Louis G. Henyey
Encyclopedia
Louis George Henyey was an American astronomer
.
His parents, Albert and Mary Henyey, were immigrants from Hungary. Louis George Henyey married Elizabeth Rose Belak, born in Budapest, on April 28, 1934; they had three children: Thomas Louis
, Francis Stephen, and Elizabeth Maryrose.
In Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago he earned his doctorate in 1937, with a mathematical thesis on the topic of reflection nebulae. In 1947 he accepted a position as assistant professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, and in 1954 he was promoted to professor. At Berkeley he became head of his own research group in the field of stellar evolution and supervised and collaborated with numerous graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and scientific visitors. He died unexpectedly of a cerebral hemorrhage on February 18, 1970.
He is best known for his two major scientific contributions in the field of stellar structure
and evolution
.
First, he developed a method for automatic solution of the equations of stellar evolution, suitable for electronic computers and applicable to a wide range of physical conditions and phases in the lifetime of a star. Second, he made new calculation of the evolution of stars during their early history when gravitational contraction provides the main energy source, and during the transition phase when nuclear energy takes over from the gravitational source.
The crater Henyey
on the Moon
is named after him.
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
.
His parents, Albert and Mary Henyey, were immigrants from Hungary. Louis George Henyey married Elizabeth Rose Belak, born in Budapest, on April 28, 1934; they had three children: Thomas Louis
Thomas Henyey
Thomas Henyey is an American earth scientist and son of American astronomer Louis G. Henyey. Henyey is the former director of the Southern California Earthquake Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.-References:...
, Francis Stephen, and Elizabeth Maryrose.
In Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago he earned his doctorate in 1937, with a mathematical thesis on the topic of reflection nebulae. In 1947 he accepted a position as assistant professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, and in 1954 he was promoted to professor. At Berkeley he became head of his own research group in the field of stellar evolution and supervised and collaborated with numerous graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and scientific visitors. He died unexpectedly of a cerebral hemorrhage on February 18, 1970.
He is best known for his two major scientific contributions in the field of stellar structure
Stellar structure
Stars of different mass and age have varying internal structures. Stellar structure models describe the internal structure of a star in detail and make detailed predictions about the luminosity, the color and the future evolution of the star....
and evolution
Stellar evolution
Stellar evolution is the process by which a star undergoes a sequence of radical changes during its lifetime. Depending on the mass of the star, this lifetime ranges from only a few million years to trillions of years .Stellar evolution is not studied by observing the life of a single...
.
First, he developed a method for automatic solution of the equations of stellar evolution, suitable for electronic computers and applicable to a wide range of physical conditions and phases in the lifetime of a star. Second, he made new calculation of the evolution of stars during their early history when gravitational contraction provides the main energy source, and during the transition phase when nuclear energy takes over from the gravitational source.
The crater Henyey
Henyey (crater)
Henyey is a lunar crater that lies on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. It is attached at the southern end to the northern rim of the crater Dirichlet. Less than a crater diameter to the northeast is the large crater Mach, and to the northwest lies Mitra.This is a worn and eroded crater that...
on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
is named after him.
External links
- http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/biomems/lhenyey.html