In memory of James B. Pollack, NASA's legendary astrophysicist, whose crater Mars bears the name, on the occasion of his 80th birthday



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James B. Pollack, born July 9, 1938, was one of NASA's most accomplished and established astrophysicists. His contributions in nuclear physics have helped generations of physicists make discoveries in this field

Pollack grew up in a Jewish family that was involved in the women's clothing business, but that did not stop him from To be a major in his high school. He also graduated from Princeton University in 1960.

He also earned a Master's degree in Nuclear Physics and a Ph.D. from the University of California and Harvard University, respectively [19659004] Pollack outstanding research in Planetology

Pollack was still doing informative research on the Solar System and all its planets. Many of his discoveries have contributed to the formation of all Jovian planets, which are Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus.

His experience of examining scatter radar signals around the rings of Saturn also helped scientists discover that most rings His investigations also determined the internal heat balance of giant planets by badyzing the size Particle of the atmosphere of the moon of Saturn, Titan.

In addition, he also helped NASA to show After studying the atmosphere of the Earth, he raised the possibility of the greenhouse effect, the depletion of the layer of Ozone and climate change leading to sulfuric rains and high temperatures, which recur. the weather conditions of Venus

The crater of Mars named after Pollack

One of the most notable honors that Pollack realized in his life is a crater on Mars to be

The crater , called Pollack, is a crater of impact present on the southeastern region of Mars, which measures up to 96 kilometers in diameter.

This honor was bestowed on him because of his research on the climate of Mars using data collected by the Mariner 9 spacecraft and the Viking mission.

As a result of this research, he also received the Gerard P. Kuiper Award for dedicating his life to this groundbreaking study. [19659004] Pollack introduces the nuclear term of the winter

Pollack, with a team of five scientists, introduced the concept of nuclear winter in the world. His study of this topic has led to a major disagreement among scientists around the world as to whether a nuclear war could create eternal cold on a global scale.

Although it is known that the scientist has overestimated the concept of nuclear winter, his article in the subject has allowed other scientists to explore and discover To study this phenomenon even more.

A mentor for young scientists

Pollack lived a controversial life, being openly gay during the conservative 30s but for his colleagues at NASA, he was still a source of inspiration. During his time at NASA's Ames Research Center, he became not only a great astrophysicist, but a remarkable teacher.

The astrophysicist was responsible for bringing many bright young scientists to Ames and casting their minds to achieve greatness. Many of these scientists have had distinguished careers and have contributed a great deal to Ames with their research.

This work also earned him NASA's Outstanding Scientific Achievement Medal as many scientists based their studies around Pollacks's discoveries about Solar. System

Although his death in 1994 due to cancer of the spine was a major blow to the field of astrophysics and planetology, his studies and papers continued to allow scientists to learn more about the subject. explore our solar system and the concept of living conditions on Mars.

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