Science > Astronomy Archives - Page 13 of 14

Caroline Herschel

Caroline Herschel recorded the observations and did the calculations on the data of her astronomer brother William.

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin was a British mathematician and astronomer who did important work for her Ph.D. at Radcliffe College of Harvard University. She showed that stars were composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium but, although completely correct, it was rejected by astronomers at the time.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt

Henrietta Leavitt was an American astronomer who discovered the relation between the luminosity and the period of Cepheid variables. This was a vital step in measuring the distance to remote galaxies.

Nicole-Reine Lepaute

Nicole-Reine Lepaute was a French noblewoman who helped Lalande with astronomical calculations.

Hypatia

Hypatia of Alexandria (370-416), a mathematician and philosopher, one of the most eminent women teachers of antiquity, and one of the ablest of the later Greeks who preached the pagan philosophy.

Sarah Salmond

Sarah Salmond’s interest in astronomy transcended the boundaries of a mere hobby. In December 1874 several American scientists had come to Queenstown to observe the transit of Venus across the solar disc. Sarah Salmond, convinced that this event should be remembered, lobbied for years to have a plaque erected on the site of the observation.

Elisabeth Hevelius

Elisabeth Catherina Koopmann-Hevelius was an astronomer in the 1600s

Annie Jump Cannon

Known as the “census taker of the sky,” Annie Jump Cannon was a brilliant astronomer that revolutionized the way scientists classify stars.

Maria Mitchell

The first female astronomer in the United States, Maria Mitchell was also the first American scientist to discover a comet, which brought her international acclaim. Additionally, she was an early advocate for science and math education for girls and the first female astronomy professor.

Nancy Grace Roman

Astronomer Nancy Grace Roman was the first women executive at the US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).