Abstract
Once a white dwarf candidate has been found, astronomers must obtain its spectrum and then analyze it in detail to determine its physical properties. Acquiring a spectrum of any star requires the use of a prism or diffraction grating to disperse (spread out) the starlight over all wavelengths for which there is significant radiant flux. Because white dwarfs are such faint stars, however, much less light is available to spread across the spectrum than is the case for ordinary main sequence stars. Although some white dwarf candidates identified in early surveys were actually bright enough for astronomers to secure their spectra as soon as they were discovered, many more were not.
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Gerard P. Kuiper’s life and scientific contributions are summarized in “Gerard Kuiper,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Kuiper; accessed 19 May 2012.
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The action of University of Chicago President Harper and astronomer George Ellery Hale in persuading Charles T. Yerkes to build a new observatory is summarized in http://www.brittannica.com/EBchecked/topic/252289/George-Ellery-Hale; accessed 22 May 2012.
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Reference
Luyten, WJ (ed.): White Dwarfs. Dordrecht, Reidel (1971)
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Van Horn, H.M. (2015). The Peculiar Spectra of White Dwarfs. In: Unlocking the Secrets of White Dwarf Stars. Astronomers' Universe. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09369-7_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09369-7_8
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