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    The Vera Rubin Quarter

     

    Some people are smart – extremely smart. So smart, in fact, that you have to research what they did before you can even understand what they did.

    Dr. Vera Rubin (1928 – 2016) was one of those people. She was an astronomer who pioneered much of the initial research regarding galactic rotation curves. In doing so, she also proved the existence of dark matter.

    Her work was Einstein-level in terms of its genius. In fact, her crowning achievements were efforts to explain observed astronomical phenomena that defy Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

    Now, we don’t immediately know what all that stuff means, but it was important enough for the US Mint to recognize her as part of its American Women Quarters Program. So, let’s discuss her life and work, and hopefully, we less-gifted folks can find a way to understand the brilliance of Vera Rubin.

    Biography

    Vera Florence Cooper was born on July 23, 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the younger of two children born to Phil and Rose Cooper, who both worked for Bell Telephone.

    Her father was an expert electrical engineer, and helped young Vera build her first telescopes. Once the family moved to Washington, DC in 1938, she began her initial observations of the cosmos from her bedroom window.

    Unlike many childhood interests, Vera Cooper’s passion for science never faded, and her incredible intellect was apparent to everyone. She graduated high school in 1944 at only 16, and moved on to Vassar College to study astronomy.

    She graduated four years later with the class’ only astronomy degree in 1948. She then tried to apply for graduate school at Princeton, but was rejected due to her gender.

    Cooper switched gears slightly after the rejection and got married. Her new husband, Robert Rubin, was a graduate student at Cornell University who went on to become a notable mathematician in his own right.

    So, it made sense for the newlywed to continue her studies alongside her husband. During her time at Cornell, she made groundbreaking discoveries with respect to the way that galaxies move in relation to each other. Her early work also provided some of the evidence of the supergalactic plane, a relatively flat slate of galaxies that extends roughly perpendicular to the Milky Way.

    Vera Rubin graduated from Cornell with her masters degree in 1951, but her work was largely discounted by the larger scientific community. They dismissed her ideas – which, to be fair, weren’t universally proven to be correct – due to her age, gender, and the fact that some of her propositions flew directly in the face of existing theory.

    Undaunted, and undeterred by her second pregnancy, she began her doctoral work shortly afterwards at Georgetown University in her hometown of Washington, DC. She graduated with her Ph.D in astronomy in 1954.

    Rubin’s doctoral dissertation argued for the idea that galaxies clump together, rather than distributing at random throughout the universe. It would take 15 years for other researchers to prove that her arguments were, indeed, correct.

    Working years 

    Initially, Rubin resolved to stay home with the couple’s children and raise them. By then, there were three younger Rubins. Eventually, another child would complete the family.

    However, a mind like Vera Rubin’s chafed at her new domestic role. Her husband, sensing her growing discontent, quickly suggested that she reenter the academic environment.

    Thus, Vera Rubin became a professor at Georgetown, and began teaching and conducting research. She rose through the ranks from a researcher to an assistant professorship. The hours of a sitting professor allowed her to balance her intellectual pursuits and the demands of her growing family – to an extent.

    During this period, she gained access to several telescopes and observation facilities that were officially closed to women. In one instance, at the Palomar Observatory, there were no restroom facilities for women, and Rubin defiantly slapped a handmade skirt onto one of the bathroom doors to stake her claim.

    She also published the first of her papers on flat rotation curves in 1962, when she reported her recent discoveries about the Milky Way. In other words, the Milky Way – which is spinning around its central core – would, according to the prevailing theory, be slowing down in its rotation. Vera Rubin’s research and findings contradicted that idea, and instead asserted that the galaxy was maintaining its rotational speed.

    However, Rubin’s productivity did not truly accelerate until 1965. She left her teaching position at Georgetown to join the Terrestrial Magnetism department at Carnegie Institution of Washington. There, she met her professional muse – an astronomer named Kent Ford, whose talents extended to the creation of new astronomical instruments.

    In particular, Ford succeeded in creating what was, at the time, the most sensitive spectrograph in the world. This instrument, which could be attached to telescopes, allowed Rubin to see objects that had previously been too dim to discern.

