Vera Florence Cooper Rubin

Vera Florence Cooper Rubin

2003

Date of Birth
: 
July 23, 1928
Date of Death
: 
December 25, 2016

Vera Rubin was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Washington, D.C. She earned her B.A. at Vassar College and her M.A. at Cornell University, where she made one of the first studies of deviations from the Hubble flow in the motions of galaxies. This work turned out to be the precursor of studies of the local supercluster. After earning her Ph.D. at Georgetown University under George Gamow, she taught at Montgomery County Junior College and at Georgetown. From 1965 until her retirement she was at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism (now the Earth and Planets Laboratory) of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (now the Carnegie Institution for Science). There she joined with W. Kent Ford, Jr., inventor of an image tube spectrograph, to measure rotation curves of spiral galaxies (and later, ellipticals as well). This work, which she extended considerably as CCDs replaced image tubes, led to the realization that most of the mass in galaxies is dark and that it resides in the outer parts, or haloes. (Dark matter had been suggested as early as 1933 by Fritz Zwicky as necessary to keep clusters of galaxies from flying apart.) She was a leader in the study of the structure of galaxies, their internal motions, and large-scale motions in the Universe. Stating that she was inspired by the example of Maria Mitchell, Rubin herself was an inspiration and mentor to many younger astronomers. She was at least as proud of her four children, all of whom earned Ph.D.’s in math or science, as of her scientific achievements.

Personal Web Page

At the Carnegie Institution of Washington

Presentation of Bruce medal

Garmany, Katy, Mercury 32, 4, 42 (Jul/Aug 2003).

Other awards

American Association of Physics Teachers, Richtmeyer Memorial Award, 2008/2009.
American Astronomical Society, Henry Norris Russell Lectureship, 1994.
Peter Gruber Foundation, Cosmology Prize, 2002. (report in Physics Today)
National Academy of Sciences, National Medal of Science, 1993; James Craig Watson Medal, 2004.
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Jansky Lectureship, 1994.
Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Gold Medal.
Royal Astronomical Society, Gold medal, 1996, presented by M.S. Longair, Observatory 117, 129-32 (1997).

Biographical materials

Eisberg, Joann in Shearer, Benjamin F. & Barbara S., eds. Notable Women in the Physical Sciences: a Biographical Dictionary (Greenwood Press, Westport, CT & London, 1997), pp. 350-55.
Irion, Robert, “The Bright Face behind the Dark Sides of Galaxies,” Science, 295, 960 (2002).
Johnson, Ben & Meigy Tsai, Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics.
Mitton, Jacqueline & Simon Mitton, Vera Rubin: A Life (Belknap Press, 2021).
Nazé, Yaël, “Vera Rubin, la femme qui a changé la face de l’Univers,” Ciel & Espace 437, 58-62 (Oct 2006).
Rubin, Vera C., “An Interesting Voyage,” Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 49, 1-28 (2011).
Stephens, Sally, “Vera Rubin: An Unconventional Career,” Mercury 21, 1, 38-45 (Jan/Feb 1992) [reprinted in Rubin, Vera C., Bright Galaxies, Dark Matters (Amer. Inst. Phys. Press, Woodbury, NY, 1997)].
Trimble, Virginia, Gruber Cosmology Prize biographical statement.
Yeager, Ashley Jean, Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond: The Life of Astronomer Vera Rubin (MIT Press, 2021).

Obituaries

Bahcall, Neta, Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 49(1), 2017.
Carnegie Institution for Science, 26 December 2016.
Childers, Tim, Space.com, 11 June 2019
Domonoske, Camila, NPR, 26 December 2016.
Schudel, Matt, Washington Post, 26 December 2016

Portraits

At Lowell Observatory, 1965, courtesy of Dr. Rubin
Recent portrait, courtesy of Dr. Rubin
AIP Center for History of Physics [many]

Named after her

Minor Planet #5726 Rubin
Rubin-Ford effect (with W. Kent Ford, Jr.)
Vera C. Rubin Observatory
Vera Rubin Ridge, Mars

Bibliography

Papers, etc.

