Donald Figer

Dr. Donald Figer is the Director of the Future Photon Initiative and the Center for Detectors at RIT.

Donald Figer is an American astronomer. He works at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he is a Professor,[1] Director of the Future Photon Initiative and the Center for Detectors.[2] He claims that 150 solar masses is the upper limit for stars. By using the Hubble Space Telescope, he observed approximately one thousand stars in a young star cluster, the Arches Cluster, which is near the center of the Milky Way. None of the stars surpassed this limit.[3]

While at UCLA, he also identified the Pistol Star as one of the most massive in the Universe.[4]

Education

Degree(s): PhD in Astronomy, 1995, UCLA; M.S. in Astronomy, 1992, U. Chicago;

B.A. in Physics, Math, Astronomy, 1989, Northwestern U.

References

  1. FigerSite
  2. http://ridl.cfd.rit.edu
  3. An Upper Limit to the Masses of Stars. Figer, D. F. 2005, Nature, Vol. 34, No. 7030, 192
  4. The Pistol Star. Figer, D.F., Najarro, F., Morris, M.,McLean, I. S., Geballe, T. R., Ghez, A. M., & Langer, N. 1998, ApJ, 506, 384


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