obituaries: Harold Zirin

An obituary for solar physicist Harold Zirin, emeritus professor of astrophysics at Caltech and founder and former director of Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO), who died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on Jan 3, 2012 is presented. Although trained in the theory of atomic transitions in sol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics today 2012-09, Vol.65 (9), p.68
Main Authors: Gary, Dale E, Hurford, Gordon J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Deaths
Personal profiles
Physicists
Zirin, Harold (1929-2012)
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Summary:An obituary for solar physicist Harold Zirin, emeritus professor of astrophysics at Caltech and founder and former director of Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO), who died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on Jan 3, 2012 is presented. Although trained in the theory of atomic transitions in solar and stellar atmospheres, Zirin developed a broad and early interest in observations of solar flares and prominences. He initially pursued that interest from 1954 to 1964 at the High Altitude and Climax Observatories in Colorado. He joined the faculty at Caltech in 1964 as a tenured professor. Together with Caltech's Robert Leighton and the Mount Wilson Observatory's Robert Howard, he immediately began to search for a site for a new solar optical observatory. As he made careful site surveys, Zirin was the first to recognize the value of observing the Sun over a body of water in order to stabilize the daytime atmosphere to improve the seeing conditions. The search for a Southern California site culminated in 1970 with the establishment of BBSO on Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains.
ISSN:0031-9228
1945-0699