Ira Sprague Bowen (December 21, 1898 – February 6, 1973) was an American astronomer. A graduate of Oberlin College and the California Institute of Technology, he taught physics at Caltech from 1921 to 1945. He served as director of both the Mount Wilson Observatory and the Palomar Observatory, holding the latter position until 1964. In 1927 he discovered that Nebulium was not really a chemical element but instead doubly ionized oxygen.
Honors
Awards
- Henry Draper Medal (1942)
- Bruce Medal (1957)
- Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1964)
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1966)
Named after him
- Bowen crater on the Moon
- Asteroid 3363 Bowen
- Bowen ratio of turbulent fluxes from a surface
External links
- Bruce Medal page
- Awarding of Bruce medal: PASP 69 (1957) 105
- Awarding of RAS gold medal: QJRAS 7 (1966) 114
