by Dava Sobel
astronomy society participation, 53–54, 80–81, 134–40, 141, 144, 157–58, 276
background, 10–11, 28
and Bailey, 71
and Boyden Station reconnaissance trips, 29, 34
Brick Building office, 102
career time line, 273–79
as chair of Committee of 100 on Research, 162, 168
and Chandler’s critique of observatory methods, 60–61
contribution to “Chest of 1900,” 295–96
death and grave of, 173–75, 277, 298
directorship anniversary celebrations, 102–3, 167
as educator, 10–11, 72, 74
and female staff and assistants, 8–10, 262–63; Miss Cannon’s curatorial appointment, 147; Miss Leavitt and her work, 36, 72, 73–74, 113, 134, 152; Miss Maury, 36, 49–50, 53, 63, 64–65, 80, 129–30, 180; Mrs. Fleming and her work, 26–27, 57–58, 96, 97–98, 100, 146
and his brother, 19, 29, 45, 50–51, 62, 95
and his wife’s death, 120, 138
honors, 22–23, 100, 128, 171, 230, 260, 274, 276
house fire, 125
as inventor, 11, 12, 168
and Maria Mitchell Association, 153, 154
and Miss Bond, 120–22
and Miss Bruce, 40–41, 42, 43–44, 76–77
and Mrs. Draper, 5–9, 14–20, 29, 98–99, 119–20. See also Draper Memorial
and 1918 Draper Catalogue revision, 171–72
in Observatory Pinafore, 227
and Shapley, 160
and shipping of Bruce telescope, 70
and volunteer observer program, 13–14, 42–43, 148, 174
wartime activities, 162, 168
See also Draper Memorial project; Harvard College Observatory entries
Pickering, Lizzie Sparks, 8, 9, 15, 29, 69, 295–96
death and grave of, 119–20, 138, 298
Pickering, William, 19, 29, 32, 274, 290
and Arizona Astronomical Expedition, 62, 65
Boyden Station directorship, 44–45, 50–52, 275
at Chicago Congress of Astronomy and Astro-Physics, 55
in Jamaica, 155, 183, 191, 210
and 1900 solar eclipse expedition, 95, 99
Phoebe discovery, 94–95, 115, 276
Pickering fellowship (Pickering Astronomical Fellowship for Women), 167, 183–84, 277
Miss Cannon and, 180–81, 183–84, 188, 244
recipients of, 179–81, 187–88, 197–98, 199–201, 203, 209, 218, 297
planets. See solar system; specific planets
Plaskett, John Stanley, 136, 157, 180, 256
Pleiades, 143
Pogson magnitude scale, 11
Polaris, 11–12, 72–73, 293, 294
Potsdam Observatory, 36, 106, 134, 136, 137, 195
Potter, Sarah, 156
“Provisional Catalogue of Variable Stars” (Cannon), 111–13, 125, 276
Pusey, Nathan, 258
Radcliffe College, 72, 75, 237
graduate astronomy program, 196–97, 217–18, 237–38, 257, 263, 278, 279
Ramsay, William, 68
redshift, 36, 262, 283
relativity, 185
Revised Harvard Photometry, 128–29, 135–36, 137, 276
See also Harvard Photometry
Revised MK Spectral Atlas for Stars Earlier Than the Sun (Morgan, Abt, and Tapscott), 261
Richards, Ellen Swallow, 234
Richards Research Prize, 234–35
Roberts, Isaac, 297
Robin Goodfellow sinking, 253
Rockefeller Foundation, 218
Rogers, Henry, 296
Rogers, William, 9, 274, 290
Royal Astronomical Society (Britain), 195, 199, 283, 293
medals awarded to Edward Pickering, 22–23, 100, 274, 276
and Miss Cannon, 156, 159–60, 183–84, 277
Mrs. Fleming’s election to, 118, 145, 276
Royal Observatory (Greenwich), 156, 214, 236
Royal Observatory (South Africa), 132
Rubin, Vera, 259
Rugg, Jennie, 30
Runge, Carl, 293
Russell, Henry Norris, 160, 246, 277, 289, 290
and Draper classification, 143, 157, 194
first Cannon Prize awarded by, 242–43
honors awarded to, 230, 259
and Miss Payne’s work, 209, 211, 212, 225
and Mrs. Fleming, 146
and observatory directorship, 182–83
work of, 153, 207–8, 225, 259, 277, 290
Russia. See Soviet Union
