Showed that lunar craters were the result of impacts, not volcanic in origin. Two of his books were highly influential and helped establish lunar timescales.
Ralph Belknap Baldwin (June 6, 1912 – October 23, 2010)[1] was an American planetary scientist known for his work on lunar craters, beginning in the late 1940s.[2] His book, The Face of the Moon[3] made the case for the impact nature of lunar craters.[4] He published The Measure of the Moon in 1963.[5]
Baldwin was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended the University of Michigan, receiving his B.S. in 1934, M.S. in 1935, and Ph.D. in 1937,[1] on the "spectroscopic study of novae".[7] After graduation, he taught astronomy at the University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University from 1935 through 1942.[6] The photographs at the Adler Planetarium, where he lectured to earn extra money, sparked his interest in lunar craters. This led to an article in Popular Astronomy in 1942 and later his book The Face of the Moon, in 1949.[8] During World War II Baldwin helped to develop the radar proximity fuze. He published a history of proximity fuze development in 1980 entitled The Deadly Fuze.[9]
Awards and honors
Baldwin has been honored for each of his three careers. During his work on the radio proximity fuze he was awarded the Army Chief of Ordnance Award and the U.S. Naval Bureau Ordnance Award (1945).[1] In 1947 he was a recipient of the Presidential Certificate of Merit.[1] He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1980.[10]
^Baldwin, Ralph B. The Deadly Fuze: The Secret Weapon of World War II. Presidio Press. San Rafael, CA 1980. ISBN0-89141-087-2. Baldwin was a member of the team headed by Merle Tuve that did most of the design work.