{{tooshort|date=October 2009}}
Karl Gordon Henize,
Ph.D.Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD , for the Latin , meaning "teacher of philosophy", or alternatively, DPhil, for the equivalent , is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities...
(17 October 1926 – 5 October 1993) was a
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
astronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
.
Personal data
Born in
Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. The municipality is located north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border. The population within city limits was estimated to be 333,336 in 2008, making it the state's third largest city...
, his hobbies included home computers,
stamp collectingStamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects, such as covers . It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with estimates of the number of collectors ranging up to 20 million in the United States alone. - Collecting :Collecting is not the same as philately, which is...
,
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
, and
astronomyAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
, and he also enjoyed
racquetballFor other sports often called "paddleball", see Paddleball .Racquetball is a racquet sport played with a hollow rubber ball in an indoor or outdoor court. Joe Sobek is credited with inventing racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to the game to increase velocity and control...
,
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
, skin
divingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, and mountain climbing.
Education
Henize attended primary and secondary schools in Plainville and
Mariemont, OhioMariemont is a planned community village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. It includes one or two historic districts, Village of Mariemont and Mariemont Historic District. Founded in the 1920s by Mary Emery, Mariemont exhibits English architecture from Norman to classic Georgian style...
and received a
bachelor of artsBachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
degree in
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
in 1947 and a
master of artsA master's degree is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
degree in
astronomyAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
in 1948 from the
University of VirginiaThe University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
while carrying out research at
McCormick ObservatoryThe McCormick Observatory is one of the astronomical observatories operated by the Astronomy Department of the University of Virginia and is situated just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia in Albemarle County on the summit of Mount Jefferson . It is named after Leander J. McCormick, who...
. He was awarded a
doctorA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession . The best-known example...
of philosophy in astronomy in 1954 by the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
.
Organizations
Henize was a member of the
American Astronomical SocietyThe American Astronomical Society is a US society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The basic objective of the AAS is to promote the advancement of astronomy and closely related branches of science...
; the
Royal Astronomical SocietyThe Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
; the
Astronomical Society of the PacificThe Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world...
; the
International Astronomical UnionThe International Astronomical Union is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
; and Phi Beta Kappa.
Special honors
He was presented the Robert Gordon Memorial Award for 1968 and was a recipient of NASA Group Achievement Awards in (1971, 1974, 1975, 1978). He was also awarded the
NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement MedalThe NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal was established on September 15, 1961 when the original ESM was divided into three separate awards. Under the current guidelines, the ESAM is awarded for unusually significant scientific contribution toward achievement of aeronautical or space...
in (1974).
Experience
Henize was an observer for the University of Michigan Observatory from 1948 to 1951, stationed at the Lamont-Hussey Observatory in Bloemfontein, Union of South Africa. While there he conducted an objective-prism spectroscopic survey of the southern sky for stars and nebulae showing emission lines of
hydrogenHydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly flammable diatomic gas with the molecular formula H
2...
.
In 1954 he became a Carnegie post-doctoral fellow at the
Mount Wilson ObservatoryThe Mount Wilson Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a 5,715 foot peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles....
in
Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States; and is a satellite city of Los Angeles. Famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and the Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home of many leading scientific and cultural institutions, including the...
, and conducted spectroscopic and photometric studies of emission-line stars and nebulae. From 1956 to 1959, he served as a senior
astronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars, and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
at the
Smithsonian Astrophysical ObservatoryThe Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it is joined with the Harvard College Observatory to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics .-History:The SAO was founded in 1890 by...
. He was in charge of photographic satellite tracking stations for the satellite tracking program and responsible for the establishment and operation of a global network of 12 stations for photographic tracking of artificial earth satellites.
Henize was appointed associate professor in
Northwestern University{{Infobox university|name = Northwestern University|image_name = NU seal.png|motto = Quaecumque sunt vera |mottoeng =Whatsoever things are true |established = 1851|type = Private|calendar = Quarter...
’s Department of
AstronomyAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
in 1959 and was awarded a professorship in 1964. In addition to teaching, he conducted research on planetary nebulae, peculiar emission-line stars,
SstarSSTAR is an acronym for the "small, sealed, transportable, autonomous reactor" - being primarily researched and developed in the USA by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It is designed as a fast breeder nuclear reactor that is passively safe...
s, and T-associations. During 1961 and 1962, he was a guest observer at
Mount Stromlo ObservatoryMount Stromlo Observatory located just outside of Canberra, Australia, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University .-History:...
in
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australia, where he used instruments ranging from the Uppsala 20/26-inch schmidt to the 74-inch parabolic reflector.
Henize also engaged in studies of
ultravioletUltraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
optical systems and astronomical programs suited to the manned space flight program. He became principal investigator of experiment S-013 which obtained ultraviolet stellar spectra during the
GeminiProject Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini operated between Projects Mercury and Apollo, with 10 manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966...
10, 11, and 12 flights. He also became principal investigator of experiment S-019 in which a 6-inch aperture objective-prism spectrograph was used on
SkylabSkylab was the United States' first space station, and the second space station visited by a human crew. It was also the only space station NASA launched alone...
to obtain ultraviolet spectra of faint stars.
From 1974 to 1978 Henize chaired the NASA Facility Definition Team for
STARLABStarlab NV/SA was a multidisciplinary, blue skies research institute established to serve as an incubator for long-term and basic research in the spirit of Bell Labs, Xerox PARC, and MIT Media Lab...
, a proposed 1-meter UV telescope for
SpacelabSpacelab was a reusable laboratory flown into space on the Space Shuttle. It allowed scientists to perform experiments in microgravity in Earth orbit...
