The American astronomer George Hale founded the Yerkes, Mount Wilson, and Palomar observatories in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
He designed the first spectroheliograph, a device used to study the Sun's chemical make-up. (French astrophysicist Henri Deslandres independently designed a similar device at the same time.)
Hale showed that sunspots are cooler than the areas of the Sun that surround them and are linked to strong magnetic fields.
Hale suffered from poor health for much of his life and died in 1938.
Photo: George Hale (Royal Astronomical Society/Science Photo Library)
Through careful spectrographic study, early 20th century American astronomer George Hale discovered that sunspots are caused by distortions in the Sun's powerful magnetic field.
Sir Patrick Moore's guest Professor Richard Ellis from the University of Oxford reviews the world's large observatories and explains their importance. [The black and white images of Edwin Hubble, George Hale, Mount Wilson, the 200-inch telescope and mirror making in this clip are copyright Palomar Observatories/Caltech]
George Ellery Hale (June 29, 1868 – February 21, 1938) was an American solar astronomer.
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