Rubin's papers are in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division. There are 1989 and 1995–96 oral history interviews at the Niels Bohr Library & Archives.

Other References: Historical

Anonymous, “Astronomer Vera Rubin—The Doyenne of Dark Matter,” Discover, June 2002 [interview with Rubin].

Croswell, Ken, The Universe at Midnight: Observations Illuminating the Cosmos ( Free Press, 2001).

Faber, Sandra, “Vera Rubin’s Contributions to Astronomy, ” Scientific American blog, 29 December 2016

Hargittai, Balazs & István Hargittai, Candid Science V (Imperial College Press, London, 2005) [contains interview with Rubin].

Panek, Richard, “Vera Rubin Didn't Discover Dark Matter: She wasn't even convinced it existed," Scientific American blog, 29 December 2016.

Rubin, Vera, Interview, Astronomy, June 2003.

Rubin, Vera C., “A Brief History of Dark Matter,” in Mario Livio, ed., The Dark Universe: Matter, Energy and Gravity, Proceedings of the Space Telescope Science Institute Symposium, Held in Baltimore, Maryland, April 2-5, 2001 (Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 1-13 [excerpts].

Rubin, Vera, “Seeing Dark Matter in the Andromeda Galaxy,” Physics Today 59, 12, 8-9 (Dec 2006).

Scoles, Sarah, “How Vera Rubin Confirmed Dark Matter,” Astronomy, June 2016, published online 4 October 2016.

Soter, Steven & Neil deGrasse Tyson, eds. Cosmic Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting Edge (New Press, 2000) [Excerpt on Rubin].

Trefil, James & Margaret Hindle Hazen, Good Seeing: A Century of Science at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1902-2002 (Joseph Henry Press, Washington, DC, 2001).

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Other References: Scientific

Rubin, Vera Cooper, “Differential Rotation of the Inner Metagalaxy,” Astronomical Journal 56, 47-48 (1951).

Rubin, Vera Cooper, “Fluctuations in the Space Distribution of the Galaxies,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 40, 541-49 (1954).

Rubin, Vera C., “Structure and Evolution of the Galactic System,” Physics Today 13, 12, 32-35 (1960) [reprinted in *].

Rubin, Vera C., et al, “Kinematic Studies of Early-type Stars. I. Photometric Survey, Space Motions, and Comparison with Radio Observations,” Astronomical Journal 67, 491-531 (1962).

Burbidge, E. Margaret, G.R. Burbidge; D.J. Crampin, V.C. Rubin & K.H. Prendergast, “The Rotation and Mass of NGC 6503,” Ap.J. 139, 539-44 (1964).

Burbidge, E. Margaret, G.R. Burbidge, V.C. Rubin, & K. H. Prendergast, “Motions in Barred Spirals. VI. The Velocity Field of NGC 613,” Ap.J. 140, 85-93 (1964).

Burbidge, E Margaret, G.R. Burbidge, & Vera C. Rubin, “A Study of the Velocity Field in M82 and its Bearing on Explosive Phenomena in that Galaxy,” Ap.J. 140, 942-68 (1964).

Rubin, Vera C., “Radial Velocities of Distant OB Stars in the Anticenter Region of the Galaxy,” Ap.J. 142, 934-42 (1965).

Ford, W. Kent, Jr. & Vera C. Rubin, “Low-Dispersion Image Tube Spectra in the Red: 3C 33, 3C 48, Ton 256, and an Infrared Star,” Ap.J. 142, 1303-07 (1965).

Ford, W. Kent, Jr. & Vera C. Rubin, “Quasi-Stellar Objects with Small Redshifts: 1217+02, 3C 249.1, and 3C 263,” Ap.J. 145, 357-60 (1966).

Rubin, Vera C. & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “Rotation of the Andromeda Nebula from a Spectroscopic Survey of Emission Regions,” Ap.J. 159, 379-404 (1970).

Rubin, Vera C. & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “Radial Velocities and Line Strengths of Emission Lines across the Nuclear Disk of M31,” Ap.J. 170, 25-52 (1971).

