Miss Leavitt’s Stars
The Untold Story of the Woman who Discovered How to Measure the Universe
“Illuminating” —Richard Panek, New York Times
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 to those of workers in the nearby textile mills. Miss Leavitt’s Stars uncovers her neglected history and brings a fascinating and turbulent period of astronomical history to life.
“The well-known science writer George Johnson fashions a fascinating picture of Miss Leavitt’s life… His grace in bringing her to life is matched by his lucidity in explaining difficult scientific concepts.” —Scientific American
“An elegant and absorbing account of a signal event in humanity’s discovery of the deeper cosmos.” —Timothy Ferris, author of Coming of Age in the Milky Way
“Johnson paints a luminous portrait of Leavitt and shows how her patient work sparked an explosion of astronomical creativity.” —Discover