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Emilia Pisani Belserene
Emilia Pauline Pisani (Lee) Belserene (December 12, 1922 – December 11, 2012) was an American astronomer specializing in the observation of variable stars and recognized as an expert on RR Lyrae variable stars. She became known for her work as the director of the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket and for her biographical writings on Maria Mitchell. Education and career Belserene was a student at New Rochelle High School, and was awarded a full scholarship to Smith College. She became the only astronomy student there, with astronomer Clinton B. Ford as a faculty mentor. She graduated summa cum laude in 1943, and went to Columbia University for part-time graduate study while at the same time raising a family and teaching part-time at Hunter College. She completed her Ph.D. in 1953. Her dissertation, ''Period changes of variable stars in Messier 3'', was supervised by Martin Schwarzschild. It involved observations using the 36-inch refracting telescope at the Lick Observator ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variable Star
A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as either: * Intrinsic variables, whose luminosity actually changes; for example, because the star periodically swells and shrinks. * Extrinsic variables, whose apparent changes in brightness are due to changes in the amount of their light that can reach Earth; for example, because the star has an orbiting companion that sometimes eclipses it. Many, possibly most, stars have at least some variation in luminosity: the energy output of the Sun, for example, varies by about 0.1% over an 11-year solar cycle. Discovery An ancient Egyptian calendar of lucky and unlucky days composed some 3,200 years ago may be the oldest preserved historical document of the discovery of a variable star, the eclipsing binary Algol. Of the modern astronomers, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
