Peter Goldreich

Peter Goldreich has made profound and lasting contributions to planetary science and astrophysics. His research has focused on celestial mechanics, planetary rings, helioseismology and neutron stars. He is currently the Lee DuBridge Professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Physics at California Institute of Technology.

Goldreich’s work has involved fundamental research into a range of phenomena, such as the dynamics of planetary rings, pulsars, masers, the spiral arms of galaxies, the rotation of planets as well as their orbital resonances and the oscillations of the sun. He has authored papers on topics ranging from why Saturn's rings have sharp edges, to how stars send out coherent microwaves, to how the moon Io affects the radio bursts of Jupiter.

Along with collaborators, Goldreich was the first to describe the process of polar wander in 1969, and conclude that planetary nebulae evolved from red giant stars-- a view that is now widely accepted. He and colleague Scott Tremaine predicted Saturn’s F ring and Uranus’ rings were maintained by shepherd moons, both predictions were later confirmed. 

By Jen Santisi