On Saturday, Google created an animated doodle to honor Italian astrophysicist Margherita Hack. In 1995, Hack is credited with discovering asteroid 8558 Hack, which was named after her.
She worked on the UV data from the Copernicus satellite in the 1970s to research the energetic events that occur in the external part of the stellar atmosphere and produce mass losses that must be accounted for in theoretical stellar evolution models. In 1974, she released her first study paper based on Copernicus’ data in Nature.
Hack’s scientific interests and studies spanned a wide spectrum of topics. Her main area of expertise was spectroscopic features of stars, which she observed and interpreted. In this discipline, she investigated the chemical makeup of stars, as well as their surface temperature and gravity.
She was involved in education, outreach, and politics in addition to science. On June 12, 2012, she was awarded the title of “Dama di Gran Croce,” the highest honor awarded by the Italian Republic, on her 90th birthday.
She worked on the UV data from the Copernicus satellite in the 1970s to research the energetic events that occur in the external part of the stellar atmosphere and produce mass losses that must be accounted for in theoretical stellar evolution models. In 1974, she released her first study paper based on Copernicus’ data in Nature.
