Robert Leighton

Robert Leighton was a prominent American physicist and professor who spent his entire academic career at Caltech. He was known for his diverse work spanning physics, planetary astronomy, and telescope engineering.

In the 1960s, Leighton used data from the Mariner 4 spacecraft flyby to create the first close-up images and maps of Mars. His thermal models correctly predicted that the Martian surface was incredibly cold and covered in frozen carbon dioxide.

Leighton designed and built innovative, inexpensive radio telescopes that used a unique spinning-casting technique to create large, precise dish antennas. These Leighton dishes were instrumental in early millimeter-wave astronomy at Caltech's Owens Valley Radio Observatory.

Yes, he edited and published the famous 'Feynman Lectures on Physics' in the 1960s. He transcribed and refined the notes from Richard Feynman's legendary undergraduate classes at Caltech into the definitive multi-volume textbook set.