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

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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 ...

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

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, and educated at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

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

Allegheny Observatory The Allegheny Observatory is an American astronomical research institution, a part of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh. The facility is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (ref. # 79002157, ad ...

at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

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

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

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 Ladd Observatory is an astronomical observatory at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1891 it was primarily designed for student instruction and also research. The facility operated a regional timekeeping service. It was re ...

at Brown University 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 time of the 2020 United States Census. History Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of Dedham, originally called 'West De ...

. Very's most important work was in measuring the

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...

s of the surfaces 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 other planets 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 Samuel Pierpont Langley (August 22, 1834 – February 27, 1906) was an American aviation pioneer, astronomer and physicist who invented the bolometer. He was the third secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and a professor of astronomy a ...

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

greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when energy from a planet's host star goes through the planet's atmosphere and heats the planet's surface, but greenhouse gases in the atmosphere prevent some of the heat from returning directly ...

. Very crater on Mars and Very crater on the Moon are named in his honor.

Published works

* * * *

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