As in other scientific fields, astronomy is not devoid of courageous, intelligent and passionate women. They contributed significantly to the construction of astronomy as we know it today. Let’s take a look at some typical female astronomers and express our deep gratitude and admiration to them.
HYPATIA
HYPATIA (born around 350-370, died in 415): She taught astronomy and astrology in Alexandria. Hypatia also mapped celestial bodies in the sky and was probably also the inventor of the astrolabe.
The Herschel Brothers
Caroline Herschel (1750-1848), German: Through the tireless efforts and devoted guidance of her brother, William Herschel, the discoverer of Uranus, Caroline became one of the first female astronomers in human literature. In 1786 she became the first woman to discover a comet and went on to discover seven other comets as well as 14 nebulae.
Maria Mitchell is on the left in the photo
Maria Mitchell (1818 -1889): She was the first professional female astronomer in the United States. In 1847, using a telescope, she discovered a comet, which was later named “Miss Mitchell’s Comet”. She also works tirelessly to promote women’s education. “No woman should say: I am just a woman,” she wrote in her diary, “But as a woman, do you need more than that?”.
Williamina Fleming
Annie Jump Cannon
Annie Jump Cannon (1863-1941), American: Among the “Pickering Girls” was Annie Canon, who herself invented a simple stellar classification system, approved for use by the International Astronomical Commission. In addition to classifying 350,000 stars, it also discovered 300 new stars. Finally, in 1938, after more than 40 years of research, Harvard recognized her as an astronomer in her own right.
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900-1979), American: She was the first woman to receive a doctorate in astronomy from Harvard University. In her thesis, she proposed that the stars are composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, contrary to the prevailing view at the time that the Earth and the Sun had the same chemical composition. Later scientific studies proved that she was right.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1953), Northern Ireland: In 1967, while a graduate student, she (independently of others) discovered the radio signal of a pulsar, which was believed to be “a pulsar”. of the most important scientific achievements of the 20th century”. The importance of this discovery was recognized by the Nobel Prize in 1974, but it was not among the recipients. This injustice was strongly criticized by the scientific community.
Caroline Shoemaker
Carolyn Shoemaker (1929), American: In 1980, at the age of 51, she was just beginning to enter the field of astronomy, concentrating on the search for comets and asteroids. To date, she holds the record as the discoverer and co-discoverer of the largest number of comets and asteroids in the world, with 32 comets and over 800 asteroids (as of 2002).
References and image sources: Stuff Mom Never Told You and Wikipedia
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