Priscilla Fairfield Bok (April 14, 1896 – November 1975) 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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...
and the wife of Dutch-born astronomer
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, ...
, Director 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 Commonweal ...
in Australia and later of
Steward Observatory
Steward Observatory is the research arm of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona (UArizona). Its offices are located on the UArizona campus in Tucson, Arizona (US). Established in 1916, the first telescope and building were f ...
in Arizona, US. Their harmonious marriage accompanied the four decades of their close scientific collaboration, in which "it is difficult and pointless to separate his achievements from hers".
They co-authored a number of academic papers on
star clusters, stellar
magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object
*Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector
*Order of ...
s, and the structure of the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...
galaxy. The Boks displayed great mutual enthusiasm for explaining astronomy to the public: described as "salesmen of the Milky Way" by ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', their general interest book ''The Milky Way'' went through five editions and was said to be "one of the most successful astronomical texts ever written".
Early life and research
Fairfield's family lived in
Littleton, Massachusetts, where her father was a
Unitarian minister. She worked to be able to afford the tuition fees at nearby
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
. On weekends, she would bribe the watchman to allow her access to the University's solar telescope on the roof (a telescope later named in her honour).
She published an article on sunspot observations in
Popular Astronomy
Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers ...
in 1916. Fairfield undertook her graduate studies with
W. W. Campbell of
Lick Observatory,
and after graduating from
UC 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 uni ...
in 1921,
was rejected from a job at the
General Electric Company on declaring that she eventually wanted to be an astronomer.
She rejected two West Coast offers in favour of
Smith College Observatory in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. There she began working on
RR Lyrae
RR Lyrae is a variable star in the Lyra constellation, figuring in its west near to Cygnus. As the brightest star in its class, it became the eponym for the RR Lyrae variable class of stars and it has been extensively studied by astro ...
variable stars on weekends with
Harlow Shapley
Harlow Shapley (November 2, 1885 – October 20, 1972) was an American scientist, head of the Harvard College Observatory (1921–1952), and political activist during the latter New Deal and Fair Deal.
Shapley used Cepheid variable stars to estim ...
and
Bertil Lindblad at the
Harvard College Observatory
The Harvard College Observatory (HCO) is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United St ...
.
Fairfield was an assistant professor in astronomy when she attended 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 (IAU) Third General Assembly in
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...
in the Netherlands in 1928.
Her assigned reception committee astronomer was a young graduate student,
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, ...
, ten years her junior; he proposed to her at the end of the conference. They corresponded for the next year, as Fairfield did not wish to rush into marriage.
Within fourteen months, Bok had broken off his thesis studies at
Groningen with
Piet van Rhijn and moved across the Atlantic to Harvard on the invitation of Shapley, its Director. They were married on September 9, 1929, within three days of Bok's arrival in the US, at her brother's house in New York state.
Shapley was initially dubious of Bok, and protective of his protégée Priscilla.
Harvard
They remained at Harvard for the next twenty-five years. Bart Bok was steadily promoted through the academic ranks at Harvard. Priscilla continued her research and writing, but was unpaid, a situation supported by Shapley, whom Bart described as "rather cheap when it came to hiring people".
The Boks had two children, a son, John, in 1930 and a daughter, Joyce, in 1933. Priscilla was the at-home parent until their children finished high school, and published less research herself in this period, though the Boks' public outreach often took place together.
Their marriage began a close scientific collaboration that would span the next four decades, in which "it is difficult and pointless to separate his achievements from hers".
They co-authored a number of academic papers on
star clusters, stellar
magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object
*Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector
*Order of ...
s, and the structure of the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...
. Their enthusiasm for explaining astronomy to the public led to them being well known: they were described as "salesmen of the Milky Way" by ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' in 1936.
Their main work together was a definitive undergraduate textbook and popular science book, ''The Milky Way'', described as "one of the most successful astronomical texts ever written", which had five editions following its initial publication in 1941, and was translated into many languages.
