Keeler, James E.
1857-1900
- American astrophysicist, probable discoverer of
the dark narrow gap in the outer part of the A
ring of Saturn,
and the second director of Lick Observatory.
Keeler was (probably accidentally) cheated of his
rightful fame when the A ring gap became known as
"Encke's Division". Encke had earlier
seen a broad, poor contrast feature in the A-ring
which is quite different from the sharp, distinct
gap that Keeler recorded on the very first night
of observing with the Lick 36-inch refractor. On
the other hand, the gap may have been seen even
earlier by Francesco De Vico, William Lassell and the Rev.
William R. Dawes. The history of visual
observations of gaps in Saturn's rings is very
confusing.
- Kelvin (K)
- 0 Kelvin is absolute zero; water melts at 273 K
(= 0° C = 32° F); water boils at 373 K (= 100°
C = 212° F). (developed by William Thomson).
- Kepler, Johannes
1571-1630
- German astronomer and mathematician. Considered a
founder of modern astronomy. Using the positional
data carefully amassed by Tycho
Brahe, Kepler formulated the famous three
laws of planetary motion. They comprise a
quantitative formulation of Copernicus's theory
that the planets revolve around the Sun.
- kilogram (kg)
- = 1000 grams = 2.2 pounds, the mass of a liter of water.
- kilometer (km)
- = 1000 meters = 0.62 miles.
- Kowal, Charles T.
1940-
- American astronomer; discovered Leda and the
comet-like object 2060 Chiron (aka 95 P/Chiron).
- Kuiper, Gerard
1905-1973
- Dutch-born American astronomer best known for his
study of the surface of the Moon; discovered
Miranda and Nereid, found an atmosphere on Titan.
(Dr.Kuiper was solidly Americanized; his name is
pronounced to rhyme with "viper.")
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