Horace Welcome Babcock (September 13 1912 – August 29 2003) was an American astronomer. He was the son of Harold D. Babcock.
He invented and built a number of astronomical instruments, and in 1953 was the first to propose the idea of adaptive optics. He specialized in spectroscopy and the study of magnetic fields of stars. He proposed a theory for the magnetism of sunspots.
during World War II he was engaged in radiation work at MIT and Cal Tech . After the war he began a productive collaboration with his father. He won the Henry Draper Medal in 1957, the Bruce Medal in 1969, and the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1970.
The asteroid 3167 Babcock is jointly named for him and his father Harold D. Babcock (note however that Babcock crater on the Moon is named only for his father).
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