John August Anderson

John August Anderson (far right)

John August Anderson (* 7. August 1876 in Rollag in the US state of Minnesota , † 2. December 1959 in Altadena , California ) was an American astronomer .

Life

He received his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1907 and stayed there afterwards. In 1908 he was appointed professor of astronomy at the same university. In 1909 he took over responsibility for the Rowland engraving machines for the production of diffraction gratings . Their quality was considered excellent, especially with regard to concave lattice structures.

In 1916 he left the university to work at the Mount Wilson Observatory . he stayed there until 1956. His most notable contribution was his use of the Michelson interferometer to measure closely spaced binary stars .

In 1928, Anderson was elected to the National Academy of Sciences . The Anderson crater on the moon was named after him.

Fonts

• On the Application of the Laws of Refraction in Interpreting Solar Phenomena . In: Astrophysical Journal . Volume 31, 1910.
• A method of investigating the Stark effect for metals, with results for chromium . 1917.
• The vacuum spark spectrum of calcium . 1924.
• The Use of Long Focus Concave Gratings at Eclipses . In: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific . Volume 38, 1926.
• JA Anderson and Russell W. Porter : Ronchi's Method of Optical Testing . In: Astrophysical Journal . Volume 70, 1929.
• Spectral energy distribution of the high-current vacuum tube . 1932.
• On the application of Michelson's interferometer method to the measurement of close double stars . In: Astrophysical Journal . Volume 51, June 1920.
• Optics of the 200-inch Hale Telescope . In: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific . Volume 60, 1948.

Web links

• Publications by JA Anderson in the Astrophysics Data System
• IS Bowen: John August Anderson, 1876-1959. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 72 (1960), No. 425, p. 94. (Obituary, English)