the untold story of the woman who discovered how to measure the universe Johnson, George 1952 January 20- creator text bibliography biography nyu New York W.W. Norton 2005 monographic eng

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162 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm 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. George Johnson. Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-150) and index. n-us--- n-us-ma Leavitt, Henrietta Swan 1868-1921 Harvard College Observatory History Astrometry History Women astronomers United States Biography Astronomical photometry Astronomy United States History 20th century QB807 .J64 2005 522/.09/04 0393051285 2005002823 DLC 050131 20240201160804.0 3064 eng