Loyal Blaine Aldrich


Loyal Blaine Aldrich was an American astrophysicist and astronomer of the Smithsonian Institution. Upon graduation from the University of Wisconsin in 1907, Aldrich became a Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory assistant to Charles Greeley Abbot. The observatory conducted astrophysical research on solar radiation and the amount of energy from the Sun that strikes the outer edge of the Earth's atmosphere. Abbot became director of the observatory in 1907 and established solar observing stations in the United States, South America, and Africa to carry out research on solar radiation. Aldrich became director of the observatory from 1942 to 1955. Harvard University astronomy department chairman Fred Lawrence Whipple became director of the observatory when Aldrich retired.

Family

Aldrich married Elizabeth Stanley. Their son, Stanley Loyal Aldrich, assisted his father operating the observing station in the Chilean Andes until returning to the United States in 1957 so his daughters might receive education at Windham, Maine, where he taught high school mathematics.

Studies

Aldrich assisted Abbott's mapping of the infrared solar spectrum and carried out systematic studies of variation in solar radiation, its relation to the sunspot cycle, and its effect on weather variation. He also studied the nature of atmospheric transmission and absorption and assisted Abbot perfecting various standardised instruments now widely used for measuring the Sun's heat.

Publications