Andrew McKellar

Andrew McKellar, astrophysicist, molecular spectroscopist (b at Vancouver 2 Feb 1910; d at Victoria 6 May 1960). McKellar received the MBE in 1947 for his work in WWII as a research officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. He was astronomer at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria 1935-39 and 1945-60 and was internationally regarded as one of Canada's greatest astronomers.

His 73 scientific publications include evidence that the source of energy of cool carbon stars is a nuclear reaction involving carbon and nitrogen, and the deduction that the temperature of interstellar gas is 2.3 Kelvin. It was more than 20 years before his result was confirmed and used to support the theory of the explosive creation of the universe. His final paper, a biography and a list of his publications appear in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 54 (1960).

Author E.H. RICHARDSON

0
0
Absolutely free, with over 40,000 articles in French and English, The Canadian Encyclopedia is the ultimate online resource for all things Canadian, from history, sports, arts, science, technology, and much, much more. Get started at www.TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com
Feature Articles
Maisonneuve and the Founding of Montreal

The story of the founding of Montreal is perhaps unique in history....

INSIDE TCE

Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.