Rutherford, Ernest, 200
Sagittarius, 161, 170
Saha, Meg Nad, 206–7
Saturn satellites, 94–95, 115, 273, 276, 296
Saunders, Rhoda, 274
Sawyer, Helen (later Hogg), 225, 228, 290
awarded Cannon Prize, 255–56, 257, 279
background and personal life, 218, 220, 228, 255–57, 278, 290
work of, 218, 219, 220–21, 228, 256–57, 278, 290
Schiaparelli, Giovanni, 51
Schlesinger, Frank, 142
Schwarzschild, Karl, 134, 136, 137, 157
Searle, Arthur, 81, 154, 227, 290–91
observatory positions, 71–72, 245, 263, 273, 274, 290–91
photometric work, 12, 72
as Radcliffe professor, 75, 154, 275, 291
Searle, George, 71
Seaver, Edwin, 120
Secchi, Angelo, 25, 26, 137, 138, 141, 207
“Second Catalogue of Variable Stars” (Cannon), 125
seeing (viewing conditions), 45, 132, 283
Boyden Station conditions, 45, 131, 132–33, 202, 219–20
at Cambridge site, 67–68
“1777 Variables in the Magellanic Clouds” (Leavitt), 151, 276
Shapley, Harlow, 291
ant studies, 169–70, 196
astronomy research and theories, 285; catalogue of nebulae, 219, 233; cluster variable research, 161, 164–65, 168–69, 170–71, 181–82, 189–90; mono-galaxy theory and debate, 184–90, 204–6; spectral type distribution analysis, 189; stellar distances and Milky Way mapping, 161, 168, 181–82, 189–90, 211, 222–23, 228, 233, 262; time line, 277–78
astronomy society participation, 194–95, 213, 223, 232–33
background and family, 161, 194–95, 197, 220
and Bailey, 160–61
and Bart Bok, 224
and Boyden Station move, 202, 218–19
Cambridge facility concerns, 202–3
and female staff and students, 189, 197; Miss Ames and her death, 197–98, 203, 219, 233, 234; Miss Cannon’s death, 247; Miss Fairfield, 217, 223; Miss Payne and her work, 199–201, 203–4, 208, 212–13, 222, 242, 245
and Gaposchkin, 241–42
and graduate degree program, 196–97, 208, 217–18, 220, 257, 263
Harvard directorial position: appointment and first year, 188–91, 196–97, 277; consideration as potential director, 182, 186, 187; Hollow Square meetings, 241–42; retirement, 257–58; time line, 277–79
honors, 230, 259, 260
at Mount Wilson Observatory, 161, 164–65, 168–71, 181–82
and observatory funding, 220, 229–30
and Pickering, 160
political views, 253–55
during and after World War II, 249, 250, 253–55, 256, 257
Shapley, Martha Betz, 165, 188, 194–95, 216, 291
Sibylline books, 106
Sidgwick Memorial Fellowship, 209
silicon, 208, 209
Sitterly, Bancroft, 259
Sitterly, Charlotte Moore, 246, 259
61 Cygni, 296
Slipher, Vesto, 233
Smith College, 72, 217, 224, 235
Smithsonian Institution: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 260–61, 264–65, 279
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 258, 279
Sociedad Astronómica de México, 145
Société Astronomique de France, 145
solar eclipse observations and expeditions: 1870s–1890s, 3, 32–33, 61–62, 295
1900, 95–96, 98–99
solar spectrum, 24–25, 37, 64, 68, 282, 293, 296
solar system: distances between solar system objects, 83–84, 99, 295
Shapley’s insight about its location, 170
See also specific solar system objects
Solar Union. See International Union for Cooperation in Solar Research
South Africa observatory. See Boyden Station (Bloemfontein, South Africa)
South America observatory. See Boyden Station (Arequipa, Peru)
Soviet Union, Miss Payne in, 239–40
spectra, 23–25, 283
of binary stars, 48–49
chemical composition and, 24–25, 54, 207, 208
in Henry Draper’s photographs, 5–6, 14–17
of novae, 56, 57, 58
