Walter Sydney Adams
Walter Sydney Adams (born December 20, 1876 in Antakya , Turkey , † May 11, 1956 in Pasadena , USA ) was an American astronomer . He was the director of the Mount Wilson Observatory in California from 1923 to 1946 .
Adams was born to a missionary from the Antioch Mission , Syria , and brought to the United States in 1885. He graduated from Dartmouth College , graduated in 1898 and then studied in Germany. After returning to the United States, he eventually became director of the Mount Wilson Observatory.
Together with Arnold Kohlschütter, Adams found a connection between the relative intensity of certain spectral lines and the luminosity of a star . He founded the possibility of spectroscopic determination of the distance of stars (spectroscopic parallax). Using this method, he measured the distance of hundreds of main sequence stars and giant stars. He discovered the first known white dwarf with the star Sirius B and his measurements of its gravitational redshift were a further confirmation of the general theory of relativity . Adams was also known for his spectroscopic studies of sunspots and the sun's rotation .
The Mars crater Adams and the asteroid (3145) Walter Adams were named after him. The crater of the moon Adams is named after him as well as after John Couch Adams and Charles Hitchcock Adams .
Awards
- Member of the American Philosophical Society (1915)
- Royal Astronomical Society Gold Medal (1917)
- Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1917)
- Henry Draper Medal (1918)
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1922)
- Jules Janssen Prize (1926)
- Bruce Medal (1928)
- Member of the Académie des sciences (1935), "associé étranger" 1945
- Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1947)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Adams, Walter Sydney |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 20, 1876 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Antakya , Turkey |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 11, 1956 |
| Place of death | Pasadena, USA |