Vera Rubin

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Vera Rubin
Photograph
Vera Rubin in 2009
Born Vera Cooper
(1928-07-23)July 23, 1928
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died December 25, 2016(2016-12-25) (aged 88)
Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Residence Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Nationality American
Fields Astronomy
Institutions Georgetown University, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Alma mater Vassar College, Cornell University, Georgetown University
Thesis Fluctuations in the Space Distribution of the Galaxies (1954)
Doctoral advisor George Gamow
Other academic advisors Richard Feynman, Hans Bethe, Philip Morrison
Notable students Sandra Faber
Known for Galaxy rotation problem
Dark matter
Rubin–Ford effect
Notable awards Bruce Medal, Dickson Prize in Science, Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, National Medal of Science
Part of a series on
Physical cosmology
Full-sky image derived from nine years' WMAP data
Scientists

Vera Cooper Rubin (July 23, 1928 – December 25, 2016) was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates.[1] She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted angular motion of galaxies and the observed motion, by studying galactic rotation curves. This phenomenon became known as the galaxy rotation problem. Although initially met with skepticism, Rubin's results were confirmed over subsequent decades.[not verified in body]

As described in her New York Times obituary, she "transformed modern physics and astronomy with her observations showing that galaxies and stars are immersed in the gravitational grip of vast clouds of dark matter. Her work helped usher in a Copernican-scale change in cosmic consciousness, namely the realization that what astronomers always saw and thought was the universe "is just the visible tip of a lumbering iceberg of mystery."[2]

Early life[edit]

Rubin was born Vera Florence Cooper, on July 23, 1928, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the younger of two sisters. Her parents were Jewish immigrants Philip Cooper, a Lithuanian-American electrical engineer who worked at Bell Telephone and Rose Applebaum Cooper, of Bessarabian origin, who worked at Bell until their marriage.[2][3] Her father was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, as Pesach Kobchefski.[3]

The family moved to Washington, DC when Vera was 10,[2] where she developed an interest in astronomy,[4] later saying that she had "become entranced by astronomy from watching the stars wheel past her bedroom window."[2]

Rubin's older sister, Ruth Cooper Burg, eventually became an administrative law judge in the United States Department of Defense.[3]

Education[edit]

Rubin pursued undergraduate education at Vassar College "because Maria Mitchell—the first nationally known woman astronomer—had worked there";[5] she earned her BA degree in 1948,[5] in astronomy, the sole graduate in the subject in that class.[6] She attempted to enroll in a graduate program at Princeton, but never received their graduate catalogue, as women were not allowed in the graduate astronomy program there until 1975.[6]

She instead enrolled at Cornell University, where she studied physics under Philip Morrison and quantum physics under Richard Feynman and Hans Bethe.[citation needed] She completed her M.A. thesis study in 1951, which has been referred to as controversial, examining "the possibility of a bulk rotation in the universe by looking for 'non-Hubble flow.'"[4] during which she made one of the first[clarification needed] observations of deviations from Hubble flow in the motions of galaxies.[citation needed] In her thesis, Rubin argued that galaxies might be rotating around unknown centers, rather than simply moving outwards, as suggested by the Big Bang theory at that time.[citation needed] The paper derived from her thesis was rejected by both the Astronomical Journal and the Astrophysical Journal.[4] As described by Kristine Larsen for the Jewish Women's Archive,

Rubin later agreed that perhaps her data were too skimpy, [although she believed] her thesis was a factor in Gerard de Vaucouleurs's claim for evidence of the "Local Supercluster."

Rubin's entry into doctoral work at Georgetown University has been described by Robert Irion for Science in this way:

[Rubin's husband Robert's] first job was at the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University… where he worked with physicist Ralph Alpher. [Alpher] introduced the Rubins to his colleague, astrophysicist George Gamow of George Washington University. Gamow became [Vera] Rubin's adviser even though she was attending Georgetown University, which had the area's only Ph.D. program in astronomy.[5]

Her dissertation under Gamow,[7] completed in 1954, concluded that galaxies clumped together, rather than being randomly distributed through the universe, an idea not pursued by others for two decades.[8]

Career[edit]

