Today, Doodle is honoring astronomer Guillermo Haro and his 105th birthday. He was born on March 21, 1913 and died on April 26, 1988, after a long and successful career in astronomy. He married a famous journalist and made numerous discoveries in science that led to a galaxy and an observatory being named after him.
Guillermo Haro Barraza Started Out Studying Philosophy Before He Discovered Astronomy
Haro was born in Mexico in 1913 to Haro and Leonor Barraza. He grew up during the Mexican revolution. Interestingly, he didn’t get his education in astronomy, he actually studied philosophy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and intended to have a law career. In 1943, he was hired as an assistant to Luis Enrique Erro at the Observatorio Astrofiscio de Tonantzintla. This is where his love of astronomy began. He worked at the Harvard College Observatory from 1943 to 1944 and returned to Mexico in 1945. In 1947, he began working for the Observatorio de Tacubaya of the UNAM.
He Made Numerous Contributions & Discoveries in Astronomy.
Haro made numerous scientific contributions, including discovering the Herbig-Haro objects. These are small, bright nebula that form near regions where stars recently formed. They are created when fast-moving jets of material from new stars collide with a type of interstellar medium. This creates shock waves that ionize gas. An emission line of electrons and ions forms as the gas cools, creating the Herbig-Haro objects. These were discovered simultaneously and independently by George Herbig.
Haro also discovered flare stars in the Orion constellation, and in stellar aggregates of different ages. Haro also listed 8,746 blue stars in the direction of the north galactic pole, 50 of which turned out to be quasars (which actually had not been discovered yet.) In 1956 he listed 44 blue galaxies, and discovered T Tauri stars, a supernova, more than 10 novae, and a comet.
Because of his discoveries, Haro was the first Mexican (and the first person from a developing country) elected to the Royal Astronomical Society. He received this honor in 1959.
A Galaxy & an Observatory Are Named After Him.
Haro first included the galaxy Haro 11in a study he published in 1956 that listed blue galaxies. It’s a small starbust galaxy that has “super star clusters” within it. It’s one of only nine galaxies in the local universe known to emit Lyman Continuum photons.
The Guillermo Haro Observatory in Sonora is named after Haro. It’s owned and operated by the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics, and Electronics. The telescope began operating in 1992. Its purposes including making atmospheric extinction measurements and monitoring light pollution.
His Son Made a Documentary About Him.
Haro had three children: Emmanuel (born in 1955), Felipe (born in 1968), and Paula (born in 1970). Felipe Haro Poniatowski is a filmmaker who made a documentary about his dad that explored Haro’s life and interviewed people who were close to him. The documentary was produced by TV UNAM and Puebla TV. Emmanuel is a professor in the Department of Physics at a university in Mexico.
FOR THE FULL ARTICLE THIS INFO CAME FROM PLEASE VISIT
No comments:
Post a Comment