Edison Pettit
Edison Pettit (born September 22, 1889 in Peru , Nemaha County , Nebraska , † May 6, 1962 in Tucson , Arizona ) was an American astronomer .
Life
He was born in the locality of Peru in the state of Nebraska. From 1914 to 1918 he taught astronomy at Washburn College in Topeka , Kansas . In 1920 he received his PhD from the University of Chicago .
Shortly thereafter, he became a member of the Mount Wilson Observatory . He initially specialized in solar astronomy and constructed his own thermocouples . He also made visual observations of Mars and Jupiter . Even after his retirement, he continued to make spectrographs for a variety of observatories in his private workshop .
The moon crater Pettit and the Mars crater Pettit are named after him.
He was married to Hannah Steele (born November 6, 1886, † September 10, 1961). Their daughter Marjorie married Aden Meinel .
Web links
- Publications by E. Pettit in the Astrophysics Data System
- PASP 74 (1962) 495 (obituary)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pettit, Edison |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 22, 1889 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Peru, Nebraska |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 6, 1962 |
| Place of death | Tucson , Arizona |