See also Fraunhofer lines; spectral analysis and classification; stellar composition; specific stars, star types, and line types
spectral analysis and classification, 14, 23–25, 137–38
color categories, 143, 152, 296
Lockyer’s work, 68, 142
magnitude/spectral type relationships, 277, 278
Mrs. Fleming on the work of plate analysis, 89–94
observatory’s equipment and methods for, 14, 16, 22, 25–28, 31, 145
photography as tool for, 14, 16–17, 18–19, 22, 60–61
Pickering’s early work on Draper plates, 14–20
Secchi’s classification, 25, 26, 138, 141
stellar development and, 296
temperature and, 206–8, 212
See also Draper Catalogue; Draper classification; Draper Extension; Draper Memorial project; spectra; stellar photography; specific observers and analysts
“Spectral Changes of Beta Lyrae, The” (Maury), 251, 278
“Spectra of Bright Stars, The” (Maury), 79, 275
spectroscopes, 14, 16, 19
spectroscopic binaries, 36, 37, 48, 130, 180, 251, 275, 294
spectroscopy. See spectral analysis and classification
spectrum. See spectra; spectral analysis and classification
spiral nebulae, 184–87, 190, 203, 204–6, 233, 242, 283
See also nebulae
S stars, 194
star clusters. See clusters
star names, 294, 297
Stellar Atmospheres (Payne), 212–13, 278
stellar composition, 24–25, 54, 207, 208
hydrogen and helium abundance, 209, 210, 211, 212, 225
Miss Payne’s work, 208, 209–10, 211–13
stellar distances, 127, 128–29, 152–53, 296
Hubble’s work, 233, 262
interstellar absorption and, 127, 222, 227–28
magnitude and, 127, 128–29, 152–53, 211, 222
period-luminosity relation and, 152–53, 161, 168, 211
star size determinations and, 152
See also Ames, Adelaide; Shapley, Harlow
stellar photography, 19–20, 78–79, 273
vs. direct observation, 60–61
equipment and techniques for, 16–17, 19, 22, 24, 27–28, 30, 116, 145
Henry Draper’s work and plates, 4–6, 10, 14–17
as observatory’s research focus, 18–19, 21–22
recent and current photographic and analysis methods, 263–65
as tool for discovery and spectral analysis, 14, 16–17, 18–19, 22, 60–61
See also Draper Memorial project; Harvard College Observatory plate library; spectral analysis and classification; telescopes; specific locations, telescopes, and individuals
stellar photometry, 11
See also Harvard Photometry; magnitude; variable star entries; specific locations, observers, and analysts
stellar temperature, 206–8, 209–10
Stevens, Mabel, 91
Stevens, Robert, 23
Stewart, DeLisle, 78
Stockwell, Mary, 13
Storin, Nellie, 30
Strömgren, Elis, 173
Sun, 254
Earth-Sun distance, 83–84, 99, 295
See also solar entries
supernovae, 295
Tapscott, J. W., 261
Taylor, Philip, 98
telescopes, 22, 24, 46, 62, 281
at Columbian Exposition, 54–55
Henry Draper’s telescopes, 20, 27–28, 41–42
at other observatories, 153–54, 161, 180, 210
See also Harvard College Observatory telescopes
temperature of stars, 206–8, 209–10
Themis, 115, 296
Thomson, J. J., 200
time-capsule project (Chest of 1900), 89, 276, 295–96
Mrs. Fleming’s journal for, 89–94, 95–96, 97
transits of Venus, 83–84
Trumpler, Robert, 227–28
Turner, Daisy, 214, 246
Turner, Herbert, 126, 136, 137, 157, 159, 183, 188, 214
UNESCO, 254
Upton, Winslow, 226–27, 291
Urania Observatory, 81
uranium, 68
Uranometria Argentina, 77
U.S. Army Signal Corps, 29
U Scorpii, 251
U.S. War Department, 168
Van Maanen, Adriaan, 190, 204, 205
Vann, Mary H., 179, 180
variable star research: Bailey and, 92, 111, 118, 125, 150–51, 275
new photographic techniques for, 115–16
Pickering’s 1906–1907 expansion of, 118–19, 123–28
