Why this matters now
Chandrasekhar is tested for the Chandrasekhar Limit, his 1983 Nobel (shared with William Fowler), and the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory (1999) named in his honour — one of NASA’s four Great Observatories.
The Chandrasekhar Limit (1930)
At age 19, on the steamer from Madras to England in 1930 to study at Cambridge, Chandrasekhar derived a stunning result: a white dwarf star of mass above ~1.44 solar masses (the Chandrasekhar Limit) cannot exist — it must collapse beyond the white-dwarf stage into a neutron star or (as we now know) a black hole. Electron degeneracy pressure cannot hold a stellar remnant heavier than this against gravitational collapse.
The result was bitterly rejected by Sir Arthur Eddington, then the leading British astronomer, in a famous 1935 Royal Astronomical Society confrontation that drove Chandrasekhar to move to America. The Limit is now textbook; the rejection delayed acceptance of stellar evolution beyond the white-dwarf stage by decades.
Career: University of Chicago, Yerkes, Nobel
Chandrasekhar moved to the University of Chicago in 1937 (Yerkes Observatory then Chicago), naturalised US citizen 1953, retired Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor in 1985. He worked across seven major fields in succession (stellar structure, stellar dynamics, radiative transfer, hydromagnetic stability, ellipsoidal figures, general relativity, black holes), writing the definitive treatise on each. He famously commuted Madison→Chicago in winter to teach a course with TWO graduate students — both of whom later won Nobel Prizes (Lee and Yang, Physics 1957).
Nobel Prize 1983 and Chandra Observatory
The 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Chandrasekhar (half) and William A. Fowler (half) for “theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars”. The American Physical Society Eddington Medal (1953), the Royal Astronomical Society Gold Medal (1953), the Henry Draper Medal (1971) and the National Medal of Science (1966) preceded the Nobel. The NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched on 23 July 1999; it remains operational and is named after him. He died of a heart attack in Chicago on 21 August 1995 aged 84. Padma Vibhushan 1968.
UPSC angle
Know Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar — nephew of C.V. Raman; derived Chandrasekhar Limit (~1.44 solar masses, white dwarf mass limit) on steamer Madras→England at age 19 (1930); rejected by Eddington at RAS 1935; moved to University of Chicago (Yerkes, 1937); 7 major fields successively (stellar structure / stellar dynamics / radiative transfer / hydromagnetic stability / ellipsoidal figures / general relativity / black holes); NOBEL PRIZE PHYSICS 1983 (shared with William Fowler); NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory launched 23 July 1999 (one of 4 NASA Great Observatories); Padma Vibhushan 1968; died Chicago 21 Aug 1995.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Chandrasekhar Limit?
The maximum mass of a stable white dwarf star — about 1.44 solar masses, derived by Chandrasekhar in 1930.
Did Chandrasekhar win the Nobel Prize?
Yes — he shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics with William Fowler.
What is the Chandra X-ray Observatory?
One of NASA’s four Great Observatories, launched on 23 July 1999 and named in honour of S. Chandrasekhar.
Was Chandrasekhar related to another Nobel laureate?
Yes — he was the nephew of C.V. Raman (1930 Nobel in Physics).