An unknown comet flashes across the night sky. It is August 9, 1932 and Harvard College Observatory researcher Fred L. Whipple saw on a photographic slide this "unexpected comet". For this discovery Professor Fred L. Whipple is awarded the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Donohoe Comet Medal for 1933, a cast bronze medal bearing the award founder, Joseph A. Donohoe's name and the history of the medal on its face 1/ and on its obverse side in bas relief a bright comet streaking through space among stars, surrounded by the Society's name in raised letters as the border. This medal is the first of six Donohoe medals Fred Whipple received. 2/ In rapid succession by 1949 Fred Lawrence Whipple became University Professor of Astronomy, and next Director of the Harvard Observatory and in 1955 Director of the Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institution. The medal is accompanied by its period, hinged leather case.
This 1933 Astronomical Society of the Pacific Donohoe Comet Medal award is a reminder of Prof. Whipple's foundational work in the science of comets. In 1950, Fred Whipple developed his "dirty snow ball" theory of comets that an "icey conglomerate" was at the core of comets, a theory proven in 1986 when the Giotto European Space Agency spacecraft photographed Halley's comet - first depicted in 1301 by Giotto di Bondone - at close range for the first time and thus identified its core as having been formed by icey particles. This 1933 medal is one of only 250 Donohoe medals awarded by the Society, the last being for 1950.
Fred Lawrence Whipple (1906-2004) is a giant in 20th c. American astronomy 3/ recognized by many institutions for his contributions to planetary science, knowledge of the solar system 4/, including comets and meteors, development of an international network of meteor trackers who in 1957 visually tracked Sputnik's orbit and as a scientific pioneer of the American space program. 5/ Fred L. Whipple's published scholarship from 1927 to 2000 covered an expanding range of subjects. In addition to becoming the head of Harvard University's Department of Astronomy in 1949, he directed the Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory from 1955-1973. Among Prof. Whipple's inventions contributions to early NASA programs and space exploration is the Whipple Shield, to protect orbiting spacecraft and spaceships from debris and small, high velocity meteor strikes. His photographic system for tracking the orbit of artificial satellites led to a greater understanding of the Earth.
In WWII, Professor Whipple's inventions were at the foundation of U.S. Airforce strategic defense equipment. To support the American war efforts, Prof. Whipple designed "aluminum chaff" used by Allied pilots to avoid detection by German radar: small pieces of aluminum airplane crew dropped from their planes. Whipple designed all aspects of the factory that manufactured the "aluminum chaff" as well.
When the Smithsonian sought a new location for its observatory, Prof. Whipple designed and oversaw construction of what was named the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona at the top of Mt. Hopkins.
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific Donohoe Comet Medal 1933 award to Fred L. Whipple constitutes early recognition of an extraordinary person, whose practical, theoretical and creative mind advanced science, engineering and space exploration.
Notes:
1. The Society's Comet Medal was founded in 1890 by Joseph A. Donohoe as an award of merit and intended to be perpetual. The medal was cast by the French Mint. 1891PASP....3..146. Another medal, the Bruce Medal, was also cast by the French Mint. REPORT OF THE DONOHOE COMET-MEDAL COMMITTEE FOR THE YEAR 1908 on JSTOR There are small initials "A.D." on the comet design side of the medal, likely the medal artist. The artist's name is not yet identified.
2. ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIXTH AWARD OF THE DONOHOE COMET MEDAL
The Comet Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific has been awarded to Dr. Fred L. Whipple of the Harvard
College Observatory for the discovery of an unexpected comet on August 9, 1932. Minutes of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
In A Biographical Memoir, George Field writes that Fred L. Whipple was awarded the Donohoe medal in 1933, 1934, 1937, 1941, 1942 and 1943. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. 20076 Fred L. Whipple - whipple-fred.pdf
3. Dr. Fred Lawrence Whipple | Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
4. Whipple Receives Medal For Solar System Work | News | The Harvard Crimson
In 1973, Prof. Fred L. Whipple was awarded the Smithsonian Institution's Henry Medal. See also, Physics Today, 58(3),3/1/2005Fred Lawrence Whipple | Physics Today | AIP Publishing, D. Brownlee, P.Hodge
5. For a lucid narrative of Fred Whipple's career and personal qualities, please see Yeomans, D., Veverka, J. Fred Lawrence Whipple (1906–2004). Nature 432, 31 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/432031aYeomans, D. Veverka, J. Fred Lawrence Whipple (1906–2004) | Nature