George Ellery Hale | |
|---|---|
 George Ellery Hale, c. 1913 | |
| Born | (1868-06-29)June 29, 1868 Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Died | February 21, 1938(1938-02-21) (aged 69) Pasadena, California, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | MIT |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | Evelina Conklin Hale |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy Astrophysics[1] |
| Institutions | University of Chicago,Carnegie Institution for Science,Caltech |
George Ellery Hale (June 29, 1868 – February 21, 1938) was an Americanastrophysicist, best known for his discovery of magnetic fields insunspots, and as the leader or key figure in the planning or construction of several world-leading telescopes; namely, the 40-inchrefracting telescope atYerkes Observatory,60-inch Hale reflecting telescope atMount Wilson Observatory,100-inch Hooker reflecting telescope at Mount Wilson, and the200-inch Hale reflecting telescope atPalomar Observatory.[2] He played a key role in the foundation of theInternational Union for Cooperation in Solar Research and theNational Research Council, and in developing theCalifornia Institute of Technology into a leading research university.
George Ellery Hale was born on June 29, 1868, inChicago, Illinois, toWilliam Ellery Hale and Mary Browne.[3] He is descended from Thomas Hale ofWatton-on-Stone, Hertfordshire, England, whose son emigrated to America about 1640.[3] His father acquired a considerable fortune manufacturing and installing passenger elevators during the reconstruction of Chicago, which had been destroyed in theGreat Chicago Fire of 1871.[4] The oldest of three children who lived past childhood, George received strong encouragement from his father, who supported the boy's active mind and curiosity, and his mother, who inculcated in him a love of poetry and literature.[5]
He spent his youth fascinated by the books and machinery given to him by his parents—one of his most prized possessions was a smallmicroscope. With his father's encouragement, he built a small shop in their house that turned into a laboratory.[6] The microscope led to his interest in optics. At the age of fourteen, George built his first telescope. His father later replaced it with a second-hand Clark refractor that they mounted on the roof of their Kenwood house.[6] Soon he was photographing the night skies, observing a partial eclipse of the Sun, and drawing sunspots.
As an avid reader with a strong interest in the budding field of astrophysics, Hale was drawn to the writings ofWilliam Huggins,Norman Lockyer, andErnest Rutherford.[7] His fascination with science, however, did not preclude interests more typical of a normal boy, such as fishing, boating, swimming, skating, tennis, and bicycling.[7] He was an enthusiastic reader of the stories ofJules Verne—particularly drawn to the tales of adventure set in the mountains of California.[7] Hale spent summers at his grandmother's house in the old New England village ofMadison, Connecticut, where he met his future wife, Evelina Conklin.[8]
After graduating from Oakland Public School in Chicago, Hale attended the Allen Academy, where he studied chemistry, physics, and astronomy.[9] He supplemented his practical home experience by attending a course in shop-work at the Chicago Manual Training School.[9] During these years, Hale developed a knowledge of the principles of architecture and city planning with the help of his father's friend, well-known architectDaniel Burnham. Upon Burnham's advice and encouragement, Hale decided at the age of seventeen to continue his education at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[9]
Hale was educated atMIT, at theHarvard College Observatory, (1889–90), and inBerlin (1893–94) where he was a PhD student but never finished his degree. At the time he already had an appointment as a professor at the recently established University of Chicago. As an undergraduate at MIT, he is known for inventing thespectroheliograph, with which he made his discovery of solarvortices.[10]
In 1890, he began research at theKenwood Astrophysical Observatory, which Hale's father had built for him; he was professor ofastrophysics atBeloit College (1891–93); associate professor at theUniversity of Chicago until 1897, and full professor (1897–1905). He was coeditor ofAstronomy and Astrophysics, 1892–95, and after 1895 editor of theAstrophysical Journal. He also served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known asSociety for Science & the Public, from 1921 to 1923.
In 1908, he used theZeeman effect with a modified spectroheliograph to establish thatsunspots were magnetic.[10] Subsequent work demonstrated a strong tendency for east-west alignment of magnetic polarities in sunspots, with mirror symmetry across the solar equator; and that the polarity in each hemisphere switched orientation from one sunspot cycle to the next.[11] This systematic property of sunspot magnetic fields is now commonly referred to as the "Hale–Nicholson law,"[12] or in many cases simply "Hale's law."
Hale spent a large portion of his career trying to find a way to image the solar corona without the benefit of a total solar eclipse, but this was not achieved until the work ofBernard Lyot.In October 1913, Hale received a letter fromAlbert Einstein, asking whether certain astronomical observations could be done that would test Einstein's hypothesis concerning the effects of gravity on light. Hale replied in November, saying that such observations could be done only during atotal eclipse of the Sun.[13]
Hale was a driven individual, who worked to found a number of significant astronomical observatories, includingYerkes Observatory,Mount Wilson Observatory,Palomar Observatory, and theHale Solar Laboratory. At Mount Wilson, he hired and encouragedHarlow Shapley andEdwin Hubble toward some of the most significant discoveries of the time. He was a prolific organizer who helped create a number of astronomical institutions, societies and journals. Hale also played a central role in developing theCalifornia Institute of Technology into a leading research university. After retiring as director at Mount Wilson, he built the Hale Solar Laboratory inPasadena, California, as his office and workshop, pursuing his interest in thesun.[14][15]
From early youth, Hale had been internationally oriented, travelling widely throughout Europe in his younger years. Having long realized the value of an international organization to coordinate scientific research, he pursued, as chairman of a committee of theNational Academy of Sciences of the US, the formation of an international organization for solar research. The society's inaugural meeting was held at theSt. Louis Exposition of 1904 and included representatives from 16 national scientific societies, but notably not from thePrussian Academy of Sciences, which had declined the invitation. Instead, German delegates from theGerman Physical Society were present.[16]
The delegates proceeded to appoint a committee that was to create theInternational Union for Cooperation in Solar Research as a permanent international scientific organization; the new union had its first constituted meeting atOxford in England a year later. Further meetings were held inParis in 1907 and atMount Wilson in 1910, where the purview of the Union was enlarged to includestellar research, in keeping with Hale's emphasis on the Sun as just one among the many other stars. Shortly after the last meeting in Bonn in 1913,World War I broke out, which effectively put an end to the Union's activities. Work continued after the 1919 founding of theInternational Astronomical Union.[16]
During the war, Hale played a key role in founding theNational Research Council to support the government in using science for its policy aims, in particular to further its military ends.[16] In 1922, he was appointed at theLeague of Nations'Committee on Intellectual Cooperation but had to resign after a few months because of health problems.[17] He was replaced by his colleagueRobert Andrew Millikan.
Hale suffered fromneurological andpsychological problems, includinginsomnia, frequent headaches, and depression. The often-repeated myth ofschizophrenia,[18] alleging he claimed to have regular visits from anelf who acted as his advisor, arose from a misunderstanding by one of his biographers.[19] He occasionally took time off to spend a few months at a sanatorium in Maine. These problems forced him to resign as director of Mount Wilson.[18] He died at the Las Encinas Sanitarium in Pasadena in 1938.[20]
Fox Mulder uses the pseudonym "George E. Hale" on several occasions in the TV seriesThe X-Files, most notable in Season 2, Episode 1 "Little Green Men", and Season 2, Episode 4 "Sleepless".
Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule has an episode on "space" which references a real fact about Hale in passing.
