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| image credit: Youtopic.it |
Today is a truly sad day for Italy because one of its finest
minds, astrophysicist Margherita Hack, passed away in the
early morning. Born in Florence in 1922, she made lasting
contributions not only in radio astronomy and stellar spectrometry
but mostly as a true icon of free thinking and nonconformism.
Scientist, psychologist, astronomy professor, observatory
admin, author of several books, tv commentator and science
popularizer, Margherita was a keen sportswoman (long and
high jump champion in her youth) a passionate cyclist
forevermore and a thorny woman who always fought for
freedom. Margherita was widely known for her rational atheistic
viewpoint, for being a lifelong vegetarian and an antiring
advocate of animal and civil rights who promoted euthanasia
as the most merciful procedure. After being hospitalized last
week, she declined to undergo heart surgery and serenely
died in Trieste at the age of 91 leaving alone her husband Aldo
to whom she had been married for 70 years, a dog, eight
cats and all of us here, lost in time and meaning.
minds, astrophysicist Margherita Hack, passed away in the
early morning. Born in Florence in 1922, she made lasting
contributions not only in radio astronomy and stellar spectrometry
but mostly as a true icon of free thinking and nonconformism.
Scientist, psychologist, astronomy professor, observatory
admin, author of several books, tv commentator and science
popularizer, Margherita was a keen sportswoman (long and
high jump champion in her youth) a passionate cyclist
forevermore and a thorny woman who always fought for
freedom. Margherita was widely known for her rational atheistic
viewpoint, for being a lifelong vegetarian and an antiring
advocate of animal and civil rights who promoted euthanasia
as the most merciful procedure. After being hospitalized last
week, she declined to undergo heart surgery and serenely
died in Trieste at the age of 91 leaving alone her husband Aldo
to whom she had been married for 70 years, a dog, eight
cats and all of us here, lost in time and meaning.