Fred Lawrence Whipple

Fred Lawrence Whipple
Fred Lawrence Whipple at age 95 in 2001 or 2002
Born(1906-11-05)November 5, 1906
DiedAugust 30, 2004(2004-08-30) (aged 97)
NationalityAmerican
Known forComposition of comets, Whipple shield
Awards President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service (1963)
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsHarvard College Observatory
Minor planets discovered: 1 [1]
1252 Celestia 19 February 1933 list

Fred Lawrence Whipple (November 5, 1906 – August 30, 2004) was an American astronomer, who worked at the Harvard College Observatory for more than 70 years. Among his achievements were asteroid and comet discoveries, the "dirty snowball" hypothesis of comets, and the invention of the Whipple shield.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPC-Discoverers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).