Carolyn+and+Eugene+Shoemaker

Eugene Merle Shoemaker April 28, 1928 – July 18, 1997

Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker June 24, 1929



 Eugene Shoemaker founded the scientific study of planetary impact cratering on the Earth, Moon, planets and their satellites, as well as pioneering surveys of near-Earth asteroids and comets, often in collaboration with his wife Carolyn. His most important scientific legacy was recognizing how pervasive the impact cratering was in the Early Solar System. (2)

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Shoemaker was born in Los Angeles on April 28, 1928. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Caltech at age 19 and 21 respectively. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1960 after "an interupted career". He briefly began exploring uranium deposits in Colorado and Utah in 1944 which "brought him geographically and intellectually near the many volcanic features and the one impact structure on the Colorado Plateau in the western United States, namely the Hopi Buttes and Meteor Crater." [|(1)]

While studying in this region, Shoemaker became interested in the question of whether the craters on the Moon were volcanic or caused by impacts of asteroids and comets. After his first visit to Meteor Crater, Arizona, in 1952, he became convinced that both it and lunar craters had been formed by impact craters. (2)

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In 1956, while mapping craters formed by nuclear explosions,  he discovered that nuclear craters and Meteor Crater had the same overturned flap with inverted stratigraphy, ejected from the craters, and these craters had transiently been deeper cavities, partially filled by fall-back ejecta. This work, described in his PhD, defined many features of the impact process. (2)

Shoemaker took the lead role in developing the Astrogeology branch of the USGS and NASA. During this time he led projects to map craters of the moon, both from telescopes on Earth and from a series of Lunar spacecraft. He also helped map the heavily cratered solid satellites of the outer planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. (2)  During this time with NASA, Shoemaker had aspirations to become the forst astronaut – geologist to map the moon. [|(1)] However, he suffered from Addison’s disease which prevented him from becoming an astronaut. (2)

During this time Shoemaker continued studying the cratering of the Moon. Shoemaker first conceived the idea that highly cratered surfaces on airless objects should be covered by a layer of impact ejecta, which he named a “regolith”. He was also among the first to recognize that by measuring the relationship between crater density and diameter, the age of a planetary surface could be inferred. (2)  In 1972 Shoemaker started a joint program to search for Earth and near Earth asteroids. He, along with his wife “labored with 1930’s equipment…for 25 years…” (2) During this time they discovered some 140 of the known 417 Amor, Apollo, and Aten (near Earth) asteroids as well as some 32 comets that bear the Shoemaker name.

Shoemaker was awarded numerous medals for his outstanding contributions to the scientific community. Among the highest, was the National Medal of Science (the highest scientific honor bestowed by the President of the United States)

 Dr. Gene Shoemaker died Friday, July 18, 1997 in Alice Springs, Australia in a car accident. He "...died with his field boots on..."  (2) On July 31, 1999, some of his ashes were carried to the Moon by the Lunar Prospector space probe in a capsule designed by Carolyn Porco. To date, he is the only person to have been buried on the Moon [|(5)]

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“We were having rotten luck, the clouds kept forming, and it was threatening to snow.”

**Two days before the “smudge” they found that night turned out to be “the most celebrated comet discovery of the century.” (3) “The only other event in history of comparable force is the asteroid or comet that may have struck Earth 65 million years ago.” //[|Astronomy Magazine]//**

Carolyn Shoemaker was born in 1929. As a young girl, Carolyn considered Astronomy as a field "relegated to only old men in white beards, smoking pipes, and staring at the sky." [|(4)]  She was the daughter of a chicken farmer and a teacher. She worked briefly as a seventh grade teacher after graduating from Chico State University in California. After leaving teaching, she decided to stay at home to raise their three children.  Carolyn received her astronomy training from a student at CalTech named Bobby Bus, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory and now at the Hawaiian Observatory. (4) In 1982 when the children moved out, she began helping Eugene with his work. (3) Carolyn continues to look to the sky to find near-Earth asteroids and comets. The importance of this research is to understand the potential risks of an impact for the future of life on Earth. [|(4)]

 The work Carolyn Shoemaker carries out involves studying photographic plates and films taken 45 minutes to an hour apart of the night sky. The technique uses a stereoscope, allowing the researcher to view two plates or films simultaneously. [|(4)] media type="youtube" key="XzV2_5zhMTg" height="229" width="288" align="center"

Her diligent work has paid off. She holds the record for the most comet discoveries. She has found more than 800 asteroids and 32 comets Additional fame comes from her co-discovery, with husband Gene and David Levy, of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1993. The comet was ripped apart by gravitational forces on a near collision with Jupiter in 1992. A string of 21 icy fragments continued in orbit until impacting the planet in 1994, as the world observed from telescopes and the Voyager 2 spacecraft views. Carolyn was co-recipient, with her husband Gene, of the Rittenhouse Medal in 1988 and the Scientists of the Year Award in 1995. She received an honorary doctorate of science from Northern Arizona University of Flagstaff in 1990 and the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1996. Pretty impressive for a woman who took up astronomy in 1980, at the age of 51. [|(4)]

media type="youtube" key="DgOTcIfU75Y" height="227" width="384" align="right" "It is hard to separate the careers and lives of Carolyn and Gene Shoemaker. The two mutually supported each other throughout their symbiotic marriage. Without Gene, Carolyn would never have become a famous astronomer. Without Carolyn's help, Gene would never have progressed very far with his asteroid statistics program, never have found comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, and probably would never have mapped impact craters in Australia. Without each other, they would not have been successful companions and working partners, had their children, or home life." [|(4)]

__**References:**__

1: http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/About/People/GeneShoemaker/

2: Levy, David __Smithsonian__; Jun94, Vol. 25 Issue 3. p62, 7p

3. Min, Janice __People__ 7/18/94, Vol. 42 Issue 3, 2p

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> 4. http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/About/People/CarolynShoemaker/

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> 5. http://www.space.com/news/080328-moon-burial.html

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> __**Additional Resources**__:

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://warpedspace.com/2-TonysRealm/TimeGate.htm

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://www.astronet.ru/db/varstars/msg/1165143

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://www.scienceclarified.com/scitech/Comets-and-Asteroids/When-Comets-and-Asteroids-Strike-Earth.html

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Merle_Shoemaker

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_S._Shoemaker

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://www.universetoday.com/html/articles/2001-1211a.html