Harold Delos Babcock | |
|---|---|
 Babcock at the Fourth Conference International Union for Cooperation in Solar Research at Mount Wilson Observatory, 1910 | |
| Born | 24 January 1882 |
| Died | 8 April 1968 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Awards | Bruce Medal |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Solar spectroscopy |
| Institutions | Mount Wilson Observatory |
Harold Delos Babcock (January 24, 1882 – April 8, 1968) was an American astronomer and the father of Horace W. Babcock. He was of English and German ancestry.[1] He was born in Edgerton, Wisconsin, before completing high school in Los Angeles and was accepted to the University of California, Berkeley in 1901.[2] He worked at the Mount Wilson Observatory from 1907 until 1948.[1] He specialized in solar spectroscopy and precisely mapped the distribution of magnetic fields over the Sun's surface, working alongside his son.[3] In 1953 he won the Bruce Medal.[4] Babcock died of a heart attack in Pasadena, California at age 86.[5]
The crater Babcock on the Moon is named after him, as is asteroid 3167 Babcock (jointly named after him and his son).
