Heber Curtis

Heber Curtis was an American astronomer born June 27, 1872  in Muskegon, Michigan. The first attended the University of Michigan . However, his education at this university had very little to do with astronomy. The degrees he earned at this school was in classical languages. He then moved on to teach Latin at the Napa College. It was at this college that he discovered his penchant for astronomy by looking at the reflecting telescope that was held there. In 1895 he married Mary Raper and had four children. In 1897 Curtis switched his teaching profession over to being an astronomy and mathematics instructor. In 1902 he attended the eclipse in Georgia where he met other astronomers who encouraged him to continue his astronomical research at the University of Virginia. It was there that he recieved his PHD in astronomy. He was then easily hired at the Lick Observatory where he continued the research started by Keeler on nebulae. Heber Curtis worked at the Lick Observatory for 18 years.In 1917 Heber Curtis observed the nova S Adromadae within the Great Adromeda Nebula. It was there that he studied in depth and wrote a research paper regarding spiral nebulae. It was the presentation of this paper to the National Academy of Sciences that started the Great Debate that he is most famous for. In this debate,  Curtis argued that spiral nebulae were a seperate group of stars outside of the Milky Way galaxy. On the opposing side of the great debate was Harlow Shapley, who beleived that spiral nebulae were actually located inside of the Milky Way Galaxy. Later it would be found out that by Edwin Hubble that Curtis was in fact correct in his argument. This also proved that there are galaxies outside of our Milky Way. Shapely was correct , however in a different aspect of the argument that the Sun is not even close to being the center of the Universe. He ws also correct in his assertion that nebulae orbit the milky way much more frequently than beleived by Curtis. Other great accomplishmments of Heber Curtis in the field of stronomy included; becoming the president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1912 and in becoming the director of the Allegheny observatory in 1920. He also took part in the development of the McMath- Hulbert observatory on Lake Angelus. After a full life of mny accomplishments, Heber Curtis died in 1942 of a severe thyroid disease.