Federal Funding and Planetary Astronomy,1950-75: A Case Study

Abstract

Planetary astronomy offers an excellent opportunity to examine the effects of federal funding on scientific careers and specialties. Some scientists and historians have claimed that study of the moon and planets, once a major specialty in astronomy, became a minority specialty around the turn of the century, having been eclipsed by stellar and galactic agendas. According to this view, the space programme contributed to a renewal of planetary studies as plans were being made for exploratory voyages. NASA made available relatively large sums of money for new instruments, facilities, observations, theoretical work, and predoctoral training. Evidence that links investments in these programmes with renewed interest in the planets by astronomers (and also geophysicists) has been largely anecdotal. In this paper an attempt is made to measure this renewed activity in a more objective way, and to relate this activity to the infusion of money. The analyses reported here concentrate on the changing composition of the community of scientists who published on planetary topics before and during the NASA programmes, with special attention to career problems chosen for investigation. The analyses make use of an existing data base on publishing habits of American astronomers, combined with aggregate funding data.