10 Additional Astronomers & Scientists You Must Know

(Sungrazers, Solar Physics, and Cosmic Catastrophe Edition)

In my previous post, 10 Astronomers Every Rogue Planet Enthusiast Should Know, I introduced some of the most influential pioneers whose work laid the foundation for understanding planetary motion, gravitational dynamics, and cosmic catastrophe. In this follow-up, we turn to a second set of astronomers and scientists whose research takes us even deeper into the specialized fields of sungrazing comets, solar physics, plasma interactions, and planetary disruption. These are names my characters David Mitchell and Manny Volynsky would know intimately, as they confront the science—and the unfolding reality—of a rogue planet’s destabilizing approach.

11. Heinrich Schwabe (1789–1875)

Why he matters:
Schwabe was the first to systematically document the Sun’s 11-year sunspot cycle. His observations laid the foundation for understanding solar variability—a key factor in how the Sun interacts with any approaching rogue planet or cometary object. For David, Schwabe’s work is essential background to model solar wind intensities, CME risk, and plasma field effects when discussing sungrazers.

12. Richard Carrington (1826–1875)

Why he matters:
Carrington directly observed the famous 1859 solar superstorm (now called the Carrington Event). His work is critical for understanding the potential of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, especially when massive bodies like rogue planets or comets approach perihelion and interact electromagnetically with the Sun. Both David and Manny would reference Carrington when forecasting severe space weather risks.

13. Ludwig Biermann (1915–1986)

Why he matters:
Biermann first proposed the existence of the solar wind while studying cometary tails. His theory explains why comet tails always point away from the Sun and introduced the concept that solar outflow exerts significant pressure far into space. David’s entire understanding of sungrazing comets, plasma tails, and ion interactions is grounded in Biermann’s pioneering insights.

14. Fred Whipple (1906–2004)

Why he matters:
Whipple’s famous “dirty snowball” model of comet composition revolutionized our understanding of how comets behave near the Sun. His models predict mass shedding, fragmentation, and volatile outgassing—all critical when modeling how a rogue planet’s coma might behave as it penetrates the Sun’s inner atmosphere. David would cite Whipple often.

15. Gene Shoemaker (1928–1997)

Why he matters:
Shoemaker, co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, provided one of the most dramatic real-world confirmations of planetary impacts. When that comet struck Jupiter in 1994, it demonstrated how easily large bodies can be captured, fragmented, and eventually impact massive planetary bodies. For David, Shoemaker’s work is a sobering reminder of the kinetic energy rogue objects carry.

16. Brian Marsden (1937–2010)

Why he matters:
Marsden was the head of the IAU’s Minor Planet Center and a leading authority on calculating comet and asteroid orbits. His mathematical work on orbital perturbations, non-gravitational forces (like outgassing jets), and chaotic orbit shifts would inform much of David’s professional expertise when trying to compute the unpredictable path of the incoming rogue planet.

17. Luboš Neslušan (1958–present)

Why he matters:
A contemporary researcher specializing in meteor streams, sungrazers, and long-period comets, Neslušan has published extensively on the fragmentation histories of sungrazers, especially Kreutz family comets. His work would sit directly on David’s desk as a case study of how smaller sungrazers may hint at larger progenitor bodies—precisely Manny’s argument about prior catastrophic breakups.

18. Jack Eddy (1931–2009)

Why he matters:
Eddy resurrected awareness of the Maunder Minimum and longer-term solar variability cycles. His work demonstrated that solar output is not constant across centuries—an important point when modeling how solar dynamics might interact with massive objects crossing through the heliosphere. Eddy’s work would subtly support some of Manny’s more apocalyptic solar disruption scenarios.

19. Eugene Parker (1927–2022)

Why he matters:
Parker revolutionized solar physics by fully developing the modern theory of the solar wind and magnetic reconnection processes. His work explains much of the violent solar behavior David models in real-time as the rogue planet enters the inner system. Parker’s name lives on in NASA’s Parker Solar Probe—an instrument David would reference constantly.

20. Mike Brown (1965–present)

Why he matters:
Mike Brown’s discovery of Eris (and other trans-Neptunian objects) effectively rewrote our understanding of the outer solar system and led to Pluto’s reclassification. His ongoing work hunting for “Planet Nine” provides David with a contemporary, observational framework for how large, previously unseen planetary bodies could exist on extreme orbits—and occasionally, possibly, become destabilized.

Summary Observation

While the first list laid the foundation of astronomy, these additional ten figures represent the highly specialized toolkit both David and Manny would draw from in their intense debates. David, as a leading sungrazer expert, would almost certainly have professionally corresponded with some of these individuals (or their students), attended their conferences, and published in the same journals.