Johnson, George,  1952 January 20- <br/><br/>
Miss Leavitt's stars :  the untold story of the woman who discovered how to measure the universe / 
George Johnson. 
 - New York :  W.W. Norton,  2005 
 - 162 pages :   illustrations ;   21 cm  
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-150) and index. 
<br/><br/> 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. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>0393051285 
<br/><br/><label>LCCN: </label>2005002823 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Personal Names: </label><br/>Leavitt, Henrietta Swan, 1868-1921. 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Corporate Names: </label><br/>Harvard College Observatory--History.
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Astrometry--History.<br/>Women astronomers--United States--Biography.<br/>Astronomical photometry.<br/>Astronomy--History--United States--20th century.
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>QB807  / .J64 2005 
<br/><br/><label>Dewey Class. No.: </label>522/.09/04