Rubin held various academic appointments for the next eleven years. She served for a year as an Instructor of Mathematics and Physics at Montgomery County Community College, then worked from 1955-1965 at Georgetown University, as a Research Associate Astronomer (full period), Lecturer (1959-1962), and finally, Assistant Professor of Astronomy (1962-1965).[8] She joined the Carnegie Institute in 1965, as a Staff Member in the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism (DTM),[8][9] where she met her long-time friend, Kent Ford. Five years after joining the DTM, Rubin and Ford began examining the rotation of neighboring galaxies, in particular the Andromeda Galaxy whose dark halo had effectively been discovered by Babcock in 1939.[according to whom?][citation needed][10]

Citing Rubin's 1997 memoir, Dark Matter,[11]:167,156 student astronomer Nichols summarised Rubin's experiences at the Mount Palomar Observatory, site of 200-inch and 48-inch reflecting telescopes. Rubin was invited to apply for telescope time at either Mount Wilson or Palomar Observatory, by Sandage in 1963-64. An observatory that was primarily male-dominated until the 1970s, women had, by Rubin's description, been banned from using the telescopes until the mid-1960s (following Carnegie's demand for a facility allowing male astronomers to isolate themselves from their families); Rubin's application was successful, and she became the Observatory's first authorized female user,[12] beginning use of the 48-inch telescope period.[12][better source needed] (Margaret Burbridge was able to observe at Mount Wilson by accompanying her husband when he had telescope time.)

Rubin became a Senior Fellow at the DTM,[when?] where her work area was described as "Galactic and extra-galactic dynamics; large-scale structure and dynamics of the universe."[13]

Galaxy rotation problem[edit]

Main article: Rubin-Ford effect

At the Carnegie Institution, Rubin began work that was close to her controversial thesis regarding galaxy clusters,[8][better source needed] with instrument-maker Kent Ford, making hundreds of observations. The Rubin–Ford effect, per Ridpath, an '"anisotropy in the expansion of the Universe" that they appeared to have discovered—on a scale ca. 100 million light years, through study of a sample of spiral galaxy motion[14]—was subsequently shown to be invalid.[14][15][16] First appearing in journals in 1976,[17] this early independent work of Rubin and colleagues is considered "pioneering," and was the subject of "intense discussion".[15]

Rubin moved her area of research to studying the rotation curves of galaxies, commencing with the Andromeda Galaxy. Following Babcock's 1939 report of unexpectedly rapid rotation in the outskirts of the Andromeda galaxy and a mass-to-light ratio of 50, in 1940 Oort had similarly discovered and wrote about the large non-visible halo of NGC 3115.[18][19]:77 Rubin further uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted angular motion of galaxies based on the visible light and the observed motion, by studying galaxy rotation curves.[19]:84[20] The premise was that galaxies are rotating so fast that they should fly apart, if the gravity of their constituent stars was all that was holding them together; as they are not flying apart, a large amount of unseen mass must be holding them together,[19]:84 a conundrum that became known as the galaxy rotation problem.[19]:86 Rubin's calculations showed that galaxies must contain at least six times as much dark matter as ordinary matter.[21]:14[22] These were the first persuasive results to show that large halos of invisible matter exist around galaxies,[19]:74 or that Newtonian gravity does not apply universally,[23]:418 or that gravity is not the only force responsible for holding galaxies together,[19]:23 or that some combination of these things must be influencing their motions. Rubin's results were confirmed over subsequent decades,[citation needed] and attempts to explain the galaxy rotation problem contributed to the theory of dark matter.[16][23]:417 According to Princeton theorist Ostriker, "Vera's work, mostly in the early '80s, clinched the case for dark matter for most astronomers."[2]

Rubin's perspective on the history of the work were presented in a review, "One Hundred Years of Rotating Galaxies," for the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 2000.[24] She continued working on the analysis of how stars move in the outskirts of galaxies until her death in 2016.[5]

Dark matter[edit]

