Vesto Slipher

Vesto Melvin Slipher (November 11, 1875 – November 8, 1969) was an American astronomer. His brother Earl C. Slipher was also an astronomer and a director at the Lowell Observatory. His children are son David C. Slipher and daughter Marcia Frances Slipher Nicholson Slipher was born in Mulberry, Indiana, and completed his doctorate at Indiana University in 1909. He spent his entire career at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he was pr... more

Vesto Melvin Slipher (November 11, 1875 – November 8, 1969) was an American astronomer. His brother Earl C. Slipher was also an astronomer and a director at the Lowell Observatory. His children are son David C. Slipher and daughter Marcia Frances Slipher Nicholson Slipher was born in Mulberry, Indiana, and completed his doctorate at Indiana University in 1909. He spent his entire career at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he was promoted to assistant director in 1915, acting director from 1916, and finally director from 1926 until his retirement in 1952. He used spectroscopy to investigate the rotation periods of planets and the composition of planetary atmospheres. In 1912, he was the first to observe the shift of spectral lines of galaxies, making him the discoverer of galactic redshifts. He was responsible for hiring Clyde Tombaugh and supervised the work that led to the discovery of Pluto in 1930. Edwin Hubble was generally incorrectly credited with discovering the... less