PaulNov 21, 2022
Sheril Kirshenbaum

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

Nov 21, 2022 at 3:44amMetatext
Show threadtpobletecNov 21, 2022
@Sheril What do you think about the potential to control and probe entangled particles?
Show threadSheril KirshenbaumNov 21, 2022
@tpobletec Not my field, but perhaps @danielwhiteson may have thoughts…
Show threadDaniel WhitesonNov 21, 2022
@Sheril @tpobletec To maintain the entanglement, you can't probe or control them, you have to keep them isolated from the environment, lest the evironment get entangled with it.
Show threadSean MurthyFeb 12, 2023
@danielwhiteson @Sheril @tpobletec
Show threadtpobletecNov 21, 2022
@Sheril @danielwhiteson thanks for your reply
Show threadJohn ShirleyNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Now I'm gonna look her up. I've been researching early women scientists lately.
Show threadDavid ColarussoNov 21, 2022
@Sheril if you haven’t already read it. I suspect you’d enjoy Dava Sobel’s The Glass Universe which tells the story of Leavitt and other legends like Annie Jump Cannon at the Harvard Observatory. http://www.davasobel.com/books-by-dava-sobel/the-glass-universe
The Glass Universe — The Glass Universe

In the 1870s, before women had the right to vote or a firm standing in the workplace, a lucky few found employment at the Harvard College Observatory. The first female assistants were born to the work—as the wives, daughters, and sisters of the resident astronomers. Over time other ladies joined th

The Glass Universe
Show threadJohn ShirleyNov 21, 2022
@Sheril https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henrietta-Swan-Leavitt
Henrietta Swan Leavitt | Biography & Facts | Britannica

Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer known for her discovery of the relationship between period and luminosity in Cepheid variables, pulsating stars that vary regularly in brightness in periods ranging from a few days to several months. Learn about her life and career.

Encyclopedia Britannica
Show threadlike jam or bootlacesNov 21, 2022

@Sheril

saw a production of this recently

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/9377/silent-sky

Silent Sky (Play) Plot & Characters

Silent Sky plot summary, character breakdowns, context and analysis, and performance video clips.

StageAgent
Show threadJack BrewsterNov 22, 2022
@Sheril @idlestate I came here to share a link too. 🙂 We saw a community theater production of the show several years ago. It was very enjoyable.
Show threadJim BedientNov 21, 2022
Not only do I know of her (and the other Harvard Computers), I was lucky enough to do research in the HCO plate stacks about 20 years ago. Finding notes on plate envelopes and in notebooks and cataloged written by HSL, and my particular favorite, Annie Jump Cannon, was an ethereal experience. I met Dorrit Hoffleit, then in her 90s, as well.
Show threadSTEMcoding ProjectNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Someone should really make a planetarium show about Henrietta Leavitt. It's a shame there isn't one already.
Show threadSheril KirshenbaumNov 21, 2022
@stemcoding That's a neat idea
Show threadDavid ReinerNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Pickering's Wikipedia bio is perhaps a bit generous: "Pickering's treatment of women, during his time, was considered better than most. It is true that they were underpaid compared to their male counterparts and were not given credit nearly as often, but his willingness to include them in the world of astronomy paved the way for many great female scientists and leaders."
Show threadChristian GradlNov 21, 2022
@Sheril ,Lise Meitner who was the first to explain nuclear fission and did not get the credit for it is another sad example (as many others) of a woman scientist not getting recognition for breakthrough discoveries. https://theconversation.com/lise-meitner-the-forgotten-woman-of-nuclear-physics-who-deserved-a-nobel-prize-106220
Lise Meitner – the forgotten woman of nuclear physics who deserved a Nobel Prize

Left off publications due to Nazi prejudice, this Jewish woman lost her rightful place in the scientific pantheon as the discoverer of nuclear fission.

