Canadian Astronomers Making History

Canadian astronomers not only play an important role in today's scientific community, but have also made significant contributions to the field in the past. Below you'll find just some of the names who helped Canada lead the way during the "early days" of modern astronomy.

Carlyle Beals
Clarence Chant
Andrew McKellar
Peter Millman
John Plaskett
Helen Sawyer-Hogg

Carlyle S. Beals:
(1899-1979)

Originally from Nova Scotia, Carlyle Beals served as the assistant director of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, and later as the Dominion Astronomer in Ottawa. His research focussed on the study of spectrum emission lines of hot stars, as well as the nature of gas clouds in interstellar space. He also pursued an interest in geophysics, investigating and identifying ancient meteorite craters.

Apart from his work as a researcher, it was Beals who set the original wheels in motion for Canada to have its own professional astronomical organization, which later became known as the Canadian Astronomical Society/la société d'astronomie canadienne (CASCA). The Carlyle S. Beals Award was established by CASCA in 1981 in recognition of his groundbreaking work, for which he was also awarded the Order of Canada. Past winners of the C.S. Beals award and their profiles can be found here.

more information: http://www.casca.ca
photo from: http://www.tayabeixo.org/biografias/jun_2q/jun_2q.htm

Clarence Chant:
(1865-1956)

Dr. Chant is often referred to as "the father of Canadian astronomy" for his efforts in establishing one of the largest optical observatories in the world and his introduction of an astronomy program to universities. Having graduated from the University of Toronto in 1890 in mathematics and physics (as there was no astronomy program!), he later returned to the university as a professor and introduced six fourth-year astronomy courses to the physical sciences department in 1905.

With astronomy courses now available, Dr. Chant worked endlessly to erect a well-equipped observatory to be used by the students. His work culminated in the 1935 opening of the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill. The 74" telescope was (and still is) the largest in Canada, and was at the time of building the second largest in the world. It is primarily due to this gentleman that many generations of Canadian students have been able to study astronomy and observe the cosmos without leaving the country.

Dr. Chant was also president of the newly-established Royal Astronomical Society of Canada for 3 years. The Chant Medal, awarded by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, is presented annually to an amateur astronomer who participates in orginal astronomical investigations.

more information: http://www.astro.utoronto.ca/ddo.rasc.html

Andrew McKellar:
(1910-1960)

Originally from Vancouver, Dr. McKellar joined the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in 1935. After an absence at the Observatory due to his service in the Royal Canadian Navy during WWII, he remained in Victoria until his death in 1960. During his career, he served as president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific as well as president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
Dr. McKellar was the first to deduce the temperature of interstellar space in 1941 -- 2.4 degrees above absolute zero.	Dr. McKellar stands on the right, in front of the newly aluminized 72" mirror at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory

This was actually the first calculation of the temperature of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, and was confirmed through observation over 20 years later. He is also known for his discovery of evidence for the energy source of carbon stars and his work in molecular spectroscopy. Throughout his career, he published 73 papers.

To honour Dr. McKellar, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory's 1.2m telescope has been named the McKellar Telescope, and a crater on the Moon has also been named after him.

more information: http://www.casca.ca/ecass/issues/1999-JS/feldman2.html
and The Canadian Encyclopedia

Peter Millman:
(1906-1990)

Dr. Millman was a world expert on meteors, using visual, radar, and spectroscopic techniques. In the late 1930s, Dr. Millman established a meteor observation program at Toronto, which connected the amateur and professional astronomical societies at the time. He laid the groundwork for a whole series of important projects on meteors, meteorites, and meteorite impact craters, as well as the study of meteor photographic spectra, from which he was able to determine the composition of meteors.

Throughout his career, he published over 175 papers. He was associated with the David Dunlap Observatory (University of Toronto) and the Dominion Observatory (Ottawa), as well as the National Research Council.

He was awarded the J. Lawrence Smith Medal in 1954 for investigations of meteoric bodies, and has had a crater on Mars named after him, as well as a minor planet.

John Plaskett:
(1865-1941)

Though originally not an astronomer by training or trade, John Plaskett oversaw the instrumental work at the new Dominion Observatory in Ottawa, in 1903. During his time in Ottawa, he designed spectroscopes in order to measure the radial velocity of stars. Using his equipment, he made significant contributions to the study of star pairs, known as binary stars. In order to make even more detailed observations, Plaskett pushed for the contruction of an even larger telescope, which was to be built in Victoria, British Columbia. The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory was approved in 1913 and Plaskett became its first director.

With access to a more powerful telescope (72 inches, compared with the Dominion Observatory's 15 inch telescope), Plaskett was able to continue his studies with greater accuracy and even began finding new binary star systems. In 1922, he discovered a massive binary star system, which was the heaviest on record for many years - a discovery which gained him international respect as an astronomer.

The Plaskett Medal was created by the Canadian Astronomical Society and the Royal Astronomical Society in recognition of Plaskett's role in the establishment of astrophysical research in Canada. The medal is awarded annually to a doctoral candidate from a Canadian University in astronomy or astrophysics.

more information: http://www.casca.ca

Helen Sawyer-Hogg:
(1905-1993)

Helen Battles Sawyer was born in Lowell, Massachusetts and attended Mount Holyoke College. She later went to Harvard to work with the renowned Dr. Shapley for graduate studies. She received an A.B. (Magna cum Laude) from Mount Holyoke and received an A.M. in 1928 and Ph.D. in 1931 from Radcliffe College. She became a teaching assistant at the University of Toronto in 1936, and began teaching there in 1941, eventually becoming a full professor in 1956. Helen was known for her research on variable stars in globular clusters. She discovered hundreds of variables and published more than 200 papers, publishing three editions of Catalogues of Variable Stars in Globular Clusters in 1939, 1955, and 1973.

She also wrote a number of articles on historical astronomy however, to most Canadians, she was probably best known for her work in public education. For thirty years, she wrote a weekly column entitled With the Stars for the Toronto Star. She was also the founding President of the Canadian Astronomical Society when it formed in 1971.

Throughout her distinguished career, Professor Hogg received many awards and honours, including the first Canadian to be awarded the Rittenhouse Medal of the Rittenhouse Astronomical Society, Philadelphia, in 1967 - the same year she received the Radcliffe Graduate Achievement Medal and the Centennial Medal of Canada. In 1968, she was awarded the Medal of Service of the Order of Canada and in 1976 was promoted to Companion of the Order. In 1992, she was awarded the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada.

Two facilities have been dedicated to her: the observatory at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, and the telescope at the University of Toronto's southern site in Chile. Asteroid 2917 was named Sawyer Hogg in her honour in 1984.

Dr. Hogg is now recognized as one of the "Great Teachers from our Past" by the University of Toronto. She has also recently been inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame.

more information: http://www.astro.utoronto.ca/hsh/hshrasc.htmll
photo: http://www.astro.utoronto.ca/hsh/

More links:

Winners of the C.S. Beals Award
Profiles of current Canadian astronomers
Canadian Astronomers profiled on the Virtual Museum of Canada
Back to Canadian Astronomy main page

compiled by the CASCA education Webteam, (2008)