Vera Rubin | |
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 Rubin in 2009 | |
| Born | Vera Florence Cooper July 23, 1928 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | December 25, 2016 (aged 88) Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| Fields | Astronomy |
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| Thesis | Fluctuations in the Space Distribution of the Galaxies (1954) |
| Doctoral advisor | George Gamow |
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| Physical cosmology |
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Vera Florence Cooper Rubin (/ˈruːbɪn/; 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]
- ^ 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.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
VOX-20210817was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ 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.
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c "1996 November 8 meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society". The Observatory. 117: 129–135. June 1997. Bibcode:1997Obs...117..129.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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