Vera Rubin
Vera (Cooper) Rubin (born July 23, 1928) is an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She is famous for uncovering the discrepancy between the predicted angular motion of galaxies and the observed motion, by studying galactic rotation curves. This phenomenon became known as the galaxy rotation problem.
Currently, the theory of dark matter is the most popular candidate for explaining the galaxy rotation problem. The alternative theory of MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics) has little support in the community. Rubin, however, supports the MOND approach, stating \"If I could have my pick, I would like to learn that Newton\'s laws must be modified in order to correctly describe gravitational interactions at large distances. That\'s more appealing than a universe filled with a new kind of sub-nuclear particle.\"
