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Scientist

D. B. McLaughlin

1901–1965 · astronomy, astrophysics
American astronomer, co-author of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect. His measurements of radial velocity distortion in the Algol system confirmed that the apparent rotation of a star can be explained by a projective effect during eclipses. He contributed to the spectroscopy of variable stars and the study of line asymmetry.

Biography

Dean Benjamin McLaughlin was born in 1901. He studied and worked at the University of Michigan, where he became a professor of astronomy. Besides the effect that bears his name, he is known for his research on novae, Galactic structure, and the polarization of light from minor planets. He was an editor of the Astronomical Journal.

Key discoveries

💡 McLaughlin was a versatile scientist – he also studied the polarization properties of planetary and asteroid surfaces, which was a rather rare topic at the time.
"He observed that even stars rotate, and in their light we read their motion."
Concepts
exoplanetexoplanet atmospherespectroscopytransit method
Laws
Doppler effect
Scientists
Robert HookeJohann Jakob BalmerJocelyn Bell BurnellArno PenziasCharles TownesJames Clerk MaxwellErwin SchrödingerCecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

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