Nancy Grace Roman-Mother Of Hubble Telescope

Nancy Grace Roman is best known as the mother of the Hubble Telescope. She is also the first woman to hold an executive post in NASA as the Chief of Astronomy wing. Through her untiring efforts, the Hubble Space Telescope became a reality, and humanity could gaze deep into the space and see far-off galaxies and stars never seen before.

Nancy Grace Roman-First Woman To Hold Executive Post In NASA

Nancy’s love for Astronomy was sown in her childhood when she gazed at the constellations. When she was in seventh grade, she decided to become an astronomer, and she succeeded. Nancy Roman obtained a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1949. In 10 years, she headed the Astronomy Department of NASA and became the first chief of astronomy in the Office of Space Science.

Her most significant contribution was the creation of the Hubble Space Telescope. Talking to NASA in a series of interviews, Nancy explained the need for a space telescope. Earth-based telescopes have to peer through the atmosphere, significantly distorting distant objects. Therefore the idea of having a space telescope came up.

Nancy To Students – Be Innovative And Create New Ideas

Looking back at her career, Nancy Roman emphasized that one must remain open to change and create new opportunities. Nancy advised students to be innovative and develop new ideas. She gave her example and said that some of the jobs she took up were not in existence a few years before. Science is always in dynamic flux, and everything keeps changing. As a result, new opportunities are being created in this ever-changing field.

Nancy also talked about solving puzzles, and if you love solving puzzles, science is the best field for you. The field of science or engineering is a field that rests on the ability to solve problems. It is a continuous learning process and, unlike other jobs, has its share of boredom and drudgery, but it is also fun.

Nancy has also made several path-breaking discoveries. For example, it is to her credit the discovery that stars composed of hydrogen and helium move faster than stars composed of other heavier elements. She is also credited with the discovery that not all common stars were the same age. She also discovered stars emitting stronger dispersion spectra moved closer to the center of the Milky Way, and the others moved in more elliptical patterns. Her paper on astronomy is considered one of the 100 most important papers in 100 years by the Astrophysical Journal.