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Megan Neff
PHYS 1040
7/24/2019
Famous Astronomer/Scientist

Vera Rubin: Astronomer and Icon for Women Everywhere

Vera Rubin was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1928. At a young age, she was instantly

drawn to the stars causing interest in astronomy. At age 14, she built her first telescope with her

father and that would be the stepping-stone of her fascination with science. As Rubin pursues

her adult education, teachers advised her to keep away from majoring in science. But due to her

strong passion for space, she decided to attend Vassar College. Rubin received her bachelor’s

degree in 1948 and received her master’s degree at Cornell University in 1951 while also

attending Georgetown University for her doctorate.

While at Cornell, Rubin earned her master’s degree in quantum mechanics with Hans

Bethe, a Nobel Prize winner for his work in science. Rubin’s master’s thesis was based on large-

scale motions of galaxies. Although, this topic brought much controversy and following that her

doctoral thesis was ignored. (space.com, Vera Rubin: The Astronomer Who Brought Dark

Matter to Light, 2019 Childers)

Being a woman With Vera’s ideas of the universe was ignored by many of her colleges,

her legacy would soon gain momentum as the community learned more. While studying at

Georgetown, Rubin began expanding her research on her theories of the universe. Rubin began

studying the speed of spiral galaxies. Finding that the spin is at such a high rate that starts spin

away from the galaxies rather than stay in their original orbit. Due to the fact that galaxies
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remain intact brought forth her next theory of dark matter. Something that, at the time, human

technology couldn’t measure. (biography.com, Vera Cooper Rubin)

Other astronomers had a hard time accepting this theory of Rubin. They knew that the

universe is ever-expanding due to shifts. Since the speed of Earth is spinning at such a high rate,

they studied that the starts within Earth’s orbit were not spinning out of it. But Rubin’s theory

challenged astronomer’s initial belief of the laws of physics. Which was that stars would behave

much more like the planets the revolve around.

Vera Rubin became the first woman to be allowed to observe at the Palomar Observatory.

Where Fritz Zwicky, a Swiss astronomer, observed the Coma Cluster. Rubin was faced with a

male-dominated workforce, making it that much harder for her to get her voice heard. She began

working alongside Kent Ford at a research position located at Carnegie Institution.

Using her extensive of our solar system, Rubin throttled research into theories of dark

matter. Even in today’s advanced world, astronomers are still working to define what dark

matter is. “Her calculations showed that galaxies must contain about ten times as much “dark”

mass as can be accounted for by the visible stars. In short, at least ninety percent of the mass in

galaxies, and therefore in the observable universe, is invisible and unidentified.”

The idea of there being unobservable mass in our universe had Rubin stuck. But by

using former scientist, Fritz Zwicky’s research helped expand her understanding. By Zwicky’s

research of the Coma Cluster only supported her hypothesis so many were fast to deny.

Zwicky had noticed that within the cluster, galaxies were moving fast and within the laws of

physics should escape the cluster’s orbit. But the cluster’s products showed no sign of

detaching. This led the Swiss astronomer to think there was an abundance of dark matter
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holding the objects in place. But like Vera’s theories, Fritz’s colleges dismissed his

observation. Rubin had than discovered major evidence that supported Fritz’s claim.

In 1992, Vera Rubin discovered galaxy NGC 4550. This particular galaxy had half it

starts rotating one direction and the other another direction. This discovery had been many of

the first of which she observed with odd behavior. By studying galaxy rotation, she was able

to provide more evidence of the existence and purpose of dark matter.

I decided to write about Vera Rubin from all the major accomplishments she made

during her lifetime. As she mentioned herself, that being a woman in this industry isn’t the

easiest. She had to work twice as hard to get the recognition of her fellow male coworkers.

While a guest investigator at the Palomar Observatory, restrooms had only been marked for

males. Neta Bachall, one of Rubin’s former coworkers and astrophysics recalls, "She went to

her room, she cut up paper into a skirt image, and she stuck it on the little person image on the

door of the bathroom" (mashable.com, 2016, Gallucci).

Her death came as a somber moment within the scientific community. On Dec. 27, 2016,

at age 88, Vera Rubin passed. Although her legacy would live on long after her death.

“President Bill Clinton awarded Dr. Rubin the National Medal of Science in 1993, and she was

frequently mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize” (Vera Rubin, 88, Dies; Opened Doors

in Astronomy, and for Women, New York Times, Overbye). Rubin will always have a long-

lasting impact on physics and the way we examine the dark matter.
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Bauer, Patricia. “Vera Rubin.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Nov.

2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Vera-Rubin.

Childers, Tim, and Tim Childers. “Vera Rubin: The Astronomer Who Brought Dark Matter to

Light.” Space.com, Space, 11 June 2019, www.space.com/vera-rubin.html.

“LSST May Be Renamed the Vera Rubin Survey Telescope.” LSST May Be Renamed the Vera

Rubin Survey Telescope | American Astronomical Society, aas.org/posts/news/2019/06/lsst-may-

be-renamed-vera-rubin-survey-telescope.

“Gallucci, M., & Gallucci, M. (2016, December 26). Farewell to Vera Rubin: Badass astronomer

and feminist icon. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/2016/12/26/vera-rubin-astronomer-

feminist/”

“Overbye, D. (2016, December 27). Vera Rubin, 88, Dies; Opened Doors in Astronomy, and for

Women. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/science/vera-rubin-astronomist-

who-made-the-case-for-dark-matter-dies-at-88.html”

“Profile: Vera Rubin and Dark Matter: AMNH.” American Museum of Natural History,

www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-collections/cosmic-horizons/profile-vera-rubin-and-dark-

matter.

“Vera Rubin.” Vera Rubin | American Institute of Physics, 28 Dec. 2016, www.aip.org/history-

programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33963.

“Vera Rubin.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 May 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Rubin.