The next time you find yourself gazing at the stars, locate Orion’s Belt and you may spot what catapulted Guillermo Haro to astronomy fame.
It was in the Orion nebula region that Haro co-discovered flare stars, red and blue stars that experience unpredictable dramatic increases in brightness for a few minutes. This shining moment is part of the reason Google has dedicated its doodle on Wednesday to Haro on his 105th birthday.
From the newly founded Observatorio Astrofísico de Tonantzintla in Mexico, he also discovered small interstellar clouds of dust, hydrogen and helium associated with newborn stars. This discovery was dubbed Herbig-Haro objects, sharing credit with George Herbig, who made his discovery independently.
Born in Mexico City during the Mexican revolution, Haro was influential in the development of astronomy in Mexico. For his work, an observatory in the Mexican state of Sonora bears Haro’s name.
He went on to be the first person elected to the Royal Astronomical Society from a developing country.
Haro died on April 26, 1988.
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