The Conversation
Show threadTim Welch Nov 21, 2022
@Sheril Maybe the JWST should be renamed the Henrietta Swan Leavitt Soace Telescope, or after one of the numerous other women that made massive contributions to science.
Show threadReversenormNov 21, 2022
@Sheril the next big space telescope should be named for her.
Show threadMissTNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Lord Byron's daughter was another brilliant woman that received little recognition.
"Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (née Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852) was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine." Fascinating story.
Show threadSeeKerNov 21, 2022

@MissT @Sheril

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, in her honor a programming language bears her name: Ada

Show threadMissTNov 21, 2022
@SeeKer @Sheril State of the art programming language 😁
Show threadJS (Science focus)Nov 21, 2022

@Sheril

Add in Rosalind Franklin who isolated and showed the structure of DNA through crystallography and Emmy Noether who put the maths behind the harder parts of Einsteins work, both to little acclaim and you see the iceberg tip of what women have given to Science despite the challenges put in front of them. https://whythisuniverse.buzzsprout.com/1162613/8615000-28-how-emmy-noether-changed-physics-forever

28 - How Emmy Noether Changed Physics Forever - Why This Universe?

Learn how a profound mathematical theorem relating symmetries to conservation laws is deeply woven into the physics of the universe.Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

Buzzsprout
Show threadT. J. BombadilNov 21, 2022
@Sheril
I love this story and it was always something I mentioned in my Intro Astro classes.
Do Annie Jump Cannon and Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin next!
Show threadGen X-WingNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Personally I like Marie Curie and Ada Lovelace.
Show threadSheriNov 21, 2022
@Sheril
Thanks
Show threadJust Judith'n'ALFNov 21, 2022

@Sheril
Thank You. I did NOT know of her.

"She discovered that some of these stars have a consistent brightness no matter where they are located, making these so-called Cepheid variables a good measuring stick for astronomical distances. Her work helped American astronomer Edwin Hubble measure galaxy distances in the 1920s, which led to his realization that the universe is expanding."

Show threadJose GarciaNov 21, 2022
@Sheril She's a character in my upcoming WIP along with Annie Jump Cannon (fiction)
Show threadKevin كيفين PluckNov 21, 2022

@Sheril

Although I appreciate that JWST'S successor being named after Carl Sagan is noble.

The Henrietta Swan Space Telescope has a certain ring to it.

Show threadarnefelixNov 21, 2022
@Sheril the space telescope should have named and be renamed in Henrietta Leavitt‘s honor. (James Webb, who?)
Show threadThe FerridgeNov 21, 2022
@Sheril
Really interesting!
Show threadOliver J. TooleyNov 21, 2022
@Sheril I have heard of her, thanks to Bill Bryson, but had forgotten about her thanks to passage of time. Happy to be reminded again.
Perhaps I may be able to cimit her name to memory alongside Rosalind Franklin, about whom I made special efforts not to forget.
Show threadSpokes(wo)manNov 21, 2022
@Sheril When people say they would use time travel to go back and kill Hitler, I will instead go back and punch the men who stole women's research and work. I'm starting up a list ...
Show threadFlockysheepNov 21, 2022
@Spokeswoman @Sheril Its going to be a long but very necessary list. Already I see several amazing scientist mentioned in replies. You've probably got lots of links already but I saw this recently... #science #WomenScientists https://womenyoushouldknow.net/category/trailblazers/women-in-science/
Women in Science - Women You Should Know®

Women You Should Know®
Show threadSpokes(wo)manNov 22, 2022

@Flockysheep thank you - that is an excellent reference : ) and yes, a long list.