The writing of this book, begun in 1937, was shared equally according to Bart:
Australia
In 1957, the Boks left for Australia, where Bart took up the position of Director at
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 Commonweal ...
in
Canberra. In their nine years in Australia, Bart established a graduate program at Stromlo, obtained funds from the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
of the time,
Robert Menzies, for a new telescope at Stromlo, established a field observatory at
Siding Spring, and laid the foundations for the creation of the
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 2 ...
. This did not leave much time for astronomy research; Priscilla spent many nights at the Stromlo telescopes observing and then analysing their data. This suited her greater interest in basic observations such as determining stellar positions and providing calibrated magnitudes.
Their close and openly loving relationship supported their scientific efforts: the pair were often seen walking on Mount Stromlo hand in hand, deep in conversation. Priscilla's quiet and empathetic personality complemented and tempered Bart's energetic and effervescent dynamism.
In the subsequent editions of their book, the Boks had to make major changes to accommodate the rapid progress in galactic astronomy. The approachability of the text for the general public was particularly important to Priscilla, according to Bart:
Return to the US
In 1966, the Boks moved back to the US for Bart to take up the Directorship of
Steward Observatory
Steward Observatory is the research arm of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona (UArizona). Its offices are located on the UArizona campus in Tucson, Arizona (US). Established in 1916, the first telescope and building were f ...
in
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, which he held until 1970. Priscilla suffered a stroke in 1972; her health declined in the following years, and Bok resigned his position as vice-president of the IAU in 1974 and dedicated himself to her care.
She died of a heart attack in November 1975.
Recognition
Bok is commemorated by the
asteroid (2137) Priscilla, named following her death.
[For (2137) Priscilla, the naming citation reads in part: "With her husband, Bart J. Bok, she participated in four decades of fruitful galactic research, first at the Harvard College Observatory, then at the Mt. Stromlo Observatory, Steward Observatory, with briefer tours elsewhere. She also enjoyed teaching astronomy courses successively at Smith College, Wellesley College and Connecticut College for Women. Together with her husband she prepared several editions of ''The Milky Way'', a popular title in the Harvard Books on Astronomy. "] The Boks are jointly commemorated for their scientific contributions by a
43-km diameter crater on the far side of 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 ...
and by an asteroid discovered by
Elizabeth Roemer
Elizabeth "Pat" Roemer (September 4, 1929April 8, 2016) was an American astronomer and educator who specialized in astronomy with a particular focus on comets and minor planets. She was well-known for the recovery of lost comets, as well as for h ...
in 1975,
(1983) Bok.
[For (1983) Bok, the naming citation reads in part: "This is the first minor planet discovered with the 229-cm telescope of the Stewart Observatory to be numbered. It is named for the Boks in recognition of their role in bringing the large reflector of the Steward Observatory into operation and for their support of the astrometric work on comets, minor planets, and satellites. This minor planet was at far southern declination at discovery (and observations at Wellington were important in obtaining a reliable orbit). This is also in fitting association with the Boks, who have devoted much effort to study of the structure of the southern Milky Way and to encouragement of astronomy in the Southern Hemisphere."]
Two Priscilla and Bart Bok Awards are jointly awarded each year by the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the
American Astronomical Society to astronomy-related projects at the
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is an annual science fair in the United States. It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Each May, more th ...
,
in recognition of the Boks' advocacy for astronomy education and work in public outreach.
The
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
awards the ''Priscilla Fairfield Bok Prize'' to a female third-year science student each year.
Publications
*''The Milky Way''. Bart J. Bok and Priscilla F. Bok. Harvard University Press. First edition 1941; fifth edition 1981.
Bok's ADS record
References
;Notes
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bok, Priscilla Fairfield
1896 births
1975 deaths
American women astronomers
Harvard University staff
People from Littleton, Massachusetts
Harvard College Observatory people