Dinsmore Alter (March 28, 1888 – September 20, 1968) 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 ...

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

, and

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer. He is known for his work with the Griffith Observatory and his creation of a lunar atlas.

Early life

He was born in

Colfax, Washington Colfax is the county seat of Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,805 at the 2010 census. The population is estimated at 2,911 per the State of Washington Office of Financial Management in 2018 making Colfax the secon ...

, and attended college at Westminster College in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. After graduating in 1909 with a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree, he married Ada McClelland. The couple had one child, Helen.Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who Was Who in American History, the Military''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975. P. 9

Career

Dinsmore performed his graduate studies at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, and earned a master's in astronomy with additional studies in the field of meteorology. In 1911, he became an instructor at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

, teaching physics and astronomy. The following year he became an assistant professor, then an adjunct professor in 1913. In 1914, he moved to the

University of California in Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

, teaching astronomy while also studying for his doctorate. He gained his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in astronomy in 1916. By 1917, he became an assistant professor of astronomy at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. However, when the

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entered

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he took time off to serve as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the

. After returning home following the war, he rejoined the University of Kansas and remained at that institution for nearly 20 years. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1919, then professor in 1924. From 1925 until 1927, he served as the vice-president of the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the premier scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the Atmospheric sciences, atmospheric, Oceanography, oceanic, and Hydrology, hydr ...

. He was then awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

scholarship and spent two years studying astronomy in

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. In 1935, he took a leave from the University of Kansas and became director of the

Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, ...

. A year later he resigned his professorship to remain director at the observatory. He also served as a research associate at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

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during the same period. After the U.S. entered the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Dr. Alter took a leave from his position to serve in the armed forces for four years. He became a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and served in a transport division. He remained a member of the army reserve following the war, training at

Fort MacArthur Fort MacArthur is a former United States Army installation in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California (now the port community of Los Angeles). A small section remains in military use by the United States Air Force as a housing and administrative annex ...

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. His earlier studies had focused on solar observation, but after the war he concentrated on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. As his expertise increased, he became an authority on the geology of the Moon, including its surface and history. He also remained involved in astronomy research, and in 1950 he served a term as president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. In 1956, he used the 60" reflector at the

Mount Wilson Observatory The Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles. The observat ...

to observe a peculiar obscuration on part of the floor of

Alphonsus crater Alphonsus is an ancient impact crater on the Moon that dates from the pre-Nectarian era. It is located on the lunar highlands on the eastern end of Mare Nubium, west of the Imbrian Highlands, and slightly overlaps the crater Ptolemaeus to the no ...

, which brought him worldwide notice. (This is a class of events now called a

transient lunar phenomenon A transient lunar phenomenon (TLP) or lunar transient phenomenon (LTP) is a short-lived light, color or change in appearance on the surface of the Moon. The term was created by Patrick Moore in his co-authorship of NASA Technical Report R-277 ''Ch ...

.) During 1958, he reached mandatory retirement age, and was officially retired on March 31 and was succeeded by Clarence H. Cleminshaw, who had been associate director of the observatory. However, he remained active during his retirement, writing several books on astronomy and performing consulting services. He also served as Director Emeritus for the Griffith Observatory.

Awards and honors

* Fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

. *

scholarship, 1929–1930. * Honorary doctorate, Monmouth College, 1941. * G. Bruce Blair Award, 1958. * Pendray Aerospace Literature Award, 1965. * The crater Alter on the

is named after him.

Selected works

* Alter, Dinsmore. Application of Marvin's Periodocrite to Rainfall Periodicity. Lawrence, Kan: University of Kansas, 1920. * Alter, Dinsmore. "A Critical Test of the Planetary Hypothesis of Sun Spots," ''Monthly Weather Review'', 1929, April. * Alter, Dinsmore, & Clarence H. Cleminshaw, "Palomar observatory", Los Angeles, Griffith Observatory. * Alter, Dinsmore. ''Introduction to Practical Astronomy'', New York, Crowell, 1933. * Alter, Dinsmore. ''Introduction to the Moon'', Los Angeles, Griffith Observatory, 1958. * Alter, Dinsmore. ''Pictorial Guide to the Moon'', London, Arthur Barker Ltd., 1963. * Alter, Dinsmore. ''Lunar Atlas'', North American Aviation, 1964. * Alter, Dinsmore, Clarence H. Cleminshaw, and John G. Phillips, ''Pictorial astronomy'', New York, Crowell, 1974.

References

External links

Inconsistent Moon
y Joseph H. Jackson, produced for "

Analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

", October 1964.
Mr. Pitt's Telescope: A Short History of the 27-Inch Reflector at the University of Kansas
y D. J. Bord, 1980. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alter, Dinsmore 1888 births 1968 deaths Westminster College (Pennsylvania) alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni University of Alabama faculty UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni University of Kansas faculty California Institute of Technology faculty People from Colfax, Washington American astronomers People from Los Angeles United States Army officers Military personnel from California