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1. Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 24-Sep-2023 17:43:17 UTC Robert McNees

   Astrophysicist Charlotte Moore Sitterly was born #OTD in 1898.

   She compiled extensive data on optical and later UV spectra, and her spectroscopic tables are still in use today.

   Image: AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives / Michael A. Duncan

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 24-Sep-2023 17:45:35 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     Charlotte Moore Sitterly collected all the data she could find – both published and unpublished – on atomic spectra, assembling it into "A Multiplet Table of Astrophysical Interest."

     https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1945CoPri..20....1M/abstract

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 24-Sep-2023 17:46:55 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     She assembled the first version in 1933, then a revised version in 1945. In 1950, while working at the National Bureau of Standards, she published "An Ultraviolet Multiplet Table."

     Both works are still considered essential references for astronomers doing spectroscopy. Like most important reference works, they've gone through multiple editions. You can find (and download, if you need spectra) them via Google Books.

     https://books.google.com/books?id=BWe85L1gBhIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 24-Sep-2023 17:47:30 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     "She was a brilliant scientist." – Vera Rubin

     In 2010, Rubin published her recollections of Charlotte Moore Sitterly in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage.

     You can read it here: https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?db_key=AST&bibcode=2010JAHH...13..145R&letter=.&classic=YES&defaultprint=YES&whole_paper=YES&page=145&epage=145&send=Send+PDF&filetype=.pdf

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 24-Sep-2023 17:48:10 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     There is also an AIP oral history with Charlotte Moore Sitterly, from a 1978 interview by David DeVorkin. These are always excellent!

     https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/4784

   • mambearpnw (mambearpnw@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 24-Sep-2023 22:18:02 UTC mambearpnw

     in reply to

     @mcnees She has beauty, grace, intelligence, all in this simple portrait. I bet she packed a mean lunchbox too. Women are truly everything strong all in one package. Thanks for showing strong and classy ladies. No doubt she was a force to be reckoned with.