- Jastrow, Robert
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▪ 2009American astrophysicistborn Sept. 7, 1925, New York, N.Y.died Feb. 8, 2008, Arlington, Va.popularized space science as a commentator on dozens of television programs and as the author of numerous books, notably the best-selling Red Giants and White Dwarfs (1967); he also played a vital role in guiding NASA's lunar exploration program as the founding director (1961–81) of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). After earning a Ph.D. (1948) in nuclear physics from Columbia University, New York City, Jastrow spent several years at Princeton University, where he conducted work on the “Jastrow Potential,” studies of high-energy protons. In 1958 he Jastrow joined NASA as head of its theoretical division. After leaving GISS he served as a professor in the earth sciences department at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., until 1992. That year he became chairman of the Mount Wilson Institute, operator of the Mount Wilson Observatory in California. There he oversaw the refitting of the 2.5-m (100-in) telescope with a state-of-the-art adaptive optics system. Jastrow was also a cofounder (1984) of the George C. Marshall Institute, which provided policy makers with technical analyses of issues relating to science and technology. While serving as its chairman, he promoted U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan's “Star Wars” missile-defense initiative and became an outspoken skeptic of the disastrous scenarios put forth by some scientists regarding climate change. Some of his other works include the textbook Astronomy: Fundamentals and Frontiers (1972, with Malcolm H. Thompson), God and the Astronomers (1978), The Enchanted Loom (1981), and How to Make Nuclear Weapons Obsolete (1985).
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Universalium. 2010.
