fr en es pt
Astronomy
Asteroids and Comets Black Holes Children Chemical Elements Constellations Earth Eclipses Environment Equations Evolution Exoplanets Galaxies Light Matter Moons Nebulas Planets Probes and Telescopes Scientists Stars Sun Universe Volcanoes Zodiac New Articles Shorts Glossary
RSS astronoo
Follow me on X
Follow me on Bluesky
Follow me on Pinterest
English
Français
Español
Português
 
Last updated: October 1, 2025

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar: The Theorist of Massive Stars

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

From Madras to Stockholm: An Extraordinary Journey

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910 1995) was an Indo-American astrophysicist whose work revolutionized our understanding of stellar evolution. Born on October 19, 1910, in Lahore (then in British India, now in Pakistan) into a Tamil Brahmin family, he was the nephew of physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1888-1970), winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

After brilliant studies at Presidency College in Madras, he received a scholarship to continue his research at the University of Cambridge in 1930. It was during his boat journey to England, at just 19 years old, that he developed his theory on the Chandrasekhar limit, a fundamental concept in astrophysics.

The Chandrasekhar Limit: A Controversial Discovery

In 1930, Chandrasekhar calculated that a white dwarf cannot have a mass greater than 1.4 times the mass of the Sun (precise value: \(1.44 M_{\odot}\)). Beyond this limit, the star collapses under its own gravity to become either a neutron star or a black hole.

This theory, presented at a conference at the Royal Astronomical Society in 1935, was strongly criticized by Arthur Eddington (1882-1944), one of the leading figures in astrophysics at the time. Eddington called this idea "absurd," declaring that "there must be a law of nature to prevent a star from behaving in such an absurd way." This initial rejection deeply marked Chandrasekhar but did not prevent him from continuing his research.

Major Contributions to Astrophysics

Throughout his career, Chandrasekhar made fundamental contributions to several fields:

Chandrasekhar's Major Scientific Contributions
FieldContributionImpactYear
Stellar structureTheory of white dwarfs and critical mass limitFoundation for the study of compact objects1930-1935
Stellar dynamicsStudies on mass transfer in binary systemsUnderstanding of novae and supernovae1940s
General relativityPrecise calculations of geodesics in Kerr spacetimeApplication to rotating black holes1960s
HydrodynamicsTheory of magnetohydrodynamic wavesApplications in solar physics1950s

Academic Career and Recognition

After earning his PhD from Cambridge (1933), Chandrasekhar joined the University of Chicago in 1937, where he spent his entire career. He founded the famous Astrophysical Journal and trained several generations of astrophysicists. Among his most famous students were Eugene Parker (1927-2022), discoverer of the solar wind, and John N. Bahcall (1934-2005), pioneer in neutrino astronomy.

His contributions were eventually recognized through:

Chandrasekhar's Legacy

Chandrasekhar's work profoundly marked modern astrophysics:

As Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) noted: "Chandrasekhar's work on the white dwarf limit was one of the first indications that general relativity could have dramatic physical consequences for astrophysical objects."

Major Works and Publications

Chandrasekhar's Main Publications
WorkFieldYearSignificance
An Introduction to the Study of Stellar StructureStellar structure1939Foundational work in theoretical astrophysics
Principles of Stellar DynamicsStellar dynamics1942Reference treatise on stellar systems
Radiative TransferRadiative transfer1950Fundamental study of stellar atmospheres
Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic StabilityFluid stability1961Applications in astrophysics and geophysics
The Mathematical Theory of Black HolesGeneral relativity1983Synthesis of work on black holes

Timeline of Key Discoveries

Important Dates in Chandrasekhar's Career
YearEventContext
1910Born in Lahore (British India)In a family of scientists (nephew of C.V. Raman)
1930Discovery of the Chandrasekhar limit during his voyage to EnglandAboard the ship SS Strathnaver
1933PhD from the University of CambridgeUnder the supervision of Ralph Fowler
1937Joined the University of ChicagoBeginning of a 60-year career
1983Nobel Prize in PhysicsShared with William A. Fowler
1995Death in ChicagoFrom heart complications
1999Launch of the Chandra X-ray ObservatorySpace observatory named in his honor

