Margherita Hack: Astrophysicist, activist and humanist
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Born in Florence in 1922, Margherita Hack was one of a kind.
Graduating in physics in 1945 with the highest recognition and a thesis on astrophysics, Margherita Hack was an atheist and fought the idea of the supernatural, so much so that she became the scientific controller for the organization called CICAP (Italian Committee for the Control on Paranormal Activities), part of the European Council of Skeptical Organizations (ECSO).
But she was a big believer in ethics, intended not as related to religion but as strongly linked to principles of conscience that allowed everyone to lead an honest and respectful life no matter their religion (or absence of it).
Cat-lover and woman with a great sense of humor, desperately in love with her husband after a 70-year marriage (a husband who was at her side when she died) she also fought for civil rights and the recognition of homosexual couples. Animal rights activist and vegetarian, she worked tirelessly to protect freedom (of speech, of thought, of choice pro euthanasia).
Cat-lover and woman with a great sense of humor, desperately in love with her husband after a 70-year marriage (a husband who was at her side when she died) she also fought for civil rights and the recognition of homosexual couples. Animal rights activist and vegetarian, she worked tirelessly to protect freedom (of speech, of thought, of choice pro euthanasia).
“In our galaxy we can count 400 billion stars, in the Universe 100 billion galaxies. It’s quite unlikely we are the only ones in the Universe.”
Of course she was, more than anything, a globally recognised astrophysicist, Professor of Astronomy in Trieste from 1964 to 1992, and the first Italian woman to direct the Astronomical Observatory of Trieste from 1964 to 1987, raising its international profile. Member of the most prestigious scientific society internationally, she published several essays and books with both scientific and educational purposes.
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