Ford, W. Kent, Jr, Vera C. Rubin, & Morton S. Roberts, “A Comparison of 21-cm Radial Velocities and Optical Radial Velocities of Galaxies,” Astronomical Journal 76, 22-24 (1971).

Rubin, Vera C., C. Krishna Kumar, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “Variation of Emission-Line Strengths across M31,” Ap.J. 177, 31-44 (1972).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., & C. Krishna Kumar, “Stellar Motions Near the Nucleus of M31,” Ap.J. 181, 61-78 (1973).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Judith S. Rubin, “A Curious Distribution of Radial Velocities of ScI Galaxies with 14.0 ≤ m ≤ 15.0,” Ap.J. 183, L111-L115 (1973).

Warner, John W. & Vera C. Rubin, “Physical conditions and structure in NGC 7293, ‘The Helix’” Ap.J. 198, 593-603 (1975).

Rubin, Vera C., Norbert Thonnard, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “Observations of NGC 6764, a Barred Seyfert Galaxy,” Ap.J. 199, 31-38 (1975).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Charles J. Peterson, “Evidence for Contraction in the Nuclear Ring of the Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 3351,” Ap.J. 199, 39-48 (1975).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., Norbert Thonnard, Morton S. Roberts, & John A. Graham, “Motion of the Galaxy and the Local Group Determined from the Velocity Anisotropy of Distant Sc I Galaxies. I. The Data Ap.J. 81, 687-718 (1976).

Rubin, Vera C., Norbert Thonnard, W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Morton S. Roberts, “Motion of the Galaxy and the Local Group Determined from the Velocity Anisotropy of Distant Sc I Galaxies. II. The Analysis for the Motion,” Astronomical Journal 81, 719-37 (1976).

Peterson, Charles J., Vera C. Rubin, W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Norbert Thonnard, “Motions of the Stars and the Excited Gas in the Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 3351,” Ap.J. 208, 662-72 (1976).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., Charles J. Peterson, & J.H. Oort, “New Observations of the NGC 1275 Phenomenon,” Ap.J. 211, 693-96 (1977).

Rubin, Vera C., Norbert Thonnard, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “Extended Rotation Curves of High-luminosity Spiral Galaxies. I. The Angle between the Rotation Axis of the Nucleus and the Outer Disk of NGC 3672,” Ap.J. 217, L1-L4 (1977).

Peterson, Charles J., Vera C. Rubin, W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Norbert Thonnard, “The Velocity Field of the Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 5383,” Ap.J. 219, 31-45 (1978).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., Charles J. Peterson, & C. Roger Lynds, “A New Mapping of the Velocity Field of NGC 1275,” Ap.J. Supp. 37, 235-49 (1978).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., K.M. Strom, S.E. Strom, & W. Romanishin, “Extended Rotation Curves of High-luminosity Spiral Galaxies. II. The Anemic Sa Galaxy NGC 4378,” Ap.J. 224, 782-95 (1978).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Norbert Thonnard, “Extended Rotation Curves of High-luminosity Spiral Galaxies. IV. Systematic Dynamical Properties, SA→SC,” Ap.J. 225, L107-L111 (1978).

Thonnard, N., V.C. Rubin, W.K. Ford, Jr., & Morton S. Roberts, “Radial Velocities of Spiral Galaxies Determined from 21-cm Neutral Hydrogen Observations,” Astronomical Journal 83, 1564-65 (1978).

Peterson, Charles J., Vera C. Rubin, W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Morton S. Roberts, “Extended Rotation Curves of High-luminosity Spiral Galaxies. III. The spiral galaxy NGC 7217,” Ap.J. 226, 770-76 (1978).

Rubin, Vera C., “Galactic Dynamics,” Science 203, 43 (1979).

Rubin, Vera C., “Rotation Curves of High-luminosity Spiral Galaxies and the Rotation Curve of our Galaxy,” in The Large-scale Characteristics of the Galaxy; Proceedings of the Symposium, College Park, Md., June 12-17, 1978, IAU Symposium No. 84 (D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1979), pp. 211-220.

