James Cuffey
Encyclopedia
James Cuffey was an American
astronomer
. He specialized in photoelectric photometry
and held the patent
on the Cuffey Iris Photometer, an instrument used in stellar
photographic photometry.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cuffey became a graduate student at Northwestern University
in 1934, then went on to Harvard University
as a doctoral student under Harlow Shapley
. He received his Ph.D.
from Harvard in 1938, then took a position as a postdoctoral fellow
at Indiana University
. Serving in the United States Navy
in World War II
, Cuffey taught navigation
at the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1946, he returned to Indiana University, where he became a researcher in the Indiana Asteroid Program
, begun in 1949. In 1966, he joined Clyde Tombaugh
in starting the astronomy program at New Mexico State University
, where he remained until he retired in 1976.
Cuffey was married to astronomer Rita Paraboschi. They had four children. Cuffey died in Bloomington, Indiana
. The asteroid
2334 Cuffey
is named in his honor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
. He specialized in photoelectric photometry
Photometry (astronomy)
Photometry is a technique of astronomy concerned with measuring the flux, or intensity of an astronomical object's electromagnetic radiation...
and held the patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
on the Cuffey Iris Photometer, an instrument used in stellar
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
photographic photometry.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cuffey became a graduate student at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in 1934, then went on to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
as a doctoral student under Harlow Shapley
Harlow Shapley
Harlow Shapley was an American astronomer.-Career:He was born on a farm in Nashville, Missouri, and dropped out of school with only the equivalent of a fifth-grade education...
. He received his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from Harvard in 1938, then took a position as a postdoctoral fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
. Serving in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Cuffey taught navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
at the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1946, he returned to Indiana University, where he became a researcher in the Indiana Asteroid Program
Indiana Asteroid Program
The Indiana Asteroid Program was a program of photographic asteroid observations made with a 10-inch f/6.5 Cooke triplet astrographic camera at Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana. The program was initiated by Frank K. Edmondson of Indiana University in 1949 and continued until 1967...
, begun in 1949. In 1966, he joined Clyde Tombaugh
Clyde Tombaugh
Clyde William Tombaugh was an American astronomer. Although he is best known for discovering the dwarf planet Pluto in 1930, the first object to be discovered in what would later be identified as the Kuiper Belt, Tombaugh also discovered many asteroids; he also called for serious scientific...
in starting the astronomy program at New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
, where he remained until he retired in 1976.
Cuffey was married to astronomer Rita Paraboschi. They had four children. Cuffey died in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
. The asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
2334 Cuffey
2334 Cuffey
2334 Cuffey is a main-belt asteroid discovered on April 27, 1962 by Goethe Link Observatory at Brooklyn, Indiana. It is named in honor of astronomer James Cuffey.- External links :*...
is named in his honor.
External links
- http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m071.htmlNote on James Cuffey's observations of Messier 71Messier 71Messier 71 is a globular cluster in the constellation Sagitta. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1746 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects in 1780...
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