Virpi Niemelä
Encyclopedia
Virpi Sinikka Niemelä was a leading Argentine astronomer. She was the second Argentine to be elected for Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society
.
Born in Finland, she emigrated with her family to Argentina in 1954. She became a citizen, married and had two sons.
She became a student of Jorge Sahade, got a PhD in 1974, and for her whole career collaborated with him. Her work has had a strong influence in the areas of massive stars and close binaries, especially Wolf-Rayet stars. She pioneered work on Wolf-Rayet stars in the Magellanic Clouds
, massive stars in stellar associations and interstellar bubbles around massive stars. She also helped to develop astronomy in Argentina, inspiring many students.
To mark her seventieth birthday, an international workshop on massive stars was held in Carilo on 11-14 December 2006. During the workshop, it was announced that asteroid 5289
would be named Niemela in her honour. However, she died just before her birthday, of breast cancer.
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
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Born in Finland, she emigrated with her family to Argentina in 1954. She became a citizen, married and had two sons.
She became a student of Jorge Sahade, got a PhD in 1974, and for her whole career collaborated with him. Her work has had a strong influence in the areas of massive stars and close binaries, especially Wolf-Rayet stars. She pioneered work on Wolf-Rayet stars in the Magellanic Clouds
Magellanic Clouds
The two Magellanic Clouds are irregular dwarf galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere, which are members of our Local Group and are orbiting our Milky Way galaxy...
, massive stars in stellar associations and interstellar bubbles around massive stars. She also helped to develop astronomy in Argentina, inspiring many students.
To mark her seventieth birthday, an international workshop on massive stars was held in Carilo on 11-14 December 2006. During the workshop, it was announced that asteroid 5289
5289 Niemela
5289 Niemela is a main-belt asteroid discovered on May 28, 1990 by the Felix Aguilar Observatory team at the El Leoncito Station. It is named after the astronomer Virpi Niemelä.- External links :*...
would be named Niemela in her honour. However, she died just before her birthday, of breast cancer.