Throughout history, humanity uncovered many secrets of our Universe with science. The earliest astronomers have defined the Solar System’s mechanics and analysed how the night sky changes with time. Without famous astrophysicists, humanity wouldn’t have progressed so far in science. Today, we learn about the most prominent astrophysicists of the 21st century (and 20th, too) because they should be given more attention for their discoveries.
Top 10 astrophysicists in the world
Many famous astrophysicists in history have studied our Universe’s secrets, but these people have made the most impact on scientific progress.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
A well-known astrophysicist and writer, Tyson studied at Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Texas. He focused his career on cosmology and became one of the most glorious astrophysicists because he’s actively popularised science over his multiple social media channels, including YouTube.
Stephen Hawking
One of the most prominent astrophysicists, Hawking was a cosmologist and theoretical physicist. Although a motor neuronal disease limited his physical abilities, he built a phenomenally successful career in science. This famous astrophysicist is worldwide known for his theory of black holes – something science has already confirmed today – and many exciting books about our Universe written for a wide audience, in language people without physics degrees can understand.
Halton Arp
Another famous astrophysicist, Halton Christian Arp made a huge contribution to our understanding of quasars. In 1966, he theorised that galactic nuclei could explode, ejecting quasars with a velocity that’s great enough to account for their redshifts, leading to a lengthy dispute about their distance from Earth. And even though not all of his theories could be substantiated, Arp cast doubt on major astrophysics ‘axioms’ of his time.
Alan Guth
Alan Guth is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist. His most famous work is on the development of cosmic inflation theory. Currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he also held a few academic positions at Cornell, Stanford, Princeton, and Columbia University.
Peter Higgs
One of the most famous British astrophysicists, Peter Higgs advanced particle physics. He is especially famous for his work on the Higgs mechanism and the Higgs boson. For much of his career, he held academic positions at the University of Edinburgh.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
The most famous astrophysicist among women, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, helped discover pulsars in 1967. Orbital Today explains that Burnell wasn’t immediately recognized for her input, because most laurels went to her scientific supervisor of the time. Only in 2018, she received the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, in 2018.
Freeman Dyson
Freeman Dyson was a very famous, highly influential astrophysicist and mathematician. He held faculty positions at a few institutions, the most notable one being the position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Dyson contributed to several areas, including solid-state physics, statistical mechanics, and space travel.
Steven Weinberg
As a famous astrophysicist, Steven Weinberg greatly contributed to particle physics, quantum field theory, and cosmology. Aside from his scientific papers, he also wrote a few books on popular science for general audience. In 1979, Weinberg won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the unification of weak force and electromagnetism.
Janna Levin
One of the most famous and accomplished American astrophysicists, Janna Levin researched black holes, gravitational waves, and the early universe. She also brought her contributions to science communication and has held multiple faculty positions, including at Barnard College of Columbia University.
Kip Stephen Thorne
As a famous American astrophysicist, Thorne is well known for his extensive work on gravitational physics. He studied black holes, gravitational waves, and time travel and in 2017, won a Nobel Prize in Physics, sharing it with his colleagues.
Why are astrophysicists famous?
First of all, astrophysicists are scientists who study and analyse celestial bodies, including black holes, stars, comets, planets, nebulae, etc. Famous astrophysicists have not only expanded our scientific knowledge but also inspired humanity to look at the night sky with curiosity and wonder. Through astrophysics, we advance human spaceflight, investigate how suitable distant planets are for humans and extraterrestrial life, etc.
Who is the most famous astrophysicist?
Many will agree that the most famous astrophysicist was Professor Stephen Hawking, even though the astrophysicists described above are also famous in specific circles. Neil deGrasse Tyson, for example, does a lot to keep popularising physics, but this popularisation process started with Professor Hawking. Throughout his entire career, this famous astrophysicist came up with theories on astronomical anomalies, asked questions about our Universe, and tried to enlighten us about everything.
However, when asked who is the well-known astrophysicist today? Many will name Neil deGrasse Tyson because of his current efforts to make science more understandable for ‘ordinary’ people. All in all, an answer to this question depends on how interested you are in physics and how curious you are to learn more about our universe. We, in turn, plan to keep you updated on its most notable discoveries, so stay tuned for more posts!
