Blue Dot 41: Vera Rubin — A Life In Astronomy

By Dave Schlom

Published January 19, 2017 at 10:30 AM PST

The year 2016 was noted for the number of celebrity deaths but in the sciences, there was one loss that was particularly notable. On this episode of Blue Dot we look back at the life of astronomer Vera Rubin – her pioneering work on the rotation of galaxies led to the discovery of Dark Matter. She also blazed a trail for other women to follow in the male dominated field of astrophysics. We are joined by her colleague and former student Risa Wechsler.

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Dave Schlom

Dave Schlom is the longtime host and creator of Blue Dot. From surfing to Voyager in interstellar space, rock guitar to orcas in our imperiled oceans, the topics on Blue Dot are as varied as the host’s interests and connections -- which are pretty limitless! An internationally respected space history journalist, Dave is also deeply fascinated by all aspects of the grand workings of nature’s awesome machinery on scales ranging from galactic to subatomic. And topics take in all aspects of the arts and sciences.

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