Who was Margherita Hack?

On June 12, 2021 Google Doodle celebrated Italian astrophysicist and scientific disseminator Margherita Hack using an animated graphic on her 99^th birth anniversary. The doodle shows “Hack sitting on her chair and looking into her telescope”.

Who was Margherita Hack?

Margherita Hack was an Italian astrophysicist and scientific disseminator. She discovered asteroid 8558 Hack in 1995 which was named in her honour. She was born on June 12, 1922, in Florence. In between 1964 to 1992, she was full professor of astronomy at the University of Trieste. She was the first Italian woman to administrate Trieste Astronomical Observatory. She worked at many American and European observatories and was a member of working groups of European Space Agency (ESA) as well as NASA. She died in 2013 when she was 91.

Awards and honours

Margherita Hack was awarded with Targa Giuseppe Piazzi in 1994 for her scientific research. She also received Cortina Ulisse Prize for scientific dissemination in 1995. She was honoured with title of Dama di Gran Croce, which is the highest award given by Italian government.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2021