Elizabeth "Pat" Roemer (September 4, 1929April 8, 2016)
was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...
and
educator who specialized in
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
with a particular focus on
comets
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
and
minor planets
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...
. She was well-known for the recovery of
lost comets, as well as for her discovery of two asteroids, the co-discovery of
Jupiter's moon Themisto, and for the
asteroid 1657 Roemera that was named in her honor.
Life
Roemer was born on September 4, 1929 in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, and was raised in
Alameda, California
Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...
, by her father and mother, Richard Quirin and Elsie B. Roemer.
From a young age, Roemer expressed interest in scientific reasoning and matters regarding astronomy. It was revealed by Roemer in an interview that while she was a freshman in high school many of her teachers lacked the proper qualifications.
This was because she was a student during 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 opposi ...
, when many individuals were teaching on emergency credentials. One of her general science teachers had made remarks with astronomical implications that Roemer believed to be incorrect. One of these statements was that
Polaris was the largest star. Despite not having books or sources that contained the correct answers, Roemer was encouraged to look for the right answers elsewhere. She got in touch with a teaching assistant in the Astronomy Department at Berkeley who helped her find the information she was looking for. This marked the beginning of her interest in other aspects of astronomy.
Roemer graduated
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
of her high school class in 1946, and in that same year she won the
National Westinghouse Science Talent Search.
She became a serious amateur astronomer and was determined to pursue her interest in comets and
asteroids
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
. In 1950 she graduated from the
University of California, 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 u ...
with a BA in astronomy. She graduated with honors as a Bertha Dolbeer Scholar.
During her graduate studies at Berkeley, Roemer taught adult extension classes in Oakland to finance her tuition from 1950–1952. This was the experience that allowed her to develop a passion for teaching. From 1954–1955, she worked as an assistant astronomer and lab technician at
UC’s Lick Observatory, and in 1955 she earned her PhD from Berkeley.
After receiving her PhD, Roemer continued her time at UC as an assistant astronomer and conducted research at the
University of Chicago’s Yerkes Observatory. Roemer received the title of astronomer in 1957 at the
US Naval Observatory
United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the Depo ...
in
Flagstaff, Arizona.
She began to gain traction for rediscovering comets by using a high definition 40-inch
reflecting telescope
A reflecting telescope (also called a reflector) is a telescope that uses a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century by Isaac Newton as an alternati ...
to photograph and analyze
nuclei.
Her groundbreaking research led to the recovery of dozens of short period comets–comets that take less than 20 years to orbit the Sun. Scientists at the time did not have methods or equipment that could easily track short period comets around the Sun, and these comets would become “lost” once the distance became too great. Roemer found these lost comets by searching the area they were predicted to be as they rounded the Sun and detected faint movement relative to surrounding stars.
This was no simple feat, as predicting the position and brightness of the comet was extremely difficult, especially for comets that had been missing for extended periods of time. Roemer’s data and measurements of the brightness of these recovered comets at large distances has aided astronomers of her time and allowed for the tracking of many short period comets around the Sun until this day.
In 1965, she became the acting director at the US Naval Observatory.
She was then hired by the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
in
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
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as an associate professor in the lunar and planetary laboratory in 1966, and promoted to full professor by 1969.
In addition, she was asked to chair the committee that would set up UA’s Department of Planetary Sciences in 1972.
In 1980, while still a UA professor, she served as an astronomer at
Tucson’s Steward Observatory. She served at the observatory until 1997.
Roemer finally retired in 1998 but continued her research on comets and asteroids as astronomer and
professor emerita
''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 ...
. On April 8, 2016, Roemer died in Tucson, Arizona.
International Astronomical Union
Roemer was noted as an exemplary member of the astronomy community and served on many astronomical commissions and organizations. She held various positions throughout the years, including president and vice-president of the
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...
's Commission 6 and Commission 20.
Major accomplishments
In 1961, asteroid 1657 Roemera was named in Dr. Roemer’s honor.
She discovered the
asteroid 1930 Lucifer on October 29, 1964 and the
asteroid 1983 Bok on June 9, 1975.
She also co-discovered Jupiter’s moon Themisto with
Charles T. Kowal in 1975.
Themisto was lost soon after its discovery because it is an irregular moon of Jupiter. However, it was finally recovered in 2000. Throughout her career, Roemer detected the return of 79
periodic comets and computed the orbits of numerous comets and minor planets.
Awards and recognition
Roemer received several awards and recognitions in the course of her lifetime and professional career. She was a recipient of the BA Gould Prize of the
National Academy of Sciences, the NASA Special Award, and the Donohoe Lectureship of the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
In 1960,
Mademoiselle Magazine honored her work with comets and named her one of its Ten Young Women of the Year.
Roemer expressed her hope that her Mademoiselle Merit Award would encourage others to explore the field of astronomy in a letter to the manager of Women’s News for Westinghouse.
Death and legacy
Elizabeth Roemer was an active member of the astronomy community until her death in 2016. She became a member of the
Friends of Lowell Observatory in 2006, as well as a member of the Percival Lowell Society.
Before dying, she made a donation that created what is known as the Elizabeth Roemer Foundation Donation. The money was used to create an instrumentation fund in the Lowell Observatory Foundation, supporting the acquisition, development, maintenance of, and access to improved technologies and materials within the observatory’s facilities.
Her support created safe and effective organization and operation of the observatory's equipment and technology.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roemer, Elizabeth
1929 births
2016 deaths
American women astronomers
Discoverers of moons
Discoverers of asteroids
*
University of Arizona faculty