Leo Goldberg

Leo Goldberg (born January 26, 1913 - November 1, 1987 ) was an American astronomer .

Goldberg grew up in a financially constrained family in an immigrant family in New York and New Bedford . In 1930 he received a scholarship to Harvard University . First he studied engineering, but soon switched to astronomy under the influence of Donald Menzel . In 1938 he received his doctorate in line intensities in the spectrum of helium and then initially stayed at Harvard. In 1941 he went to the McMath-Hulbert Observatory, known for solar observation, where he worked on a project to combat submarines during the war. In 1946 he began a successful career in leadership positions in astronomy as head of the astronomy department and observatory director at the University of Michigan.

Starting with the collaboration with Menzel, Goldberg dealt with atomic physics , the calculation of line thicknesses and their application to determine element abundances from the spectra of the sun in visible light and near infrared. In the late 1950s, he recognized the potential of space observatories for observing the sun and began to prepare experiments to map the sun and its corona in spectral lines of highly ionized elements. After overcoming many difficulties, satellites IV and VI of the Orbiting Solar Observatory series as well as solar observations from Skylab were great successes.

Goldberg's excellent organizational skills have earned him leading positions in science management. He was director of the observatories at the University of Michigan (1946-1960) and Harvard University (1960-1971) and the Kitt Peak National Observatory (1971-1977) and helped found the Kitt Peak National Observatory and National Radio Astronomy Observatory involved. From 1964 to 1966 he was President of the American Astronomical Society and from 1971 to 1976 President of the International Astronomical Union .

Honors

• 1956 member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 1958 member of the National Academy of Sciences
• 1958 member of the American Philosophical Society
• 1970 Honorary Doctorate from the University of Massachusetts
• 1973 NASA Distinguished Service Medal
• 1973 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship
• 1974 Honorary Doctorate from the University of Michigan
• 1977 Honorary Doctorate from the University of Arizona
• 1991 namesake for the asteroid (3572) Leogoldberg

Web links

• Publications by L. Goldberg in the Astrophysics Data System
• Obituaries for L. Goldberg in the Astrophysics Data System
• Member Directory: Leo Goldberg. National Academy of Sciences, accessed December 19, 2015 (Biographical Memoir by Lawrence H. Aller ).