Main article: Dark matter § History

Physicists had been aware, as early as 1915, that invisible (i.e., not detectable via its electromagnetic radiation) matter might exist that could interact with other matter gravitationally.[25] The term "dark matter" was coined by Dutch astronomer Kapteyn in 1922[26] who studied the motion of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, but concluded that no such matter was present in it.[25] Oort suggested that Kapteyn was wrong in 1932, and that there is dark matter in the disk of the Milky Way, but the claim was later shown to be in error. Swiss astronomer Zwicky[27] working in 1933 received credit for the first verifiable claim, based on measurements of galaxies in the Coma Cluster.[25][28][better source needed] He observed that the estimated mass of the seven galaxies in that cluster, based on their brightness, was one-four hundredth of a mass estimate based on their motions, and used the term dunkle Materie (German; "dark matter") to explain the discrepancy.[citation needed] Stated another way, he concluded based on redshifts of the Coma galaxies that their velocities are "much larger than the escape velocity due to the visible mass of the cluster."[25][29] These observations led Zwicky to state that "dark matter is present in much greater amount than luminous matter,"[29] a type of observation that was repeated by Smith in 1936 for the Virgo Cluster.[28]

In the 1970s Rubin made observations of galaxy rotations that provided further evidence for the existence of dark matter, evidence that was considered the strongest evidence up to that time.[clarification needed][2][better source needed] Rubin used the Carnegie Image Tube (a new electronic optical detector system) that increased detection efficiency over photographic plates by a factor of twenty. The more detailed exposures enabled measuring optical rotation curve data for the outer parts of galaxies, which enabled dark matter to be detected.[30] The existence of dark matter jointly explains galaxy rotation curves, the motion of galaxies within galaxy clusters, patterns of gravitational lensing and the distribution of mass in systems such as the Bullet Cluster.[citation needed] Regarding modified gravity theories as an explanation for the observations, Rubin stated "If I could have my pick, I would like to learn that Newton's laws must be modified in order to correctly describe gravitational interactions at large distances. That's more appealing than a universe filled with a new kind of sub-nuclear particle."[31]

Rubin wrote:

It has been known for a long time that outside the bright nucleus of a typical spiral galaxy the luminosity of the galaxy falls off rapidly with distance from the center. If luminosity were a true indicator of mass, most of the mass would be concentrated toward the center. Outside the nucleus the rotational velocity would fall off inversely as the square root of the distance, in conformity with Kepler's law for the orbital velocity of bodies in the solar system. Instead it has been found that the rotational velocity of spiral galaxies in a diverse sample either remains constant with increasing distance from the center or rises slightly out as far as it is possible to make measurements. This unexpected result indicates that the falloff in luminous mass with distance from the center is balanced by an increase in nonluminous mass.

The distribution of light is not a valid indicator of the distribution of mass either in galaxies or in the universe at large. As much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe is evidently not radiating at any wavelength with enough intensity to be detected on the earth. Originally astronomers described the nonluminous component as "missing matter." Today they recognize that it is not missing; it is just not visible.[32]

The nature of dark matter is as yet unknown, but its presence is crucial to understanding the universe.[33][34]

Academy and society memberships[edit]

Rubin was a member of the National Academy of Sciences.[35] of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences,[36] and of the American Philosophical Society.[37]

Awards and honors[edit]

Her discoveries in the field of astronomy led to her receipt of many awards, the major ones including:

Major invited lectures[edit]

Honorary doctorates[edit]

Rubin was awarded honorary D.Sc. Degrees from Creighton University,[citation needed] American University,[citation needed] Ohio Wesleyan University,[citation needed] Princeton University,[citation needed] Harvard and Yale.[citation needed]

Asteroid 5726 Rubin was named in her honor.[47]

Personal life[edit]

From 1948 until her husband's death in 2008, Rubin was married to Robert Rubin,[51][52] whom she met while he was a fellow graduate student at Cornell University majoring in physical chemistry. All four of her children earned Ph.D.s in the natural sciences or mathematics: David (1950), Ph.D. geology, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey; Judith Young (1952–2014), Ph.D. cosmic-ray physics, an astronomer at the University of Massachusetts; Karl (1956), Ph.D. mathematics, a mathematician at the University of California at Irvine; and Allan (1960), Ph.D. geology, a geologist at Princeton University.[4]

Motivated by her own battle to gain credibility as a woman in a field dominated by male astronomers, Rubin encourages girls to pursue their dreams of investigating the universe. Overcoming discouraging comments on her choice of study was a lifelong challenge, but she persevered, supported by her father and, later, her husband and family.[53] In addition to astronomy, Rubin was a force for greater recognition of women in the sciences. As noted by Drake, Rubin "would call conference organizers and point out their lack of diverse speakers… [and] fought for women to be accepted at Washington's exclusive Cosmos Club."[54] She advocated for more women in the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), on review panels, and in academic searches. She said that she had fought with the NAS, but she continued to be dissatisfied with the number of women who are elected each year. She stated that it was the saddest part of her life and in 2002 noted, "Thirty years ago, I thought everything was possible."[55]

Of her potential legacy, Rubin remarked, "Fame is fleeting, my numbers mean more to me than my name. If astronomers are still using my data years from now, that's my greatest compliment."[56]

Rubin was Jewish, and saw no conflict between science and religion. In an interview, she stated: "In my own life, my science and my religion are separate. I'm Jewish, and so religion to me is a kind of moral code and a kind of history. I try to do my science in a moral way, and, I believe that, ideally, science should be looked upon as something that helps us understand our role in the universe."[57]

Rubin died on the night of December 25, 2016.[2][58] The president of the Carnegie Institution, where she performed the bulk of her work and research, called her a "national treasure."[53]

In popular culture[edit]

Publications[edit]

Books[edit]

  • Rubin, Vera (1997). Bright Galaxies, Dark Matters. Masters of Modern Physics. Woodbury, NY: Springer Verlag/AIP Press. ISBN 1563962314.  This is "[a] collection of less technical papers and articles for the public."[8]

Articles[edit]

The following are a small selection of articles selected by the scientists and historians of the CWP project, as being representative of her most important writings:[8]

  • Rubin, Vera; Ford, Jr., W. Kent (1970). "Rotation of the Andromeda Nebula from a Spectroscopic Survey of Emission Regions". The Astrophysical Journal. 159: 379ff. Bibcode:1970ApJ...159..379R. doi:10.1086/150317. 
"[T]he first of the detailed studies of orbital rotation in galaxies."[8]
  • Rubin, Vera; Roberts, M. S.; Graham, J. A.; Ford Jr., W. K.; Thonnard, N. (1976). "Motion of the Galaxy and the Local Group Determined from the Velocity Anisotropy of Distant Sc I Galaxies. I. The Data". The Astronomical Journal. 81: 687. Bibcode:1976AJ.....81..687R. doi:10.1086/111942. 
  • Rubin, Vera; Roberts, M. S.; Graham, J. A.; Ford Jr., W. K.; Thonnard, N. (1976). "Motion of the Galaxy and the Local Group Determined from the Velocity Anisotropy of Distant Sc I Galaxies. II. The Analysis for the Motion". The Astronomical Journal. 81: 719ff. 
About the receding two articles, Rubin wrote: "I returned to the subject of my Master's thesis, which had been believed by very few astronomers… I obtained my own data to look for large scale motions in the universe. This paper was also believed by very few, but the subject became a major branch of extragalactic astronomy a few years later."[8]
  • Rubin, Vera; Thonnard, N.; Ford, Jr., W. K. (1980). "Rotational Properties of 21 SC Galaxies With a Large Range of Luminosities and Radii, From NGC 4605 (R=4kpc) to UGC 2885 (R=122kpc)". The Astrophysical Journal. 238: 471ff. Bibcode:1980ApJ...238..471R. doi:10.1086/158003. 
About this article, Rubin wrote: "When the subject of large scale motions became too competitive and crowded, I returned to galaxies rotation properties. Observations of a set of spiral galaxies gave convincing evidence that orbital velocities of stars in galaxies were unexpectedly high at large distances from the nucleus. This paper was enormously influential in convincing astronomers that most of the matter in the universe is dark, and much of it is clumped about galaxies."[8]
  • Rubin, Vera; Burstein, D.; Ford, Jr., W. K.; Thonnard, N. (1985). "Rotation Velocities of 16 SA Galaxies and a Comparison of Sa, Sb, and SC Rotation Properties". The Astrophysical Journal. 289: 81ff. Bibcode:1985ApJ...289...81R. doi:10.1086/162866. 
Rotation velocity data on approximately 60 further galaxies.[8]
  • Rubin, Vera; Graham, J. A.; Kenney, J.D. P. (1992). "Cospatial Counterrotating Stellar Disks in the Virgo E7/S0 Galaxy NGC 4550". The Astrophysical Journal. 394: L9–L12. Bibcode:1992ApJ...394L...9R. doi:10.1086/186460. 
About this article, Rubin wrote: "I discovered from observations of NGC 4550 that in the single disk of this galaxy, half the stars orbit clockwise, and half the stars orbit counterclockwise, both systems intermingled. This observation required that many astronomers modify the manner in which they measured velocities, for computer programs were not then equipped to handle such complexity." She mentions and takes pleasure in the fact that the discovery was made at age 63.[8]
This article presents the content of Rubin's Henry Norris Russell Lectureship address, and surveys the history of studies of galaxy rotations.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Randall, Lisa (January 4, 2017). "Why Vera Rubin Deserved a Nobel". New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2017. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Overbye, Dennis (December 27, 2016). "Vera Rubin, 88, Dies; Opened Doors in Astronomy, and for Women". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2016. 
  3. ^ a b c Bartusiak, Marcia (1993). Through a Universe Darkly: A Cosmic Tale of Ancient Ethers, Dark Matter, and the Fate of the Universe. Toronto, ON, CAN: HarperCollins Canada. pp. 88–94 [verification needed]. ISBN 0060183101. Retrieved December 29, 2016. 
  4. ^ a b c d Larsen, Kristine (March 1, 2009). "Vera Cooper Rubin". Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. Brookline, MA: Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved December 30, 2016. 
  5. ^ a b c d Irion, Robert (2002). "The Bright Face behind the Dark Sides of Galaxies". Science. Washington, DC: AAAS. 295 (5557, February 8): 960–961. doi:10.1126/science.295.5557.960. Retrieved December 29, 2016. 
  6. ^ a b Overbye, Dennis (27 December 2016). "Vera Rubin, 88, Dies; Opened Doors in Astronomy,and for Women". The New York Times. 
  7. ^ Popova, Maria (April 18, 2016). "Pioneering Astronomer Vera Rubin on Women in Science, Dark Matter, and Our Never-Ending Quest to Know the Universe" (journalist blog). Brain Pickings. self-published. Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Johnson, Ben; Tsai, Meigy (2001). "Vera Cooper Rubin". In Turner, Jean & Byers, Nina. Contribtions of 20th Century Women to Physics (CWP). Los Angeles, CA: CWP and Regents of the University of California. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2016. 
  9. ^ "Vera Rubin". Retrieved December 29, 2016. 
  10. ^ Babcock, Horace W. (1939). "The Rotation of the Andromeda Nebula". Lick Observatory Bulletin. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 498: 41–51. Bibcode:1939LicOB..19...41B. doi:10.5479/ADS/bib/1939LicOB.19.41B. Retrieved December 30, 2016. [Quote:]This paper is based largely upon a dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of California. 
  11. ^ Rubin, Vera (1997). Bright Galaxies, Dark Matters. Masters of Modern Physics. Woodbury, NY: Springer Verlag/AIP Press. ISBN 1563962314. 
  12. ^ a b c Nichols, Michelle (June 10, 1998). "Michele's Astronomy Web Page, Astronomy History, Mount Wilson and Palomar [Cindy Blaha's Students—Observational Projects, Spring 1998: Michele Nichols]" (undergraduate comps essay). Retrieved December 30, 2016. [Quote:] …Mount Wilson and Palomar seem to have been a primarily male dominated observatory until the 1970s. Vera Rubin recounts that Hale and other astronomers… banned women from using the telescopes until the mid-1960s. … Apparently, Andrew Carnegie asked for a facility where the male astronomers would not be bothered by their families, and so the "Monastery" [living quarters] was built to exclude families… The monastery was built to exclude wives, not necessarily women astronomers. However, these facilities quickly grew into a justification for women's exclusion by 1960… Vera Rubin was the first woman to use the Palomar telescope legally. In 1963-64, [Rubin] was invited to apply for telescope time by Alan [sic,] Sandage at either Mount Wilson or Palomar. The proposal form… [stated] "Due to limited Facilities, it is not possible to accept application from women" [into which] someone had [penciled in] "usually." … The limited facilities to which the form referred was the presence of only one toilet at the observatory.  See preceding reference to Rubin, for the cited source for Nichols observations.
  13. ^ Faculty Members[dead link] Archived October 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ^ a b Ridpath, Ian, ed. (2016) [2012]. "Rubin-Ford Effect". A Dictionary of Astronomy (2nd, revised ed.). Oxford, GBR: Oxford University Press. p. 406. doi:10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100432262. ISBN 9780199609055. Retrieved 28 December 2016.  See also the publishers online entry.
  15. ^ a b Jones, Bernard J.T. (1992). "The Large Scale Structure of the Universe [§2. Inhomogeneous Universe—Observations. 2.4 Surveys with Independent Distance Estimates. 2.4.1 The Rubin-Ford Effect]". In Sánchez, F.; Collados, M. & Rebolo, R. Observational and Physical Cosmology. Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics, Vol. 2. Cambridge, GBR: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521419964. Retrieved 28 December 2016.  Also available as a 2002 update, and in an html format and section, all retrieved December 28, 2016.
  16. ^ a b For a popular presentation of this information, presented with bias toward the importance of Rubin's work, see Scoles, Sarah (October 4, 2016). "How Vera Rubin Discovered Dark Matter". Astronomy Magazine. Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  17. ^ Rubin, Vera; Ford Jr., W. Kent; Thonnard, Norbert; Roberts, Morton S.; Graham, John A. (1976). "Motion of the Galaxy and the Local Group Determined From the Velocity Anisotropy of Distant SC I Galaxies. I. The Data". Astronomical Journal. 81 (9, September): 687–718. Bibcode:1976AJ.....81..687R. doi:10.1086/111942. 
  18. ^ Oort, J. H. (1940). "Some Problems Concerning the Structure and Dynamics of the Galactic System and the Elliptical Nebulae NGC 3115 and 4494". Astrophysical Journal. 498: 273–306. [non-primary source needed]
  19. ^ a b c d e f Tucker, Wallace; Tucker, Karen (1988). The Dark Matter. William Morrow. ISBN 9780688103880. 
  20. ^ Rubin, Vera; Ford, Jr., W. Kent (1970). "Rotation of the Andromeda Nebula from a Spectroscopic Survey of Emission Regions". Astrophysical Journal. 159: 379–404. Bibcode:1970ApJ...159..379R. doi:10.1086/150317. [non-primary source needed]
  21. ^ Randall, Lisa (2015). Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062328502. 
  22. ^ Weiller, David (July 24, 2007). "Galactic Rotation Curves of Spiral Galaxies [First Observational Evidence of Dark Matter, p. 2]" (self-published blog). darkmatterphysics.com. Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, France. Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  23. ^ a b Peebles, P.J.E. (1993). Principles of Physical Cosmology. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691019339. 
  24. ^ Rubin, Vera (2000). "One Hundred Years of Rotating Galaxies" (PDF). Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 112 (June): 747–750. Retrieved December 28, 2016. 
  25. ^ a b c d Räsänen, Syksy (2012). "Cosmology I and II, [Unit] 7 Dark Matter; 7.1 Observational evidence for dark matter" (PDF). Retrieved December 30, 2016. 
  26. ^ "The Bruce Medalists: Jacobus C. Kapteyn". sonoma.edu. Retrieved December 31, 2016. 
  27. ^ "Physics - Dark Matter". learner.org. Retrieved December 31, 2016. 
  28. ^ a b Weiller, David (July 24, 2007). "First Observational Evidence of Dark Matter [p. 1]" (self-published blog). darkmatterphysics.com. Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, France. Retrieved December 26, 2016. [better source needed]