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Morton S. Roberts, “Extended Rotation Curves of High-luminosity Spiral Galaxies. V. NGC 1961, the most massive spiral known,” Ap.J. 230, 35-39 (1979).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Norbert Thonnard, “Rotational Properties of 21 Sc Galaxies with a Large Range of Luminosities and Radii, from NGC 4605 (R = 4kpc) to UGC 2885 (R= 122kpc ),” Ap.J. 238, 471-87 (1980).

Rubin, Vera C., “Velocities and Mass Distribution in the Barred Spiral NGC 5728,” Ap.J. 238, 808-17 (1980).

Rubin, Vera C., “Stars, Galaxies, Cosmos: The Past Decade, the Next Decade,” Science 209, 64-71 (1980).

Rubin, Vera C., David Burstein, & Norbert Thonnard, “A New Relation for Estimating the Intrinsic Luminosities of Spiral Galaxies,” Ap.J. 242, L149-L152 (1980).

Burstein, David, Vera C. Rubin, Norbert Thonnard, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “The Distribution of Mass in Sc Galaxies,” Ap.J. 253, 70-85 (1982).

Rubin, Vera C., Norbert Thonnard, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “NGC 3067: Additional Evidence for Nonluminous Matter?,” Astronomical Journal 87, 477-85 (1982).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., Norbert Thonnard, & David Burstein, “Rotational Properties of 23 Sb Galaxies,” Ap.J. 261, 439-56 (1982).

Rubin, Vera C., “Systematics of H II Rotation Curves,” in Internal Kinematics and Dynamics of Galaxies; Proceedings of the Symposium, Besancon, France, August 9-13, 1982 (D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983), pp. 3-10.

Schweizer, François, Bradley C. Whitmore, & Vera C. Rubin, “Colliding and Merging Galaxies. II. S0 Galaxies with Polar Rings,” Astronomical Journal, 88, 909-25 (1983).

Rubin, Vera C., “The Rotation of Spiral Galaxies,” Science 220, 1339-44 (1983).

Rubin, Vera C. & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “The Noninteracting Spiral Pair, NGC 450/UGC 807,” Ap.J. 271, 556-63 (1982).

Rubin, Vera C., W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Bradley C. Whitmore, “Luminosity-dependent Line Ratios in Disks of Spiral Galaxies,” Ap.J. 281, L21-L24 (1984).

Whitmore, Bradley C., Vera C. Rubin, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “Stellar and Gas Kinematics in Disk Galaxies,” Ap.J. 287, 66-79 (1984).

Rubin, Vera C., David Burstein, W. Kent Ford, Jr., & Norbert Thonnard, “Rotation Velocities of 16 Sa Galaxies and a Comparison of Sa, Sb, and Sc Rotation Properties,” Ap.J. 289, 81-104 (1985).

Burstein, David & Vera C. Rubin, “The Distribution of Mass in Spiral Galaxies,” Ap.J. 297, 423-35 (1985).

Rubin, V.C., “Dark Matter in the Universe,” in Highlights of Astronomy. Volume 7 - Proceedings of the Nineteenth IAU General Assembly, Delhi, India, November 19-28, 1985 (D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1986), pp. 27-38 [abstract].

Giovanelli, Riccardo, Martha P. Haynes, Vera C. Rubin, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “UGC 12591: The Most Rapidly Rotating Disk Galaxy,” Ap.J. 301, L7-L11 (1986).

Rubin, Vera C. & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “On the Ratio of [N II]/Hα in the Nucleus of M33 and in the Nuclei of Other Galaxies,” Ap.J. 305, L35-L37 (1986).

Rubin, Vera C., “Constraints on the Dark Matter from Optical Rotation Curves,” in J. Kormendy & G.R. Knapp, eds., Dark Matter in the Universe; Proceedings of the IAU Symposium, Princeton, NJ, June 24-28, 1985 (D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1987), pp. 63-65.

Rubin, Vera C., “What's the Matter in Spiral Galaxies?” in Stuart L. Shapiro & Saul A. Teukolsky, eds., Highlights of Modern Astrophysics: Concepts and Controversies (Wiley-Interscience, NY, 1986), pp. 269ff.

