In response to: A Stellar Student, He Transformed Our Understanding of the Stars
Current issue
December 2025
Judge Michael Park ’98; shifts in DEI initiatives; a night at the new art museum.
Judge Michael Park ’98; shifts in DEI initiatives; a night at the new art museum.
I enjoyed the short PAW article and decided to look up this astronomer, to me unknown, in Wikipedia. As soon as I read “Hertzsprung-Russell diagram” I realized how famous and important he was and that I’ve known about him for decades. Even I, a mere follower of astronomy, know this diagram, which is fundamental for stellar astronomy.
It’s too bad that your nice article about Russell omitted his possibly most important and well-known astronomical achievement. In Wikipedia it is the first achievement mentioned. Maybe you could add a footnote?
Editor’s note: Read more about the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram on Wikipedia and in “Sequencing the Stars” by Princeton emeritus professor Robert J. Vanderbei.