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View Full Version : Vera Rubin, who did pioneering work on dark matter, dies


Commander Wallace
12-27-16, 05:25 AM
Vera Rubin who helped to establish the existence of " dark matter " has passed away. " Dark Matter " is essentially the invisible matter or " glue " which binds together the universe.

Quote : She was the only astronomy major to graduate from Vassar College in 1948. When she sought to enroll as a graduate student at Princeton, she learned women were not allowed in the university's graduate astronomy program, so she instead earned her master's degree from Cornell University.


Rubin earned her doctorate from Georgetown University, where she later worked as a faculty member for several years before working at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, a nonprofit scientific research center.
During her career, Rubin examined more than 200 galaxies.
"Vera Rubin was a national treasure as an accomplished astronomer and a wonderful role model for young scientists," said Matthew Scott, president of the Carnegie Institution. "We are very saddened by this loss."

Vera Rubin found that galaxies don't quite rotate the way they were predicted, and that lent support to the theory that some other force was at work, namely dark matter.
Dark matter, which hasn't been directly observed, makes up 27 percent of universe — as opposed to 5 percent of the universe being normal matter. Scientists better understand what dark matter isn't rather than what it is.

With all the losses of musicians and actors that have been lost this year alone, it's easy to forget those in the scientific fields who have done much work for the betterment of humanity and our understanding of the natural sciences like astronomy and astrophysics.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/vera-rubin-who-did-pioneering-work-on-dark-matter-dies/ar-BBxBtCi?ocid=spartanntp



Rest in peace Vera.

Jimbuna
12-27-16, 06:41 AM
With all the losses of musicians and actors that have been lost this year alone, it's easy to forget those in the scientific fields who have done much work for the betterment of humanity and our understanding of the natural sciences like astronomy and astrophysics.



True that :yep:

RIP Vera

vienna
12-27-16, 11:19 AM
The phrase "On the shoulders of giants" is often used to describe the works of such as Newton and their impact on later generations; for those whose accomplishments are marginalized solely because of factors such as gender, race, etc., there are those such as Rubin who provide far stronger and inspirational shoulders on which to climb and aspire. A sad loss, indeed...

Her obituary on NAtGeo:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/12/vera-rubin-dark-matter-galaxy-rotation-nobel-science/

RIP, Ms. Rubin...



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