Rubin, Vera C. & George V. Coyne, eds., Large-scale Motions in the Universe: A Vatican Study Week (Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, 1988) [abstract].

Ciardullo, Robin, Vera C. Rubin, George H. Jacoby, Holland C. Ford, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “The Morphology of the Ionized Gas in M31’s Bulge,” Astronomical Journal, 95, 438-44 (1988).

Rubin, Vera C., Bradley C. Whitmore, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “Rotation Curves for Spiral Galaxies in Clusters. I. Data, Global Properties, and a Comparison with Field Galaxies,” Ap.J. 333, 522-41 (1988).

Whitmore, Bradley C. , Duncan A. Forbes, & Vera C. Rubin, “Rotation Curves for Spiral Galaxies in Clusters. II. Variations as a Function of Cluster Position,” Ap.J. 333, 542-60 (1988).

Bertola, Francesco, Werner W. Zeilinger, & Vera C. Rubin, “Evidence for a Triaxial Bulge in the Spiral Galaxy NGC 4845,” Ap.J. 345, L29-L32 (1989).

Rubin, Vera C. & J.A. Graham, “High-velocity Gas Drizzle into the Disk of NGC 4258,” Ap.J. 362,L5-L8 (1990).

Rubin, Vera C., Deidre A. Hunter, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “One Galaxy from Several: The Hickson Compact Group H31,” Ap.J. 365, 86-92 (1990).

Rubin, Vera C., Deidre A. Hunter, & W. Kent Ford, Jr., “Optical Properties and Dynamics of Galaxies in the Hickson Compact Groups,” Ap.J. Supp. 76, 153-83 (1991).

Rubin, Vera C., J.A. Graham, & Jeffrey D.P. Kenney, “Cospatial Counterrotating Stellar Disks in the Virgo E7/S0 Galaxy NGC 4550,” Ap.J. 394, L9-L12 (1992).

Rubin, Vera C., “Galaxy Dynamics and the Mass Density of the Universe,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 90, 4814-21 (1993).

Rubin, Vera C., “Kinematics of NGC 4826: A Sleeping Beauty Galaxy, Not an Evil Eye,” Astronomical Journal 107, 173-83 (1994).

Rubin, Vera C., “Multi-spin Galaxies,” Astronomical Journal 108, 456-67 (1994).

Kenney, Jeffrey D.P., Vera C. Rubin, Pere Planesas, & Judith S. Young, “Gas Filaments in the Collisional Debris of NGC 4438,” Ap.J. 438, 135-54 (1995).

Rubin, Vera C., “A Century of Galaxy Spectroscopy,” Ap.J. 451, 419-28 (1995) [1995 Henry Norris Russell Lecture, reprinted in *].

Kenney, Jeffrey D.P., Rebecca A. Koopmann, Vera C. Rubin, & Judith S. Young, “Evidence for a Merger in the Peculiar Virgo Cluster Sa Galaxy NGC 4424,” Astronomical Journal 111, 152-59 (1996).

Rubin, Vera C., “What George Gamow Did Not Know about the Universe,” in E. Harper, W.C. Parke, & D. Anderson, eds., George Gamow Symposium; ASP Conference Series, Vol. 129 (Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, 1997), pp. 95-113.

Rubin, Vera C., Jeffrey D.P. Kenney, & Judith S. Young, “Rapidly Rotating Circumnuclear Gas Disks in Virgo Disk Galaxies,” Astronomical Journal 113, 1250-78 (1997).

Rubin, Vera C., Andrew H. Waterman, & Jeffrey D.P. Kenney, “Kinematic Disturbances in Optical Rotation Curves among 89 Virgo Disk Galaxies,” Astronomical Journal 118, 236-60 (1999).

Rubin, Vera C., “One Hundred Years of Rotating Galaxies,” PASP 112, 747-50 (2000) [Millennium Essay].

