Joe Tenn: Expanding Universe Conference (http://www.lowell.edu/workshops/slipher)

Title: What else did V.M. Slipher Do?

Abstract: When V.M. Slipher gave the 1933 George Darwin lecture to the Royal Astronomical
Society, it was natural that he spoke on spectrographic studies of planets. Less
than one-sixth of his published work deals with globular clusters and the objects
we now call galaxies. In his most productive years, when he had Percival Lowell
to give him direction, Slipher made major discoveries regarding stars, galactic
nebulae, and solar system objects. These included the first spectroscopic
measurement of the rotation period of Uranus, evidence that Venus' rotation is
very slow, the existence of reflection nebulae and hence interstellar dust, and
the stationary lines that prove the existence of interstellar calcium and sodium.
After Lowell's death in 1916 Slipher continued making spectroscopic observations
of planets, comets, and the aurora and night sky. He directed the Lowell
Observatory from 1916 to 1954, where his greatest achievements were keeping the
observatory running despite very limited staff and budget, and initiating and
supervising the "successful" search for Lowell's Planet X. However, he did little
science in his last decades, spending most of his time and energy on business
endeavors.

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