

  x walked the short distance to the newly constructed Corcoran Hall: During World War II, with scientists working under a government contract designed to develop new technologies for the conflict, the basement of Corcoran Hall was the birthplace of the bazooka.

  xi a paper modestly titled “Cepheids in Spiral Nebulae” was presented: “Thirty-third Meeting of the American Astronomical Society” (1925), p. 159.

  xi the only spiral nebulae in the nighttime sky that can be seen with the naked eye: The center of the Triangulum galaxy can be seen with the naked eye only under exceptionally good conditions. Viewing the Andromeda nucleus without the aid of a telescope is easier.

  xii Henry Norris Russell stood in for Hubble that morning: “Thirty-third Meeting of the American Astronomical Society” (1925), p. 159.

  xii Could I possibly be wrong?: Sandage (2004), p. 528; Berendzen and Hoskin (1971), p. 11.

  xiv “This was an era of extraordinary change”: Frost (1933), p. 124.

  xv “so far as astronomy is concerned … we do appear”: Newcomb (1888), pp. 69– 70.

  xvi “Hubble's drive, scientific ability, and communication skills”: Osterbrock, Brashear, and Gwinn (1990), p. 1.

  xvii cosmos firma: An ancient Roman would more correctly have said cosmos firmus (for proper matching of masculine adjective to masculine noun), but I wanted to maintain the mellifluous sound and metaphorical connection to terra firma.

  xviii book was labeled a “classic”: Mayall (1937), p. 42.

  xviii “[His] picture differs from today's only in details”: From the “Forward” to the 1982 edition of Hubble's Realm of the Nebulae (1936), pp. xv–xvi.

  1. The Little Republic of Science

  3 An immense continent of rock … southward along California's coastline: J. McPhee (1998), pp. 125, 542.

  4 “First on top” … “noble and true”: Wright (2003), pp. 25–27.

  4 “the public mind in this country”: Ibid., p. 14.

  4 the most innovative work at Lick: C. Donald Shane, Lick director in the 1950s, said that “the work [Keeler] did … with the Crossley was the most important work done on the mountain at that time.” AIP, interview of C. Donald Shane by Helen Wright on July 11, 1967.

  4 Ptolemy Ridge: Keeler (1900b), p. 326.

  6 Keeler's celestial curiosity … lunar craters and the planets: “The New Director of Lick” (1898), p. 7. Also from Osterbrock (1984); Donald Osterbrock wrote the definitive biography of Keeler, and many of the details of Keeler's personal life were drawn from this outstanding work on nineteenth-century American astronomy.

  6 a “constant succession of fire balls”: Olmsted (1834), p. 365.

  6 “the most remarkable in its appearance”: Olmsted (1866), p. 223.

  7 “extraordinary that a people”: Trollope (1949), p. 158.

  7 “lighthouse in the sky”: White (1995), p. 124.

  7 “Some Americans, haunted by a nagging sense”: Miller (1970), p. 27.

  7 “lankey green country boy” … “cracker drawl”: Osterbrock (1984), pp. 8–10.

  8 “Starting from essentially zero”: Brush (1979), p. 48.

  8 Lick earned his riches … 1906 earthquake: Ibid., pp. 36–37; Wright (2003), pp. 2, 5; Osterbrock, Gustafson, and Unruh (1988), pp. 3–4.

  10 Without a legitimate heir: As an adult, Lick's illegitimate son, John Lick, came out to California to meet his father and stayed around for a number of years. They never got along, and Lick refused to acknowledge him as a son, leaving him only $3,000 in his will. After Lick's death, though, John filed suit for his father's fortune, claiming he was the rightful heir. After years of legal strife, Lick's board of trustees finally agreed to settle, giving John the sum of $533,000 for both himself and other contesting relatives. See Osterbrock (1984), pp. 40–43.

  10 $4 million: Wright (2003), p. 6.

  10 “If I had your wealth”: Ibid., p. 7.

  10 Louis Agassiz gave a widely reported lecture: Miller (1970), p. 100.

  10 All these lessons … Fourth and Market: Osterbrock (1984), p. 38; Wright (2003), p. 28; Osterbrock, Gustafson, and Unruh (1988), p. 12.

