John August Anderson
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John August Anderson (August 7, 1876 – December 2, 1959) was an American
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
who made significant contributions to improving
astronomical instruments An astronomical instrument is a device for observing, measuring or recording astronomical data. They are used in the scientific field of astronomy, a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos, with t ...
in the early 20th century, especially diffraction gratings.


Biography

John August Anderson was born on August 7, 1876, in Rollag, Minnesota, a small unincorporated community in Clay County. He was the sixth child of Brede Andersen and Elen Martha Brevik . After completing his early education, Anderson attended Concordia College in
Moorhead, Minnesota Moorhead ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moo ...
, from 1891 to 1893. He then pursued further studies at
Minnesota State University Moorhead Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota, across the Red River of the North from Fargo, North Dakota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM ...
(formerly Moorhead Normal School) from 1893 to 1894. In January 1899, he enrolled at
Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...
in Indiana, where he obtained a B.S. degree in August 1900. Following the completion of his undergraduate degree, Anderson served as a teacher until 1904 when he decided to further his education. He enrolled at
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
, where he pursued graduate studies under the direction of Professor Joseph Sweetman Ames, on the Absorption and Emission Spectra of Neodymium and Erbium Compounds. After receiving his
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in 1907 he stayed at Johns Hopkins and became a professor of astronomy in 1908. He continued research on absorption and emission spectra and “was requested to take charge of the ruling engine constructed by Henry Rowland, the great American pioneer in spectroscopy. Anderson refined Rowland's machine to produce gratings of even finer resolving power” and continued their production, as high quality diffraction gratings were in high demand during that time. In 1912 at the request of George E. Hale he took a one year leave of absence from Johns Hopkins to supervise and assist with the construction of a large ruling engine at the Mt. Wilson observatory. In 1913 he returned to Johns Hopkins, but in 1916, he left to work at Mt. Wilson. His most notable contribution was his adaptation of the Michelson's interferometer technique for measuring close
double star In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes. This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a ...
s. He used a rotating mask at the focus to measure the separation of
Capella Capella is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Auriga. It has the Bayer designation α Aurigae, which is Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Aurigae and abbreviated Alpha Aur or α Aur. Capella is the lis ...
. In the 1920s, he collaborated with Harry O. Wood to develop the Wood–Anderson seismometer. In 1928 after the
California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...
received funds for the building of the 200-inch Palomar telescope he was asked by Hale to serve as executive officer of the newly formed Observatory Council, whose charge was to oversee all aspects of the project. Over the next twenty years, Anderson directed and participated in site selection, design and testing of the 200-inch mirror, the establishment and operation of an on-site optical shop, and the design and testing of the telescope structure and, especially, its instrumentation. Anderson remained head of the Observatory Council up to the time of the telescope's dedication, in June 1948. He died on December 2, 1959, at the age of 83 in
Altadena, California Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, California, Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtow ...
. The crater Anderson on the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
is named in his memory. He was awarded the
Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...
's Howard N. Potts Medal in 1924.


Bibliography

Unless otherwise noted, the following publications were by John A. Anderson. * "On the Application of the Laws of Refraction in Interpreting Solar Phenomena", Astrophysical Journal, vol. 31, 1910. * "A method of investigating the Stark effect for metals, with results for chromium", 1917. * "The vacuum spark spectrum of calcium", 1924. * "The Use of Long Focus Concave Gratings at Eclipses", ''Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific'', Vol. 38, 1926. * J. A. Anderson and Russell W. Porter, "Ronchi's Method of Optical Testing", Astrophysical Journal, vol. 70, 1929. * "Spectral energy-distribution of the high-current vacuum tube", 1932. * "On the application of Michelson's interferometer method to the measurement of close double stars", ''Astrophysical Journal'', vol. 51, June 1920. * "Optics of the 200-inch Hale Telescope", ''Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific'', Vol. 60, 1948.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John August 1876 births 1959 deaths American astronomers Johns Hopkins University alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences