The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. The dispute is about the common acceptance of the "icy conglomerate" model. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ...
Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.

Fred Lawrence Whipple (November 5, 1906 – August 30, 2004) was an American astronomer. November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics. ...

He is best known for writing an influential paper in Astrophysical Journal in 1950 [1], in which he proposed the "dirty snowball" theory of comet composition (although he originally used the term "icy conglomerate"). The Astrophysical Journal is one of the foremost research journals devoted to recent developments, discoveries, and theories in astronomy and astrophysics. ... 1950 (MCML in Roman) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Comet Hale-Bopp A comet (denoted by ☄) is a small body in the solar system that orbits the sun and (at least occasionally) exhibits a coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail — both due primarily to the effects of solar radiation upon the comets nucleus, which itself is a...

Fred Lawrence Whipple, the son of a farmer, was born November 5, 1906, in Red Oak, Iowa. An early bout with polio ended his ambition of being a professional tennis player. Whipple studied at Occidental College in southern California, then majored in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. A class in astronomy turned him in that direction, and he received a doctorate in that subject in 1931 from the University of California at Berkeley. While in graduate school, he helped map the orbit of the newly discovered planet Pluto. November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... Red Oak is a city located in Montgomery County, Iowa, along the East Nishnabotna River. ... Poliomyelitis (polio), or infantile paralysis, is a viral paralytic disease. ... Tennis ball This article is about the sport. ... Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union Johnson Hall, one of the three original buildings of the 1914 campus Occidental College, located in Los Angeles, California, is a small, coeducational, liberal arts college. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university situated in the neighborhood of Westwood within the city of Los Angeles. ... The University of California, Berkeley (also known as Cal, UC Berkeley, UCB, or simply Berkeley) is a prestigious, public, coeducational university situated in the foothills of Berkeley, California to the east of San Francisco Bay, overlooking the Golden Gate and its bridge. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 0. ...

He joined Harvard College Observatory in 1931 and studied the trajectories of meteors, confirming that they originated within the solar system rather than from interstellar space. Harvard College Observatory, about 1900. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises the Earths Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ...

In 1933, he discovered the periodic comet 36P/Whipple and the asteroid 1252 Celestia. He also discovered or co-discovered five other non-periodic comets, the first of which was C/1932 P1 Peltier-Whipple, independently discovered by the famed amateur astronomer Leslie Peltier. Comet Hale-Bopp A comet (denoted by ☄) is a small body in the solar system that orbits the sun and (at least occasionally) exhibits a coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail — both due primarily to the effects of solar radiation upon the comets nucleus, which itself is a... 36P/Whipple is a periodic comet in our solar system. ... An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ... Leslie Copus Peltier (January 2, 1900 – May 10, 1980) was an American astronomer. ...

During World War II, he invented a device for cutting tinfoil into chaff to confuse enemy radar tracking Allied aircraft. He was awarded a Certificate of Merit for this in 1948. Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 8 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ... Chaff is the seed casings and other inedible plant matter harvested with cereal grains such as wheat. ... M*A*S*H , see Corporal Walter (Radar) OReilly. ... Certificate of Merit Medal The Certificate of Merit Medal was a military decoration of the United States Army which was issued between the years of 1905 to 1918. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

He also invented a "meteor bumper" or "Whipple shield", which protects spacecraft from impact by small particles by vaporizing them. Whipple shield used on NASAs Stardust probe The Whipple shield, invented by Fred Whipple is a type of hypervelocity impact shield used to protect manned and unmanned spacecraft from collisions with small particles whose velocities are measured in kilometers per second. ...

In 1955 he became director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), remaining in this post until 1973. 1955 (MCMLV in Roman) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it is joined with the Harvard College Observatory (HCO) to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

He anticipated the era of artificial satellites and organized the "Moonwatch" group to track them. His group was the only one prepared and ready to make observations when the Soviet Union unexpectedly launched Sputnik I in 1957. For other uses, please see Satellite (disambiguation) A satellite is an object that orbits another object (known as its primary). ... The Omega Speedmaster, the legendary Moonwatch, selected by the NASA for all the Apollo missions Launched in 1957 by Omega, the Moonwatch is a type of Omega Speedmaster watch which was selected by the NASA for the Project Apollo. ... Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to be launched into orbit, on October 4, 1957. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Whipple passed away in 2004, aged 97.

An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ... February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Honors

Awards

• Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Award, by US President John F. Kennedy (1963)
• Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1983)
• Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1986)
• Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society (1987)

Named after him John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Gold Medal is the highest award of the Royal Astronomical Society. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Catherine Wolfe Bruce gold medal is awarded every year by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding lifetime contributions to astronomy. ... The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) was founded in San Francisco in 1889. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Henry Norris Russell Lectureship is awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society in recognition of a lifetime of excellence in astronomical research. ... The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is a US society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The main aim of the AAS is provide a political voice for its members and organise their lobbying. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Asteroid 1940 Whipple
• Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins in Arizona
• Whipple shield

The Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and is there largest field installation outside of their main site in Cambridge, MA. It is located near Amado, Arizona on the slopes of Mount Hopkins. ... Mount Hopkins is a mountain in Santa Cruz County, Arizona . ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 6th 295,254 km² 500 km 645 km 0. ...

External links

• Bruce Medal entry with picture
• Report of his death (BBC)
• Report of his death (CNN)
• Astronomy.com obituary
• Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics press release

"Dirty Snowball" paper

• Part I: ApJ 111 (1950) 375
• Part II: ApJ 113 (1951) 464