Miss Leavitt's stars : the untold story of the woman who discovered how to measure the universe /
George Johnson.
- 1st ed.
- New York : W.W. Norton, c2005.
- xiv, 162 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.
- Great discoveries .
Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-150) and index.
Prologue : the village in the canyon -- Black stars, white nights -- Hunting for variables -- Henrietta's law -- Triangles -- Shapley's ants -- The late, great Milky Way -- In the realm of the nebulae -- The mysterious K -- The cosmic stampede -- Ghost stories -- Epilogue : fire on the mountain.
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. This book is both an account of how we measure the universe, and the moving story of a neglected genius.--From publisher description.
0393051285 9780393051285
2005002823
Leavitt, Henrietta Swan, 1868-1921.
Harvard College Observatory--History.
Astrometry--History. Women astronomers--United States--Biography. Astronomical photometry. Astronomy--History--United States--20th century.