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I bet you’ve heard of Galileo & Hubble, but what about Henrietta Swan Leavitt?

Leavitt changed astronomy. She figured out new ways to measure a star’s distance from Earth & her work helped determine the universe is expanding.

Her boss, Edward Pickering, published her findings UNDER HIS NAME. Later, Shapley used her findings to determine distances around the Milky Way w/o credit.

Leavitt’s work is still used today. Next time you hear about famous men in #science share her story. #HistoryRemix

#science #historyremix
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Ian
Ian
• •
I confess I'd not heard of her. Quite shocking that women scientists were routinely put in the shade like this. Not only denying them the recognition they deserved, but also depriving girls (who might have pursued a career in STEM) of role models. A huge disservice to science as well as an injustice.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Karl Auerbach
Karl Auerbach
• •
One of our major servers is named after her.

Run, don't walk to the next production of *Silent Sky" by Lauren Gunderson. It is about H. S. Leavitt.

Every astronomer and astrophysicist we know (and we know a lot of 'em) considers her work to be among the most important astronomical discoveries of all time.

https://www.laurengunderson.com/all-plays/silent-sky

Silent Sky — Lauren Gunderson

Lauren Gunderson
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Frans Super
Frans Super
• •
I hear and read about famous men every day (science addict) and I am happy that I heard from the Pickering and Shapley scam a number of years ago now. I'll share that story, when I encounter propositions to the contrary.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Baron Vonskinnback
Baron Vonskinnback
• •
it's stuff like this that makes me realise that misogynistic assholes think that equality is holding men back because it seems that women are doing better than they are, but it just turns out that they are just getting more credit for their hard work & men can't steal it from them as easily anymore, so to the uneducated troglodytes it feels like they are inadequate, but it turns out they've always been inadequate, we can just see it now.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Thony Christie
Thony Christie
• •
"Her boss, Edward Pickering, published her findings UNDER HIS NAME." Misleading: In 1908 she published her results in the Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College, noting that the brighter variables had the longer period.

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