Milton L. Humason

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Milton Lasell Humason (August 19, 1891 – June 18, 1972) was as American astronomer. He was born in Dodge Center, Minnesota.

He started out as a janitor at the Mount Wilson Observatory in 1917, but soon became night assistant. As a professional, he became known as a meticulous observer, obtaining photographs and spectrograms. His observations played a major role in the development of physical cosmology, including assisting Edwin Hubble in formulating Hubble's law. He retired in 1957.

He discovered Comet C/1961 R1 (Humason), notable for its large perihelion distance.

Due to merest chance, Humason missed discovering Pluto. Eleven years before Clyde Tombaugh, Humason took a photograph in which the image of Pluto fell on a defect in the photographic plate and was not detected.

Much of the work Humason performed was actually credited to Hubble, the two of which worked together for many years.

He died in Mendocino, California.

[edit] In Popular Culture

In the popular documentary Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by astronomer Carl Sagan, Humason's life and work are portrayed onscreen in episode 10, "The Edge of Forever"

There is a musical in development in the Charlotte, NC area written by Stan Peal. It is based on a nonfiction account of Humason's life.