Margaret Geller is best known for her work on the large scale structure of the Universe, helping us understand the large clusters, super clusters and cosmic filaments that matter clumps into.
Visit the Astronomy Cast Page to subscribe to the audio podcast!
We record Astronomy Cast as a live Google+ Hangout on Air every Monday at 12:00 pm Pacific / 3:00 pm Eastern. You can watch here on Universe Today or from the Astronomy Cast Google+ page.
Years and years ago (in the late 1990s), I downloaded the CfA dataset, wrote some 3D galactic supercluster visualizations, and noticed a few possible connections between superclusters that appeared to be obscured by galactic dust. At the time, it seemed a reasonable idea to look up Margaret Geller and send her an email. I was thrilled when a reply appeared in my inbox. Not only did I get a detailed reply, but we had a discussion about the (then) current thinking on the topic.
I’m reasonably certain that most other acclaimed scientists would never bother to read or reply to my email or if they did would probably tell me that I wasn’t qualified to be investigating the topic. Ms. Geller made me feel that if one had a reasonable question to ask, then that was more important than credentials. She inspired me to pursue a career in scientific visualization.
I don’t know how many others there are like her out there but I suspect that they are about as common as superluminous supernovae.