Donald Howard Menzel
Menzel, Donald Howard (1901-1976) was an American astrophysicist and author who was one of the world's leading authorities on the sun and its corona. His work on the spectrum of the solar chromosphere revolutionized much of solar astronomy. He was one of the first to apply quantum mechanics to astronomical spectroscopy (analyzing of physical and chemical properties of celestial objects on the basis of the wave characteristics of their atomic and subatomic particles). He was also one of the leading skeptics on the existence of UFO's.
Menzel's interest in astronomy was sparked when he saw his first solar eclipse at age 17, on June 8, 1918, and the outburst of Nova Aquilae shortly afterward. He attended the University of Denver, where he received a B.A. degree in 1920 and an M.A. degree in 1921. In 1924, Menzel earned a Ph.D. degree from Princeton, where he studied astrophysics, a science that applies principles of physics to many fields of astronomy. He taught briefly at the University of Iowa and Ohio State Universit and then joined the staff at the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton in California from 1926 to 1932. He served as assistant astronomer there and investigated the solar chromosphere (the part of the sun's atmosphere between its surface and corona) using solar eclipse spectra. By studying photographs taken during various total eclipses, Menzel was able to interpret the spectrum of the solar atmosphere. Calculations he made of the value of the mean molecular weight of the sun's lower chromosphere validated an earlier theory that hydrogen was the major component in the solar atmosphere.
During his graduate studies at Princeton, Menzel had worked as a research assistant at Harvard University for three summers. In 1932, Menzel joined the Harvard faculty, eventually becoming a professor of astronomy and astrophysics. He also served as director of the Harvard College Observatory from 1954 to 1966, and in 1956 he was appointed Paine Professor of Practical Astronomy. Menzel's investigations of atomic structure and spectra, stellar atmospheres, and gaseous nebulae and the series of related papers he published launched modern research into those subjects.
Menzel pursued his solar studies and, in 1933, in collaboration with J. C. Boyce, discovered the presence of oxygen in the sun's corona. In 1941, he and Winfield W. Salisbury made the initial calculations that led to the first radio contact with the moon in 1946. Menzel also developed the first coronograph in the United States, an instrument that permitted the sun's corona to be studied without an eclipse. In 1939, he established the High Altitude Observatory near Climax, Colorado.
World War II (1939-1945) interrupted Menzel's academic career. From 1942 to 1945, as a commander, he served in the U.S. Navy and taught cryptology, which involves creating and translating messages in secret code. He also did research on the effect of solar activity on radio-wave communication and radio propagation. The war demonstrated the value of radio communication and the impact of the sun's activity on it. Afterward, Menzel helped the U.S. Air Force establish an observatory at the Sacramento Peak near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Menzel continued to be especially fascinated by solar eclipses, and he led an eclipse expedition to Siberia in 1936. He traveled the globe and witnessed over a dozen solar eclipses in his lifetime.
A prolific author, while working on his doctorate at Princeton he helped to support himself by writing science fiction stories. Later in life, he was an editorial adviser to various periodicals, including Galaxy Magazine, a science fiction journal. Despite his interest in science fiction, however, he wrote three books debunking UFO's and visitations by extraterrestrial beings. He claimed such phenomena were the result either of manifestations of various natural phenomena or optical illusion.
Menzel helped popularize the field of astronomy. He wrote several books geared toward the general public, including A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets (1964), a popular handbook for beginning astronomers and Our Sun (1949), a standard reference on that subject.
Along with his academic career, Menzel also served as a consultant for various government and military organizations. He was closely acquainted with President John F. Kennedy, corresponding frequently with him during Kennedy's presidency regarding a variety of political and scientific matters.