@Sheril

Show threadPaul DNov 21, 2022
@Sheril one of many unsung women who changed the face of science, technology, art and much more.
Show threadJavaJoeNov 21, 2022
@Sheril went to the play at hale center theater, they had a collection of her tools in the lobby. Very enjoyable
Show threadJasmine MacDonaldNov 21, 2022
@Sheril #Sciency
Show threadAdam BusbyNov 21, 2022
@Sheril and let's not forget Rosalind Franklin! Crick & Watson got her Nobel for double helix / #dna discovery :(
Show thread🅽🄴🅃🅉🆁🄰🄻🄿🄷Nov 23, 2022
@Sheril @AdamBusby Nobody knows, wether she would have got the Nobel, also. At this time she was dead, already. But she is not as well known, as she should be.
Show threadTom RuenNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Everyone love Cepheids! I remember Neil degrasse Tyson mentioned her in one of the "new" Cosmos episodes in 2014.
Quite a few YouTube mentions for her now. This one is very detailed, also from 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70cFwfNW7gQ
Henrietta Leavitt: Unsung Heroine in Science

YouTube
Show threadJoolsNov 21, 2022
@Sheril this happened so much more that anyone realises! Even recently, discoveries by female astrophysicists have been eclipsed by brothers/fathers/mentors. Take Jocelyn Bell Burnell, whos discovery of pulsars in 1974 was attributed to her supervisor until 2017!
Even with astrophysics being vibrantly queer and leftist in comparison with other stem, culture around research credit needs to change.
Show threadKeiþ 🔭Nov 21, 2022
@Sheril This seems such a common story. My daughter is a chemist doing her degree now and it disturbs me how misogynistic the science world was/is.
Show threadAnne BloodroseNov 21, 2022
@Sheril I am SO sharing this. About time we got the credit we deserve.
Show threadKarl AuerbachNov 21, 2022

@Sheril - We named one of our web server machines after her.

We also heard about her from several of the astronomers/astrophysicists at UC Santa Cruz in various discussions after we saw the play "Silent Sky"

Show threadadnanNov 21, 2022
@Sheril not a big surprise. Actually, even today most of the employees does not get the credit they deserve by working for somebody else even they find/create something incredible.
Show threadGrant Jacobs BioinfoTools NZNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Another woman astronomer to check out might be Beatrice Tinsley - I just picked up a biography of her in the weekend (see toot in my stream). She’s a New Zealander who left for the USA to try do her science there.
Show threadNike LeonhardNov 21, 2022
@Sheril
Oh @frauenvondamals und @herstorypod schaut mal! In den Kommentaren sind noch einige andere interessante Pionierinnen der STEM genannt. Vielleicht ist etwas für euch dabei?
Show threadherstorypodNov 21, 2022

@Nike_Leonhard @Sheril @frauenvondamals

Super, vielen Dank!

Show threadJames HamiltonNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Thank you for sharing this. I had never heard of her.
Show threadDr. Daniel CarreraNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Without diminishing the fact that women scientists have not received due credit, it is worth pointing out that the paper you are referring to started with the sentence "prepared by Miss Leavitt". Also, in the early 1900's it was more common for papers to just bear the name of the PI. It is not entirely unreasonable that they'd see Leavitt's work as a work for hire. Today things are better and the norm is to credit everyone involved, and you do see much longer author lists.
Show threadKiwifunknuckleNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Fucking men taking credit.
Show threadHyacinth SmithNov 21, 2022
@Sheril I have! My kids went to a Quaker primary school and they focussed on the "overlooked" movers and shakers, usually women. They did a whole project on her 😀
Show threadYvonne4errNov 21, 2022
@Sheril just going to share this with my grandson
Show threadAndrew DayNov 21, 2022
@Sheril And still occurring many decades later for Jocelyn Bell Burnell and her discovery of radio pulsars. At least more recent recognition has been hers.
Show threadAgNov 21, 2022
@Sheril this is interesting, I was not aware, thank you for sharing!
Show threadAstroPuNkNov 21, 2022
@Sheril Amazing woman!!! Should be credited much more publicly for the work she did.
Show threadTed 63Nov 21, 2022
@Sheril
Pinching data still happens to this day sadly.
It's immoral and academically reprehensible but still it happens.
At least this lady got some recognition eventually...