Aina Elvius

Aina Margareta Elvius (26 June 1917 – 23 May 2019) was a Swedish astronomer known for her work on polarized light from galaxies and the nuclei of active galaxies. She was professor of astronomy at Stockholm University, director of the Stockholm Observatory, and the second Swedish woman to be elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Biography Aina Elvius was born on 26 June 1917 in Södermalm, Stockholm. She attended the girls' school Högre allmänna läroverket för flickor in Norrmalm, also in Stockholm, gaining her school leaving certificate in 1937. This is the same year she began studying at Stockholms högskola (college); She spent a year working as a teacher at Saltsjöbaden coeducational school in 1946-47. She defended her doctoral thesis at Stockholm University College in 1956.

Elvius was a member of the International Astronomical Union. She held four different membership positions: The first was an article published in 1964 titled "Polarimetric observations of NGC 5128 (Cent A) and other extragalactic objects." It was followed two years later in 1966 by "Observations of the color and polarization of the reflection nebulae NGC 2068, NCG 7023 and the Merope Nebula obtained in three spectral regions." Their next article was "Observations of polarization and color in the nebulosity associated with the Pleiades cluster," which was published on 8 September 1967.

Elvius co-authored an article with Hannes Alfvén that was published in Science Magazine. The article, "Antimatter, Quasi-stellar Objects, and the Evolution of Galaxies," was published on 23 May 1969. The following year, in January 1973, she published another article with the journal titled, "Polarization of Light by Dust in Galaxies." Another year later, in January 1974, she and two other authors published the article "The Low Density Symmetric Cosmology" with the same journal.

Books Elvius was the editor of From Plasma to Planet: Proceedings (Nobel Symposium). The collection was published by John Wiley & Sons Inc in 1972. Topics covered include plasma, interstellar matter, and solar systems.