Donald Howard Menzel

Donald Howard Menzel 1901-76, American astrophysicist, b. Florence, Colo. From 1926 to 1932 he was with the Lick Observatory in Calif. In 1932 he joined the faculty at Harvard, where he became professor (1938) of astrophysics and director (1954) of the observatory. An authority on the sun's chromosphere, he discovered with J. C. Boyce (1933) that the sun's corona contains oxygen. With W. W. Salisbury he made (1941) the first of the calculations that led to radio contact with the moon in 1946.

Menzel, DonaldHoward (1901–76)Americanastrophysicist and solar astronomer. In the 1920s, with H. N.Russell, he established the field of theoretical astrophysics. In the 1930s he used quantum physics to interpret the Sun's flash spectrum, ascertaining the composition of the chromosphere and demonstrating the preponderance of hydrogen. Also in the 1930s he used similar techniques to study nebulae, discovering much about planetary nebulae and the later stages of stellar evolution. After World War II, as an astronomy administrator, he was responsible for founding many institutions and observatories, including the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Kitt Peak National Observatory.