volunteer observer program, 13–14, 42–43, 110, 148–50, 171
after World War II, 254, 255
See also American Association of Variable Star Observers; Cepheid variables; Harvard Photometry; specific stars, observers, and analysts
variable stars: Chandler’s catalogues, 60, 111
Harvard catalogue, 97, 111
in Magellanic Clouds, 114–15, 125, 130–31, 149–53, 276
naming conventions, 297
novae as, 57–58
number known, 48, 278
periods of, 283
types and classification of, 57–58, 111–13, 149–50, 250–51, 281
See also clusters; light curves; novae; period-luminosity relation; variable star research; specific stars
Vassar College, 79–80, 110, 149, 197, 259
Vega, 27, 31, 273, 294
Venus, transits of, 83–84
Vinter Hansen, Julie, 246
Vogel, Hermann, 36, 294
VV Cephei, 251
Walker, Arville, 189, 244, 291
Walton, Margaret (later Mayall), 217, 225, 228, 260, 279, 291
Waterbury, George, 63
Wellesley College, 135, 145–46, 149, 153, 165–66
Miss Cannon and, 72, 74, 75, 213
Wells, Louisa, 30, 91, 171, 216
Wendell, Oliver, 12, 95, 110–11, 291
Wentworth, Sarah, 13
Wheeler, William, 196, 236
Whipple, Fred, 255, 259, 291–92
White, Marion, 171
Whiteside, Ida, 153
Whiting, Sarah Frances, 72, 74, 75, 145, 149, 166, 213, 292
Whitman, Walt, 81
Whitney, Mary Watson, 110
Willson, Robert, 196
Wilson, Fiammetta, 297
Wilson, Harvia Hastings, 217, 287, 292
Wilson, Herbert, 149
Winlock, Anna, 9, 30, 90, 105, 274, 292
Winlock, Joseph, 9, 32, 71, 245, 273, 274, 292
Winlock, Louisa, 30, 90, 105
Winlock, William, 17–18
Witt, Gustav, 81–82
Witt’s planet (Eros), 81–83, 84–85, 99–100, 277, 296
Wolf, Max, 76, 81, 113, 164
woman suffrage, 187
women, as observatory staff and assistants, 8–10, 13–14, 30, 53, 105
activities time line, 274–79
compensation, 31, 96, 97, 121, 258
credited in published work, 37, 78–79, 171–72, 198
current female staff, 261
impact and legacy of, 261–63
marriages of, 22, 105, 226, 228–29, 241–42, 297–98
1903 staff expansion, 105–6, 113
official Harvard appointments for, 147, 221–22, 244–45, 258
Pickering and, 8–10, 262–63
Shapley and, 189, 197
singularity of, 156
See also grants and fellowships; Pickering fellowship; specific women by name
Woodlawn Observatory (Jamaica), 155, 183, 191, 210
Woods, Ida, 189, 216
World War I, 162, 163–64, 167–68, 173, 193, 194
World War II, 246–47, 249–53
Wright, Frances, 250, 292
Yerkes Observatory, 54–55, 80, 137, 164, 180, 202, 252
Young, Anne Sewell, 149, 166, 220, 228, 292
Young, Charles, 15, 42
Zeta Ursae Majoris (Mizar), 34–37, 49, 294
*Based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1890 novel of the same name, The Firm of Girdlestone portrayed the deceitful dealings of a failing family-owned business.
*Originally published in 1839, this novel by Philip Meadows Taylor purported to be the true account of an assassin belonging to the Thuggee cult in India.
*The Sibylline books contained the collected, rhymed wisdom of an ancient Greek oracle, transmitted to the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus by a prophetess.
*In mythology, Cepheus was the father of Andromeda, the chained woman. In the sky, these two lie on either side of Queen Cassiopeia, Andromeda’s mother.
*“Old books” was her term for the historical astronomical catalogues and other texts that she discussed in her regular column, “Out of Old Books,” for the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
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