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050	0	0	_aQB807 _b.J64 2005
082	0	0	_a522/.09/04 _222
100	1		_aJohnson, George, _d1952 January 20-
245	1	0	_aMiss Leavitt's stars : _bthe untold story of the woman who discovered how to measure the universe / _cGeorge Johnson.
260			_aNew York : _bW.W. Norton, _c2005
300			_a162 pages : _billustrations ; _c21 cm
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 149-150) and index.
520			_aHow 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.
600	1	0	_aLeavitt, Henrietta Swan, _d1868-1921.
610	2	0	_aHarvard College Observatory _xHistory.
650		0	_aAstrometry _xHistory.
650		0	_aWomen astronomers _zUnited States _vBiography.
650		0	_aAstronomical photometry.
650		0	_aAstronomy _zUnited States _xHistory _y20th century.
906			_a7 _bcbc _corignew _d1 _eecip _f20 _gy-gencatlg
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