    Rubin leveraged this technology and other works created by Ford to continue her study of galactic rotation curves. Ultimately, the pair would publish nine research papers, but it was one finding in particular that would cement Rubin as one of the greatest astronomers in modern times.

    Dark matter is described as a form of matter that does not interact or move in concert with light or electromagnetic radiation. As it is, well, dark, it cannot be seen, but its effects are visible throughout the universe.

    The notion of dark matter did not spring from Vera Rubin. In fact, a Swiss astronomer named Fritz Zwicky both discovered its existence and coined the term for it during the 1930s.

    However, what Rubin (and Ford) discovered in the study of galactic rotation curves is that the speed of the spin found for spiral galaxies – like the Milky Way – should be too great for the galaxies to maintain their shape and fidelity based upon the angular motion of the galaxies.

    In other words, the prevailing understanding of astrophysics and relativity suggested that the edges of galaxies would spin slower than the centers of them. The fact that their speeds were relatively constant across the entire plane of the galaxy suggested that they should be flying apart.

    So, what Zwicky theorized and Rubin later proved was that there was an additional set of matter that was serving as a sort of galactic glue for spiral galaxies. There was some other kind of matter that was undetectable by light, but nevertheless provided stability to keep the galaxies together.

    Rubin was also one of the first researchers to note counter-rotation within galaxies. That is, the prevailing wisdom at the time was that all objects in a galaxy rotate in the same direction. Rubin discovered that rule not to be foolproof – some stars and other features in galaxies rotate in the opposite direction from the overall galaxy’s spin.

    Later years

    Vera Rubin remained an active researcher and lecturer for the rest of her life. While none of her later discoveries rose to the same heights as the ones above, she was nevertheless a superstar (no pun intended) within the astronomical community.

    Vera Cooper Rubin was married to her husband, Bob, until his death in 2008. All four of the couple’s children became Ph.D – bearing scientists themselves, citing their mother’s ability to make science fun as one of their driving influences.

    In her last years, Rubin began suffering from dementia. She passed away from complications of her condition on December 25, 2016.

    Legacy

    Some geniuses are not recognized for their contributions during their lifetimes. Vera Rubin was not one of those people. The depth of her impact on science was too great to overlook.

    She was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences in 1981. At the time, she was one of only two female astronomers to be members of the organization.

    Rubin received multiple honorary doctorates, including from Princeton – the same institution that rejected her application for her gender so many years before. She also won several prestigious awards, including the National Medal of Science – a presidentially-awarded honor bestowed upon her by President Bill Clinton.

    In addition, she is the namesake for multiple scholarships, prizes, and funds related to scientific achievement. There is also an area on Mars, a satellite, and an asteroid named in her honor.

    Finally, Vera Rubin is now the name given to the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in Cerro Pachón, Chile. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s mission is to study dark matter and dark energy, and it is scheduled to open at full strength in the near future.

    The 2025 quarter

    Dr. Rubin’s quarter is set for release in 2025. It will be the third quarter released in 2025 as part of the US Mint’s American Women Quarters Program and the 18th quarter released overall.

    The obverse of the coin, as usual, features President George Washington. All quarters minted since 1932 have depicted the first president in some capacity.

    The reverse of the coin is the tribute to Vera Rubin. She is depicted facing to the right and upwards against a backdrop of space and the stars. Her right hand appears below her image, and her index finger points to the heavens, where Rubin always turned her gaze.

    Her name adorns the left portion of the coin. She is correctly styled as “Dr. Vera Rubin.”

    Most notably, Rubin’s greatest discovery – the evidence of dark matter – is commemorated in a subtle and brilliant manner. Around the rim of the coin is raised lettering that reads “United States of America.”

    That part is standard. However, next to this phrase, two words – “Dark Matter” – appear. These words are stamped into the coin, thereby signifying the alternate properties of Dr. Rubin’s discovery.

    Whomever made this design choice deserves a raise. Bravo, US Mint.

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