Arthur Adel (November 22, 1908 – September 13, 1994) was an American

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

and astrophysicist. His research focused on atmospheric

Spectrography Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

. He worked at

Lowell Observatory Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark ...

from 1936 until 1942 and was for many years a professor at what is now

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

, both in

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

Early life and education

Adel was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. His parents were

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Jewish theology, Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Or ...

who had immigrated from Russia and Poland. The family later moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, where he graduated from a technical high school. He worked as a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

for a year before attending the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

at Ann Arbor, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics in 1931 and in 1933 a PhD with a dissertation on "The Infrared Spectrum and the Structure of the Carbon Dioxide Molecule".

Career

Beginning in 1933, he did research at the

, demonstrating that the harmonics of the vibration of methane and ammonia molecules gave rise to the absorption bands observed in planetary atmospheres, and later publishing extensively on the water-vapor-related parameters in Earth's atmosphere. In 1935–36 he was a postdoctoral research fellow at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. During World War II, he worked for the US Navy in Washington, DC, de-gaussing submarines, and from 1942 to 1946 was a faculty member in physics at the University of Michigan. From 1946 to 1948 he was an assistant professor at the McMath-Hulbert Solar Observatory, then operated by the university, while also studying the effective radiation temperature of the

ozone layer The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the atmosphere, although still small in rela ...

for the US Air Force at a base in New Mexico. In 1948 he was appointed professor of mathematics at Arizona State College, now

, where he founded the Atmospheric Research Observatory, which had the first specially designed infrared telescope. Among other achievements, he discovered the 20 micron window in the Earth's atmosphere and proved observationally that the Moon radiates as a black body. He retired and was named

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in 1976. The university has named a mathematics building and the Arthur Adel Award, given annually since 1995 to a researcher who furthers the goals of science, in his honor; his papers are kept at the university.

Personal life and death

Adel married Catherine Backus in 1935; they did not have children. He died of cancer on September 13, 1994, in Flagstaff, at the age of 85.

Early life and education

Career

Personal life and death

References

Further reading