. From 1978 to 1980 he chaired the NASA Working Group for the Spacelab Wide-Angle Telescope. Since 1979 he has been the chairman of the International Astronomical Union Working Group for Space Schmidt Surveys and continues to be one of the leaders in proposing the use of a 1-meter all-reflecting Schmidt telescope to carry out a deep full-sky survey in far-ultraviolet wavelengths.
He authored and/or co-authored 70 scientific publications dealing with astronomy research.
NASA experience
Henize was selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in August 1967. He completed the initial academic training and the 53-week jet pilot training program at
Vance Air Force BaseVance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located 4 miles south of downtown Enid, Oklahoma, and within its city limits, about 65 miles north northwest of Oklahoma City...
, Oklahoma. He was a member of the astronaut support crew for the
Apollo 15Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous missions. The mission began on July 26,...
mission and for the
Skylab 2Skylab 2 was the first manned mission to Skylab, the first U.S. orbital space station. The mission was launched on a Saturn IB rocket and carried a three-person crew to the station. The name Skylab 2 also refers to the vehicle used for that mission...
,
3Skylab 3 was the second manned mission to Skylab. The Skylab 3 mission started July 28, 1973, with the launch of three astronauts on the Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 59 days, 11 hours and 9 minutes...
, and
4Skylab 4 was the fourth Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew on board the space station. The mission started November 16, 1973 with the launch of three astronauts on a Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 84 days, 1 hour and 16 minutes...
missions. He was mission specialist for the ASSESS-2 spacelab simulation mission in 1977. He has logged 2,300
hourThe hour is a unit of time. It is not an SI unit but is accepted for use with the SI.-Definition:In modern usage, an hour is a unit of measurement of time of the duration of 60 minutes, or 3600 seconds...
s flying time in
jet aircraftA jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes — as high as 10,000 to 15,000 meters . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances...
.
Henize was a mission specialist on the Spacelab-2 mission (
STS-51-FSTS-51-F was the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger, and the nineteenth shuttle flight.The payload with most publicity was the Carbonated Beverage Dispenser Evaluation, which was an experiment where both Coca-Cola and Pepsi tried to make their drinks available to astronauts...
) which launched from
Kennedy Space CenterThe John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center on Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, United States. The site is near Cape Canaveral, midway between Miami and Jacksonville, Florida. It is long and around wide, covering . A total of...
, Florida, on July 29, 1985. He was accompanied by Col.
Gordon FullertonCharles Gordon Fullerton is a retired United States Air Force officer, a former USAF and NASA astronaut and is currently a research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California...
(spacecraft commander), Col. Roy D. Bridges (pilot), fellow mission specialists Dr.
Anthony W. EnglandAnthony Wayne "Tony" England is a former NASA Astronaut.-Personal data:Dr. England was born on May 15, 1942, in Indianapolis, Indiana, but his hometown is West Fargo, North Dakota. He is married to the former Kathleen Ann Kreutz and has two daughters. His recreational interests include sailing and...
and Dr. F. Story Musgrave, as well as two payload specialists, Dr.
Loren ActonLoren Wilber Acton is an American physicist who flew on Space Shuttle mission STS-51-F as a Payload Specialist for the Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory.Acton was born in Lewistown, Montana...
and Dr. John-David Bartoe.
This mission was the first pallet-only Spacelab mission and the first mission to operate the Spacelab Instrument Pointing System (IPS). It carried 13 major experiments of which 7 were in the field of astronomy and solar physics, 3 were for studies of the Earth’s ionosphere, 2 were life science experiments, and 1 studied the properties of superfluid helium. Henize's responsibilities included testing and operating the IPS, operating the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), maintaining the Spacelab systems, and operating several of the experiments.
After 126 orbits of the earth, STS 51-F Challenger landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on August 6, 1985. With the completion of this flight Henize logged 188 hours in space.
In 1986 he accepted a position as senior scientist in the Space Sciences Branch.
Henize died of
high altitude pulmonary edemaHigh altitude pulmonary edema is a life-threatening form of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema that occurs in otherwise healthy mountaineers at altitudes above 2,500 meters ....
(HAPE) during a climb of
Mount EverestMount Everest – also called Sagarmāthā , Chomolungma or Qomolangma or Zhumulangma – is the highest mountain on Earth, and the highest point on the Earth's crust, as measured by the height above sea level of its summit,...
, aged 66. He was survived by his wife, Caroline, and four children.
In the 1998 miniseries
From the Earth to the Moon Henize was played by
Marc MacaulayMarc Macaulay is an American actor.He was born in New York City but mainly raised in Central Florida. He graduated with a BFA in theater...
.
Writings
In 1956, Henize published the
Catalogues of Hα-Emission Stars and Nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds. The paper references many objects which bear his name, such as the
SuperbubbleSuperbubble is the astronomical term used to describe a cavity hundreds of light years across filled with 106 K gas blown into the interstellar medium by multiple supernovae and stellar winds...
Henize 70 and the
planetary nebulaA planetary nebula is an emission nebula consisting of an expanding glowing shell of ionized gas and plasma ejected during the asymptotic giant branch phase of certain types of stars late in their life...
Henize 3-401.
Henize's career is chronicled in the book "NASA's Scientist-Astronauts" by David Shayler and
Colin BurgessColin Burgess is an Australian author and historian, specializing in space flight and military history. He is a former customer service manager for Qantas Airways, and a regular contributor to the collectSPACE online community. He lives in New South Wales...
.
External links
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