Betty Louise Turtle (née Webster lso Webster in published works (20 May 1941 - 29 September 1990) was an Australian

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

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

. In 1971, with her colleague

Paul Murdin Paul Geoffrey Murdin (born 5 January 1942) is a British astronomer. He identified the first clear candidate for a black hole, Cygnus X-1, with his colleague Louise Webster. He studied Mathematics and Physics at the universities of Oxford and ...

, she identified the powerful X-ray source

Cygnus X-1 Cygnus X-1 (abbreviated Cyg X-1) is a galactic X-ray source in the constellation Cygnus and was the first such source widely accepted to be a black hole. It was discovered in 1964 during a rocket flight and is one of the ...

as the first clear candidate for a

black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...

Career

She attended the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

and continued studies as one of the first students at the graduate school of

Mount Stromlo Observatory Mount Stromlo Observatory located just outside Canberra, Australia, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University (ANU). History The observatory was established in 1924 as The Commonwea ...

, outside

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

where she was strongly influenced by the American astronomers

Bart Bok Bartholomeus Jan "Bart" Bok (April 28, 1906 – August 5, 1983) was a Dutch-American astronomer, teacher, and lecturer. He is best known for his work on the structure and evolution of the Milky Way galaxy, and for the discovery of Bok globules, ...

and

Priscilla Fairfield Bok Priscilla Fairfield Bok (April 14, 1896 – November 1975) was an American astronomer and the wife of Dutch-born astronomer Bart Bok, Director of Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia and later of Steward Observatory in Arizona, US. Their harmon ...

. She gained a Ph.D. in 1967 on the subject of southern

planetary nebulae A planetary nebula (PN, plural PNe) is a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives. The term "planetary nebula" is a misnomer because they are unrelated ...

while working with the Swedish astronomer

Bengt Westerlund Bengt Westerlund (January 17, 1921 - June 4, 2008) was a Swedish astronomer who specialised in observational astronomy. He received his PhD from Uppsala University in 1954. In 1957 he was appointed astronomer at the Uppsala Southern Station at M ...

. She moved to the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

before taking up a position at the

Royal Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...

Herstmonceux Castle Herstmonceux Castle is a brick-built castle, dating from the 15th century, near Herstmonceux, East Sussex, England. It is one of the oldest significant brick buildings still standing in England. The castle was renowned for being one of the f ...

, firstly as a Scientific Officer then Principal Scientific Officer. She worked with

Richard Woolley Sir Richard van der Riet Woolley OBE FRS (24 April 1906 – 24 December 1986) was an English astronomer who became the eleventh Astronomer Royal. His mother's maiden name was Van der Riet. Biography Woolley was born in Weymouth, Dorset ...

, the

Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The post ...

, and then Paul Murdin, with whom she had been elected to the

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

at the same time in 1963. Turtle and Murdin were careful about the language of the paper they submitted to the journal ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

'' describing their discovery, titled ''Cygnus X-1 — a Spectroscopic Binary with a Heavy Companion?'' with the final words, "...it might be a black hole." Their boss, Woolley, was more conservative as an astronomer and their cautiousness was mirrored by work colleagues, though other astronomers (notably Charles Thomas Bolton) agreed with them. Her work in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

led directly to a posting at the

South African Astronomical Observatory South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's funct ...

, where Woolley became director from 1972, and then the new 3.9-metre

Anglo-Australian Telescope The Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) is a 3.9-metre equatorially mounted telescope operated by the Australian Astronomical Observatory and situated at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, at an altitude of a little over 1,100 m. In 20 ...

in a commissioning role before becoming staff astronomer there. In 1978, she found her final employment at

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

in the Physics faculty; in November that year she married Tony Turtle. While at the University, she was the driving force for the Automated Patrol Telescope at the

Siding Spring Observatory Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia, part of the Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics (RSAA) at the Australian National University (ANU), incorporates the Anglo-Australian Telescope along with a coll ...

, introduced a fourth-year course for astronomers, served on or chaired many committees and promoted astronomy very actively through 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 ...

and the

Astronomical Society of Australia The Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) is the professional body representing astronomers in Australia. Established in 1966, it is incorporated in the Australian Capital Territory. Membership of the ASA is open to people "capable of contributi ...

. She died after a long illness at her home in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Legacy

The

Bok Prize The Bok Prize is awarded annually by the Astronomical Society of Australia and the Australian Academy of Science to recognise outstanding research in astronomy by honoring a student at an Australian university. The prize consists of the Bok Medal ...

, awarded annually to undergraduates for excellence in research, was introduced largely at Turtle's instigation, and is sponsored by Astronomical Society of Australia and the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

. In honour of her contribution to astronomy, The Louise Webster Prize has been awarded annually since 2009 by the Astronomical Society of Australia to reward outstanding postdoctoral research early in a scientist's career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turtle, Betty Louise Australian physicists 20th-century Australian astronomers 20th-century Australian women scientists 1941 births 1990 deaths