Articles on the same theme

The Secrets Exchanged by Galileo and Kepler Were Coded The Secrets Exchanged by Galileo and Kepler Were Coded
Influential Greek Thinkers Influential Greek Thinkers
What do we know about Pythagoras? What do we know about Pythagoras (≈570-495 av. J.-C)?
Aristotle (384 - 322 BC): The Founder of Western Scientific Thought Aristotle (384 - 322 BC): The Founder of Western Scientific Thought
Ptolemy (90-168): The Genius Who Mapped the Heavens and Earth Ptolemy (90-168): The Genius Who Mapped the Heavens and Earth
Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543): The Revolutionary Who Placed the Sun at the Center of the Universe Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543): The Revolutionary Who Placed the Sun at the Center of the Universe
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601): The Astronomer with Giant Instruments Tycho Brahe (1546-1601): The Astronomer with Giant Instruments
Galileo (1564-1642): The Father of Modern Science and Defender of Heliocentrism Galileo (1564-1642): The Father of Modern Science and Defender of Heliocentrism
Kepler (1571-1630): The Architect of Planetary Motion Laws Kepler (1571-1630): The Architect of Planetary Motion Laws
Newton (1643-1727): The Genius Who Changed Our Understanding of the Universe Newton (1643-1727): The Genius Who Changed Our Understanding of the Universe
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813): The Genius Who Revolutionized Mathematics Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813): The Genius Who Revolutionized Mathematics
William Herschel (1738-1822): Discoverer of Uranus and Pioneer of Stellar Astronomy William Herschel (1738-1822): Discoverer of Uranus and Pioneer of Stellar Astronomy
Pierre-Simon de Laplace (1749-1827): The French Newton and Father of Celestial Mechanics Pierre-Simon de Laplace (1749-1827): The French Newton and Father of Celestial Mechanics
Caroline Herschel (1750-1848): The First Professional Female Astronomer Caroline Herschel (1750-1848): The First Professional Female Astronomer
Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (1784-1846): The Man Who Measured the Stars Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (1784-1846): The Man Who Measured the Stars
Michael Faraday (1791-1867), Self-Taught Genius: The Origins of Electrodynamics Michael Faraday (1791-1867), Self-Taught Genius: The Origins of Electrodynamics
John Herschel (1792-1871): The Pioneer of Stellar Astronomy and Scientific Photography John Herschel (1792-1871): The Pioneer of Stellar Astronomy and Scientific Photography
James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879): The Physicist Who Unified Light and Electromagnetism James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879): The Physicist Who Unified Light and Electromagnetism
Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921): The Woman Who Measured the Universe Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921): The Woman Who Measured the Universe
Max Planck (1858-1947): The Father of Quantum Theory Max Planck (1858-1947): The Father of Quantum Theory
Marie Curie (1867-1934): A Life Devoted to Sciencece Marie Curie (1867-1934): A Life Devoted to Science
Willem de Sitter (1872-1934): The Architect of Relativistic Universes Willem de Sitter (1872-1934): The Architect of Relativistic Universes
Einstein (1879-1955): The Genius Who Revolutionized Physics Einstein (1879-1955): The Genius Who Revolutionized Physics concept of time
Amalie Emmy Noether (1882-1935): The Mathematician Who Revolutionized Science Amalie Emmy Noether (1882-1935): The Mathematician Who Revolutionized Science
Walter Baade (1893-1960): Deciphering Stars and Galaxies Walter Baade (1893-1960): Deciphering Stars and Galaxies
Cecilia Payne (1900-1979), the Scientist Who Revealed the Composition of Stars Cecilia Payne (1900-1979), the Scientist Who Revealed the Composition of Stars
John Archibald Wheeler (1911-2008): The Visionary of Black Holes and Quantum Gravity John Archibald Wheeler (1911-2008): The Visionary of Black Holes and Quantum Gravity
Margaret Burbidge (1919-2020): An Exceptional Journey in Astrophysics Margaret Burbidge (1919-2020): An Exceptional Journey in Astrophysics
Jan Hendrik Oort (1900-1992): The Astronomer Who Revealed Our Galaxy's Structure Jan Hendrik Oort (1900-1992): The Astronomer Who Revealed Our Galaxy's Structure
Paul Dirac (1902-1984): The Silent Architect of Modern Physics Paul Dirac (1902-1984): The Silent Architect of Modern Physics
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-1995): The Theorist of Massive Stars Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-1995): The Theorist of Massive Stars
Vera Rubin (1928-2016): Pioneer of Dark Matter Vera Rubin (1928-2016): Pioneer of Dark Matter
Stanley Miller (1930-2007): The Chemist Who Recreated Life's Origins Stanley Miller (1930-2007): The Chemist Who Recreated Life's Origins
Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943-): the Scientist Who Discovered Pulsars Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943-): the Scientist Who Discovered Pulsars
Quotes about Science Quotes about Science
Babylonian Astronomy and Astrology: History and Contributions Babylonian Astronomy and Astrology: History and Contributions
Georges Lemaître (1894-1966): The Father of the Big Bang Theory Georges Lemaître (1894-1966): The Father of the Big Bang Theory