Robert Raynolds McMath (May 11, 1891 – January 2, 1962) was a U.S. solar

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 ...

. Robert R. McMath (1891-1962) was a bridge engineer, businessman, and astronomer. Robert's father, Francis C. McMath, had made a fortune as a bridge builder. They both had a keen interest in amateur astronomy. So in 1922, the McMaths, along with Judge Henry S. Hulbert founded the

McMath–Hulbert Observatory The McMath-Hulbert Solar Observatory is a solar observatory in Lake Angelus, Michigan, USA. It was established in 1929 as a private observatory by father and son Francis Charles McMath and Robert Raynolds McMath and their friend, Judge Henry Hul ...

Lake Angelus, Michigan Lake Angelus is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is an affluent suburb of Detroit, with one of the highest per capita incomes of any community in the state. History In the early 1900s, a small community formed around t ...

. It was deeded to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1931, Robert served as the director of the McMath–Hulbert Observatory until 1961. In 1932, Robert extended the functionality of the

spectroheliograph The spectroheliograph is an instrument used in astronomy which captures a photographic image of the Sun at a single wavelength of light, a monochromatic image. The wavelength is usually chosen to coincide with a spectral wavelength of one of the ch ...

so that it could record

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s of the sun. This machine is known as a ''spectroheliokinematograph''; with it, he took astonishing moving pictures of solar storms, showing features on the sun's surface that lasted from seconds to days. In 1933, he and his father received the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

John Price Wetherill Medal The John Price Wetherill Medal was an award of the Franklin Institute. It was established with a bequest given by the family of John Price Wetherill (1844–1906) on April 3, 1917. On June 10, 1925, the Board of Managers voted to create a silver ...

. Robert McMath was an adviser to the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

in its early years and he chaired the panel that advised NSF on the need for a national observatory. A site on

Kitt Peak Kitt Peak ( ood, Ioligam) is a mountain in the U.S. state of Arizona, and at is the highest point in the Quinlan Mountains. It is the location of the Kitt Peak National Observatory. The radio telescope at the observatory is one of ten dishes co ...

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 ...

was finally chosen for the

Kitt Peak National Observatory The Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is a United States astronomy, astronomical observatory located on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. With ...

(KPNO). Robert McMath along with the eminent astronomer Keith Pierce built a new, larger solar telescope on Kitt Peak called the

McMath–Pierce solar telescope McMath–Pierce solar telescope is a 1.6 m f/54 reflecting solar telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, United States. Built in 1962, the building was designed by American architect Myron Goldsmith and Bangladeshi-American str ...

. Robert McMath served as the first president of

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is a consortium of universities and other institutions that operates astronomical observatories and telescopes. Founded October 10, 1957, with the encouragement of the National Sc ...

(AURA) from 1957 to 1958, and thereafter as chairman of the AURA board.

References

External links

Timeline of McMath-Hulbert ObservatoryNational Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
1891 births 1962 deaths 20th-century American astronomers {{US-astronomer-stub

See also

References

External links