Harold Delos Babcock | |
|---|---|
 Babcock at the Fourth Conference International Union for Cooperation in Solar Research atMount Wilson Observatory, 1910 | |
| Born | (1882-01-24)24 January 1882 |
| Died | 8 April 1968(1968-04-08) (aged 86) |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Awards | Bruce Medal |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Solar spectroscopy |
| Institutions | Mount Wilson Observatory |
Harold Delos Babcock (January 24, 1882 – April 8, 1968) was an Americanastronomer. He was ofEnglish andGerman ancestry.[1] He was born inEdgerton, Wisconsin, before completing high school inLos Angeles and was accepted to theUniversity of California, Berkeley in 1901.[2] He studied electrical engineering and graduated in 1907. After that he worked briefly forNIST, and as an instructor in Berkeley, until he was proposed a position at theMount Wilson Observatory.[3] He worked there from 1909 until 1948.[1]
Babcock specialized in solarspectroscopy and precisely mapped the distribution of magnetic fields over theSun's surface, working alongside his son,Horace W. Babcock.[4] He developed the "ruling engine which has made many of the finest diffraction gratings" and, together with his son, thesolar magnetograph.[5]
In 1953 Babcock won theBruce Medal.[6] Babcock died of a heart attack inPasadena, California at age 86.[7]
The craterBabcock on theMoon is named after him, as isasteroid3167 Babcock (jointly named after him and his son).
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