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Harriet H. Malitson

Harriet Hutzler Malitson (June 30, 1926 – November 8, 2012) was an American astronomer. She was a solar researcher, employed at Goddard Space Flight Center and at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Harriet H. Malitson
Photo of Malitson in 1979 wearing flip-up sunglasses
Malitson in 1979
Born
Harriet Hutzler

June 30, 1926
Richmond, Virginia
DiedNovember 8, 2012
Washington, D.C.
Alma materGoucher College (B.A.)
University of Michigan (M.S.)
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsGoddard Space Flight Center
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Early life

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Harriet Hutzler was from Richmond, Virginia, the daughter of Maurice Hutzler and Claire Levy Hutzler. The Hutzler family was Jewish.[1] She attended Goucher College in Baltimore, where she studied astronomy under Helen Dodson,[2] and became friends with another astronomy student, Nan Dieter-Conklin.[3][4] She earned a Master of Science degree at the University of Michigan in 1951.[5]

Career

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Harriet H. Malitson worked at Goddard Space Flight Center[6] and at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration[7] during her career. When James E. Webb spoke to the General Federation of Women's Clubs in 1962, he mentioned Malitson by name as one of the women in a "position of importance" at NASA.[8] She was again described in 1963 as one of the women doing "important and interesting work" at NASA in preparation for a human Moon landing.[9] "It may well turn out that the yet-to-be-nominated Apollo astronauts who visit the moon later in this decade will owe their safety to Marcia (Neugebauer) and Harriet," commented one report that year on women in the space program.[10] Of her own work, she explained, "We are striving to learn as much as we can about the sun's activities before the moon shot which will be affected by them."[2] Malitson co-authored the Solar Proton Manual at Goddard in 1963, and data from that work was consulted in efforts to protect crewed space missions, including Apollo missions, from harmful radiation.[11] She attended the International Astronomical Union (IAU) meeting in 1979, in Montreal.[12] Within the IAU, she was a member of the High Energy Phenomena division, and the Sun and Heliosphere division.[13]

Publications

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Malitson's publications included "Predicting Large Solar Cosmic Ray Events" (Astronomy and Aerospace Engineering 1963), "The Solar Energy Spectrum" (Sky and Telescope 1965),[14] "The Solar Electromagnetic Radiation Environment" (Solar Energy 1968),[15] "Type III Radio Bursts in the Outer Corona" (Solar Physics 1969),[16] "A Density Scale for the Interplanetary Medium from Observations of a Type II Solar Radio Burst Out to 1 Astronomical Unit" (Astrophysical Journal 1973),[17] and "Hectometric and kilometric solar radio emission observed from satellites in August 1972" (Space Science Reviews 1976).[18] She also co-authored reports for NASA, including Solar Proton Manual (1963),[19] and Observations of Solar Radio Bursts at 26.3 MC/S (1965).[20]

Personal life

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Harriet Hutzler married fellow scientist Irving Herschel Malitson in 1951. They had two children.[2][7] Harriet Hutzler Malitson died in 2012, aged 86 years, in Washington D.C.[21] Her estate made a substantial contribution to the American Foundation for AIDS Research after her death.[22] There is also an endowed scholarship named for Harriet H. Malitson at Goucher College.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Stern, Malcolm H. "First American Jewish Families". The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  2. ^ a b c Ahern, Elinor (September 15, 1963). "Astronomy Field Offers Woman Equal Opportunity". Cedar Rapids Gazette. p. 35. Retrieved May 30, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  3. ^ N. D. Conklin (2001). "Nan Dieter Conklin, A Life in Science" ''National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
  4. ^ DeVorkin, David (1977). Interview of Nan Dieter-Conklin, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics.
  5. ^ Proceedings of the Board of Regents. The University. 1948. p. 1379.
  6. ^ "Rapid Burst Receivers". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  7. ^ a b Irving Herschel Malitson obituary (2014).
  8. ^ "Space Effort Needs the Support of Women, Children, Says Webb" (PDF). NASA Roundup. July 11, 1962. p. 8. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  9. ^ Myler, Joseph L. (June 16, 1963). "Women Lend Aid in Work of Space Unit". The Scrantonian. p. 2. Retrieved May 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Women Work Whizzes Keep NASA in Spin". Daily News. June 16, 1963. p. 710. Retrieved May 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Council, National Research; Sciences, Division on Engineering and Physical; Board, Space Studies; Applications, Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and; Research, Committee on Solar and Space Physics and Committee on Solar-Terrestrial (2000-02-25). Radiation and the International Space Station: Recommendations to Reduce Risk. National Academies Press. ISBN 9780309172448.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Harriet Malitson at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) meeting Malitson Harriet B1". John Irwin Slide Collection. 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  13. ^ "Harriet H. Malitson". International Astronomical Union. 2017. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  14. ^ Malitson, Harriet H. (1965-03-01). "The Solar Energy Spectrum". Sky and Telescope. 29: 162. Bibcode:1965S&T....29..162M. ISSN 0037-6604.
  15. ^ Malitson, Harriet H. (1968-12-01). "The solar electromagnetic radiation environment". Solar Energy. 12 (2): 197–203. Bibcode:1968SoEn...12..197M. doi:10.1016/0038-092X(68)90005-4. ISSN 0038-092X.
  16. ^ Alexander, J. K.; Malitson, H. H.; Stone, R. G. (1969). "Type III radio bursts in the outer corona". Solar Physics. 8 (2): 388–397. Bibcode:1969SoPh....8..388A. doi:10.1007/BF00155385. ISSN 0038-0938. S2CID 123552076.
  17. ^ Malitson, H. H.; Fainberg, J.; Stone, R. G. (1973). "A Density Scale for the Interplanetary Medium from Observations of a Type II Solar Radio Burst Out to 1 Astronomical Unit". The Astrophysical Journal. 183: L35. Bibcode:1973ApJ...183L..35M. doi:10.1086/181247. ISSN 0004-637X.
  18. ^ Malitson, H.H.; Fainberg, J.; Stone, R.G. (1976). "Hectometric and kilometric solar radio emission observed from satellites in August 1972". Space Science Reviews. 19 (4–5): 511. Bibcode:1976SSRv...19..511M. doi:10.1007/BF00210640. ISSN 0038-6308. S2CID 122604558.
  19. ^ Malitson, H.H. and W.R. Weber, Solar Proton Manual, F.G. McDonald, ed., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center X-611-62-122, 1963
  20. ^ Harriet H. Malitson and William C. Erickson, Observations of Solar Radio Bursts at 26.3 MC/S (NASA 1965).
  21. ^ "Deaths". Goucher Quarterly: 54. Spring 2013.
  22. ^ "Planned Giving 2014". amFAR: Making AIDS History. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  23. ^ "Endowed Scholarships" Goucher College.
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