Long before the Hidden Figures “human computers” of NASA – the black women mathematicians whose pioneering work in the 1950s made America’s Space Age possible – came “the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory” whose work laid the basis for how we classify stars today.
{%recommended 4352%}
These women in the early years of the 20th century maintained and analysed early images of the stars recorded on delicate glass negative plates under the direction of then-director of the Harvard College Observatory Edward Pickering.
The women’s work is documented in a new book by Dava Sobel called The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars.
One of the astronomers, Williamina Fleming, began work as Pickering’s maid but went on to identify hundreds of stars, while Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s observations about the luminosity of stars would shape later ideas about the expanding universe.
There’s a fascinating interview with Sobel here.
Hat tip Science Friday.
Originally published by Cosmos as The pioneering women who helped us picture the stars
Read science facts, not fiction...
There’s never been a more important time to explain the facts, cherish evidence-based knowledge and to showcase the latest scientific, technological and engineering breakthroughs. Cosmos is published by The Royal Institution of Australia, a charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science. Financial contributions, however big or small, help us provide access to trusted science information at a time when the world needs it most. Please support us by making a donation or purchasing a subscription today.