Sofue, Yoshiaki & Vera Rubin, “Rotation Curves of Spiral Galaxies,” Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 39, 137-74 (2001).

de Blok, W.J.G., Stacy S. McGaugh, Albert Bosma, & Vera C. Rubin, “Mass Density Profiles of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies,” Ap.J. 552, L23-L26 (2001).

McGaugh, Stacy S., Vera C. Rubin, & W.J.G. de Blok, “High-Resolution Rotation Curves of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies. I. Data,” Astronomical Journal 122, 2381-95 (2001).

de Blok, W.J.G., Stacy S. McGaugh, & Vera C. Rubin, “High-Resolution Rotation Curves of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies. II. Mass Models,” Astronomical Journal 122, 2396-2427 (2001).

Hunter, Deidre A., Vera C. Rubin, Rob A. Swaters, Linda S. Sparke, & Stephen E. Levine, “The Stellar and Gas Kinematics of Several Irregular Galaxies,” Ap.J. 580, 194-212 (2002).

Swaters, Rob A., & Vera C. Rubin, “Stellar Motions in the Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 4650A,” Ap.J. 587, L23-L26 (2003).

Hunter, Deidre A., Vera C. Rubin, Rob A. Swaters, Linda S. Sparke, & & Stephen E. Levine, “The Stellar Velocity Dispersion in the Inner 1.3 Disk Scale Lengths of the Irregular Galaxy NGC 4449,” Ap.J. 634, 281-86 (2005).

Coccato, L., R.A. Swaters, V.C. Rubin, S. D’Odorico, & S.S. McGaugh, “VIMOS-VLT Integral Field Kinematics of the Giant Low Surface Brightness Galaxy ESO 323-G064,” Astronomy and Astrophysics 490, 589-600 (2008).

Hunter, Deidre A., et al., “Star Formation in Two Luminous Spiral Galaxies,” Astronomical Journal 146, id. 92 (2013).

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Other Works: Popularizations, History, etc.

Rubin, Vera C., “Dynamics of the Andromeda Nebula,” Sci. Amer. 228, 6, 30-36 (1973) [reprinted in *].

Rubin, Vera C., “The Astrophysical Zoo - UGC 2885 - the Largest Known Spiral Galaxy,” Mercury 9, 78-79 (1980) [reprinted in *].

Rubin, Vera C., “Stars, Galaxies, Cosmos: The Past Decade, the Next Decade,” Science 209, 63-71 (1980) [reprinted in *].

Rubin, Vera C., “Dark Matter in Spiral Galaxies,” Sci. Amer. 248, 6, 88-98, 101 (1983).

Rubin, Vera, “Women’s Work: Women in Modern Astronomy.” Science 86, 7, 58-65 (1986) [reprinted in *].

Rubin, Vera C., “NCG 4550: A Two-way Galaxy,” Mercury 22, 4, 109 & 126 (1993) [reprinted in *].

*Rubin, Vera C., Bright Galaxies, Dark Matters (Amer. Inst. Phys. Press, Woodbury, NY, 1997).

Rubin, Vera C., “Stars, Galaxies, Cosmos: The Past Decade, the Next Decade,” Science 209, 64-71 (1980).

Rubin, Vera C., “E. Margaret Burbidge, President-Elect,” Science 211, 915-16 (1981).

Rubin, Vera C., “The First Spectrum of M31,” Sky & Telescope 75, 4, 350 (1988)

Rubin, Vera C., “First Person Astronomy. NGC4550: A Two-Way Galaxy,” Mercury 22, (4), 109 (1993).

Rubin, Vera C., “Dark Matter in the Universe,” Sci. Am. Special Issue: Cosmos 9, 1, 106 (1998).

Rubin, Vera C., “Siting a Supernova,” Sky & Telescope 108, 3, 12 (2004)

Rubin, Vera C., “A Puzzling Polar-Ring Galaxy,” Sky & Telescope 109, 5, 26 (2005)

Rubin, Vera C., “Seeing Dark Matter in the Andromeda Galaxy,” Physics Today 59, 12, 8-9 (2006).

Rubin, Vera C., “Charlotte Moore Sitterly,” Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage 13, 145-48 (2010).