I am working on a new presentation that mentions Henrietta Swan Leavitt. I included the slide below because I realized that I should point out that she is not the only female astronomer. I assume that most educated people can name a few male astronomers (Galileo, Carl Sagan, Edwin Hubble, Clyde Tombaugh, Edmond Halley), but possibly not a single woman.
There are some interesting stories here too: There are a couple documentaries about Jocelyn Bell on YouTube that are well worth your time. Carolyn Porco did Ted Talks about the Cassini mission. Jodie Foster's character in Contact was modeled after Jill Tarter. Carolyn Shoemaker started her astronomy career at age 51 with no training in science. Williamine Fleming, Annie Jump Cannon, and Henrietta Leavitt worked as "computers" at the Harvard Observatory, back when that was a job title. All three made important discoveries while compiling a star and nebula catalog from photos on glass plates.
There are some interesting stories here too: There are a couple documentaries about Jocelyn Bell on YouTube that are well worth your time. Carolyn Porco did Ted Talks about the Cassini mission. Jodie Foster's character in Contact was modeled after Jill Tarter. Carolyn Shoemaker started her astronomy career at age 51 with no training in science. Williamine Fleming, Annie Jump Cannon, and Henrietta Leavitt worked as "computers" at the Harvard Observatory, back when that was a job title. All three made important discoveries while compiling a star and nebula catalog from photos on glass plates.
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Dan G.