  10 “For the Air”: Newton (1717), p. 98.

  11 Over time Lick came to accept: Osterbrock (1984), p. 39.

  12 “little Republic of Science”: LOA, Keeler Papers, Box 31; Shinn (c. 1890).

  12 “I intend to rot like a gentleman”: Osterbrock (1984), p. 53; Wright (2003), p. 61.

  12 The choice for director: Osterbrock (1984), p. 42.

  2. A Rather Remarkable Number of Nebulae

  13 There are some 360 switchbacks in all, and some were even given special names: AIP, interview of Douglas Aitken by David DeVorkin on July 23, 1977.

  13 “The view from the observatory peak”: LOA, Keeler Papers, Box 6, Folder 4.

  14 “If he has the right ring”: Osterbrock (1986), p. 53.

  14 Often in the wintertime, storms would sweep over the mountain: Holden (1891), p. 73.

  14 “a terrible old blow and grumbler” … “worthless”: LOA, Keeler to Holden, January 6, 1888.

  14 “no inconvenience was felt” … “spider's thread.” Keeler (1888a, 1888b); LOA, Keeler to Holden, January 14, 1888. When the Voyager probe in the 1980s discovered a new separation in Saturn's rings, it was named the Keeler Gap in honor of the Lick astronomer.

  15 displayed at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair: Osterbrock and Cruikshank (1983), p. 168.

  15 “He was tolerant, amused and unwilling to take sides”: Osterbrock (1984), p. 235.

  15 “Beautiful and accurate”: Barnard (1891), p. 546.

  19 “as though it were a fort in hostile territory”: AIP, interview of Lawrence Aller by David DeVorkin on August 18, 1979.

  19 “I am a human being first”: Osterbrock (1984), p. 108.

  20 Saturn's rings were not solid: Maxwell (1983).

  20 dispatched a report to the newly established Astrophysical Journal: Keeler (1895).

  20 Crossley reflector: Keeler (1900b), p. 325.

  20 Early telescopic mirrors: Osterbrock, Gustafson, and Unruh (1988), p. 22.

  22 small zinc box: Babcock (1896).

  22 “a pile of junk”: Osterbrock (1984), p. 246.

  22 “the czar,” “the dictator”: Ibid., pp. 233, 240.

  22 went out to say good-bye: AIP, interview of C. Donald Shane by Elizabeth Calciano in 1969.

  22 Keeler, by this time, was getting restless … raise his salary: Osterbrock (1984), pp. 239–44.

  23 Keeler won the vote by 12 to 9: Ibid., p. 268.

  23 “Stay with us, Keeler” LOA, Keeler Papers, Box 31, newspaper clipping.

  23 telegraphed his acceptance: Osterbrock (1984), p. 270.

  24 Keeler went back to Mount Hamilton … oiled dirt: Campbell (1971), pp. 9, 53–54, 66; Osterbrock (1984), pp. 278–79.

  24 “It [was] like being shipwrecked on an island”: Campbell (1971), p. 9.

  24 If a hostess sent out an invitation for an evening gathering: Hussey (1903), p. 32.

  24 Occasionally a ground squirrel would carry off a ball: Ibid., p. 30.

  24 A
biologist visiting Mount Hamilton: Shinn (c. 1890).

  24 “There are no astronomical phenomena”: Osterbrock (1984), p. 291.

  25 “No member of the staff was asked”: Campbell (1900a), p. 144.

  25 acquired a stigma: Osterbrock (1984), p. 245.

  26 Roberts had pioneered: Ibid., p. 169.

  26 “hand down to our successors”: Pang (1997), p. 177.

  26 “No Work of Importance”: Osterbrock (1984), p. 297.

  26 innumerable engineering problems: LPV, Crossley Reflector Logbook, James F. Keeler, June 1, 1898, to April 10, 1899.

  27 “The fainter stars” … “fairly good”: Ibid.

  27 upper wall was painted black: Keeler (1899d), p. 667.

  27 “On the negative of November 10”: Keeler (1898a), p. 289.

 

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