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| Paper: |
Lyman Spitzer: Astronomer, Physicist, Engineer, and Mountaineer |
| Volume: |
357, The Spitzer Space Telescope: New Views of the Cosmos |
| Page: |
1 |
| Authors: |
Morton, D.C. |
| Abstract: |
NASA's naming of the Spitzer Space Telescope after Lyman Spitzer was a most appropriate choice, recognizing an outstanding scientist who also contributed extensively to space astronomy. As an astronomer he was a leading authority in the physics of both the interstellar medium and stellar dynamics, wrote textbooks for both fields, and guided many research students. As a physicist he conceived the Stellarator for magnetic confinement, managed a laboratory for controlled fusion, and wrote a textbook on plasma physics. As an engineer he led the development of the payload for the successful Copernicus satellite, which fulfilled his 1946 proposal for an extraterrestrial observatory. His mountaineering included first ascents on Baffin Island and in the Canadian Rockies as well as the summit of the challenging Mt Waddington in the Coast Range. |
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