  29. ^ a b For a layman's description of the Zwicky contribution, see Koberlein, Brian (September 19, 2016). "The Dark History Of Dark Matter". Forbes. Retrieved December 29, 2016 – via forbes.com. 
  30. ^ Faber, Sandra. "Vera Rubin's Contributions to Astronomy". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2016-12-30. 
  31. ^ "13 things that do not make sense". New Scientist. Retrieved October 19, 2010. 
  32. ^ Christiansen, Jen. "Vera Rubin's Numbers". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2016-12-31. 
  33. ^ Panek, Richard (April 2010). "Dark Energy: The Biggest Mystery in the Universe". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  34. ^ In 1972, physicists speculated that "dark matter" may be non-baryonic, in particular that it may be massive neutral leptons, which are neither baryons nor mesons. See Cowsik, R.; McClelland, J. (1972). "An Upper Limit on the Neutrino Rest Mass". Physical Review Letters. 29: 669–670. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.29.669. [non-primary source needed]
  35. ^ NAS Staff (2016). "Vera Rubin". National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  36. ^ "Women's History Month – Vera Rubin". Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  37. ^ "APS Members' Directory Search". Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  38. ^ Administrator. "Winners of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society". ras.org.uk. Retrieved December 29, 2016. 
  39. ^ Longair, M.S.; Rubin, Vera; RAS Staff. "[The President. Today we award the Gold Medal of the Society to Dr. Vera Rubin.]" (PDF). Meetings of the RAS, Vol. 117. November 1996 Meeting of the RAS. London, ENG: Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). pp. 129–135. Retrieved December 29, 2016. 
  40. ^ "Recipients -". weizmann.ac.il. Retrieved December 31, 2016. 
  41. ^ "Weizmann Women & Science Award -". weizmann.ac.il. Retrieved December 31, 2016. 
  42. ^ "2002 Gruber Cosmology Prize Press Release". The Gruber Foundation. Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  43. ^ ASP Staff (2003). "Vera Rubin Wins 2003 ASP Bruce Medal and Other ASP Award Winners". San Francisco, CA: Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP). Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  44. ^ James Craig Watson Medal[dead link] Archived July 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  45. ^ Science, Carnegie. "News - Carnegie Institution for Science". carnegiescience.edu. Retrieved December 29, 2016. 
  46. ^ "Dickson Prize". Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  47. ^ a b NSF Staff (2016). "National Medal of Science 50th Anniversary: Vera Rubin (1928– )". Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation (NSF). Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  48. ^ Lifetime Achievement Award[dead link] Archived November 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  49. ^ "Jansky Lecture Redirect". Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  50. ^ "Henry Norris Russell Lectureship". American Astronomical Society. Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  51. ^ "Vera Rubin – The Gruber Foundation". Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  52. ^ Sullivan, Patricia (February 5, 2008). "Robert J. Rubin, 81; Scientist Whose Work Combined Disciplines". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2016. 
  53. ^ a b Domonoske, Camila (December 26, 2016). "Vera Rubin, Who Confirmed Existence Of Dark Matter, Dies At 88". NPR News. Retrieved December 27, 2016. 
  54. ^ Drake, Nadia (December 27, 2016). "Vera Rubin, Pioneering Astronomer, Dies at 88". Retrieved December 28, 2016. 
  55. ^ "Vera Rubin". The Gruber Foundation. Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  56. ^ "Women in Science". March 8, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2016. 
  57. ^ "Pontifical Science Academy Banks on Stellar Cast". December 1–7, 1996. Retrieved October 19, 2010. 
  58. ^ AJC Staff (December 26, 2016). "Pioneering Astronomer Vera Rubin Dies at 88". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Associated Press. Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  59. ^ DTM Staff (2013). "Vera Rubin's Influential Work on Dark Matter is Highlighted in Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey". Department of Terrestrial Magnetism (DTM), Carnegie Institution of Washington. Retrieved December 26, 2016. 
  60. ^ BBC Staff (2010). "Science & Nature, TV & Radio Follow-up: Programmes—Horizon, Most of Our Universe is Missing". BBC. Retrieved October 19, 2010. 
  61. ^ Rubin, Vera. "A Century of Galaxy Spectroscopy". Bulletin of the AAS, Vol. 26. 185th AAS Meeting. Washington, DC: American Astronomical Society (AAS). p. 1360. 31.01. Retrieved December 29, 2016. 

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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