Synopses & Reviews
How big is the universe?
In the early twentieth century. Scientists took sides. One held that the entire universe was contained in the Milky Way galaxy. Their champion was the strong-willed astronomer Harlow Shapely. Another camp believed that the universe was so vast that the Milky Way was just one galaxy among billions the view that would prevail, proven by the equally headstrong Edwin Hubble. Almost forgotten is the Harvard Observatory Computer a human number cruncher hired to calculate the positions and luminosities of stars in astronomical Photographs who found the key to the mystery. Radcliffe-educated Henrietta Swan Leavitt, fighting ill health and progressive deafness, stumbled upon a new law that allowed astronomers to use variable stars those whose brightness rhythmically changes as a cosmic yardstick.
Miss Leavitt's Stars both a masterly account of how we measure the universe and the moving story of a neglected genus.
Review
"Johnson's elegantly written tribute to a pioneering astronomer is highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"Johnson...was obviously drawn to Leavitt and her work many years ago, and he has written about it with penetrating intelligence." New York Times
Review
"Unfortunate in life, Miss Leavitt is very fortunate in her biographer." Scientific American
Synopsis
Almost forgotten is the Harvard Observatory "computer" a human number cruncher hired to calculate the positions and luminosities of stars in astronomical photographs who found the key to the mystery. Radcliffe-educated Henrietta Swan Leavitt, fighting ill health and progressive deafness, stumbled upon a new law that allowed astronomers to use variable stars those whose brightness rhythmically changes as a cosmic yardstick.Miss Leavitt's Stars is both a masterly account of how we measure the universe and the moving story of a neglected genius "
Synopsis
At the beginning of the twentieth century, scientists argued over the size of the universe: was it, as the astronomer Harlow Shapley argued, the size of the Milky Way, or was there more truth to Edwin Hubble"s claim that our own galaxy is just one among billions?
The answer to the controversy'"a 'yardstick' suitable for measuring the cosmos'"was discovered by Henrietta Swan Leavitt, who was employed by the Harvard Observatory as a number cruncher, at a wage not dissimilar from that of workers in the nearby textile mills. Miss Leavitt"s Starsuncovers her neglected history, and brings a fascinating and turbulent period of astronomical history to life.
Synopsis
A forgotten heroine of science and how she solved one of the crucial mysteries of the universe.
Synopsis
How big is the universe? In the early twentieth century, scientists took sides. One held that the entire universe was contained in the Milky Way galaxy. Their champion was the strong-willed astronomer Harlow Shapley. Another camp believed that the universe was so vast that the Milky Way was just one galaxy among billions--the view that would prevail, proven by the equally headstrong Edwin Hubble.
Almost forgotten is the Harvard Observatory "computer"--a human number cruncher hired to calculate the positions and luminosities of stars in astronomical photographs--who found the key to the mystery. Radcliffe-educated Henrietta Swan Leavitt, fighting ill health and progressive deafness, stumbled upon a new law that allowed astronomers to use variable stars--those whose brightness rhythmically changes--as a cosmic yardstick. Miss Leavitt's Stars is both a masterly account of how we measure the universe and the moving story of a neglected genius
About the Author
George Johnson, an award-winning New York Timesscience reporter, is the author of several books, most recently A Shortcut Through Timeand Strange"Beauty."He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.