Frank Washington Very (February 12, 1852 – November 23, 1927) was a

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

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

, astrophysicist, and meteorologist. He was born in Salem,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and educated at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(1873) where he taught physics after his graduation. After several years at MIT, Very was employed at the Allegheny Observatory at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, where he worked from 1878–1895. In 1890, he became a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

and chair of astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh (then known as the Western University of Pennsylvania), concurrent with his post at Allegheny Observatory. He was then made professor and acting director of the Ladd Observatory at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

from 1896–1897. After his time at Brown, he worked as an independent researcher for nearly a decade until 1906, when he was appointed director of the Westwood Astrophysical Observatory in

Westwood, Massachusetts Westwood is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,266 at the 2020 United States census. History Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of Dedham, originally called 'West Dedham', unt ...

. Very's most important work was in measuring the

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

s of the surfaces of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

and other

planets A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets by the most restrictive definition of the te ...

using a

bolometer A bolometer is a device for measuring radiant heat by means of a material having a temperature-dependent electrical resistance. It was invented in 1878 by the American astronomer Samuel Pierpont Langley. Principle of operation A bolometer ...

. Samuel Pierpont Langley published in 1890 a widely read paper that included Very's Moon observations, but for unknown reasons omitted his name from the list of contributors. In 1891, Very published his own paper, "Distribution of the Moon's Heat," which also included measurements taken during a

lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, ...

. Infrared observations by Langley and Very, published in 1890, were used to make the first calculations of the

greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases in a planet's atmosphere insulate the planet from losing heat to space, raising its surface temperature. Surface heating can happen from an internal heat source (as in the case of Jupiter) or ...

. Very crater on Mars and Very crater on the Moon are named in his honor. He also addressed the American Astronomical Society at Harvard College Observatory on August 20, 1918, with a paper titled: The Luminiferous Aether 1. Its Relation to The Electron and to A Universal Interstellar Medium 2. Its Relation to The Atom. He seemed to be inspired by Emanuel Swedenborg, a 1700's mystic.

Published works

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References

External links

Discussion of Langley's 1890 publication
{{DEFAULTSORT:Very, Frank Washington 1852 births 1927 deaths American astronomers People from Salem, Massachusetts Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of Pittsburgh faculty