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The Resource The glass universe : how the ladies of the Harvard Observatory took the measure of the stars, Dava Sobel

The glass universe : how the ladies of the Harvard Observatory took the measure of the stars, Dava Sobel

Creator
Author
Narrator
Contributor
Summary
  • The little-known true story of the unexpected and remarkable contributions to astronomy made by a group of women working in the Harvard College Observatory from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s.--
  • "In the late nineteenth century, the Harvard College Observatory began employing women as calculators, or "human computers, " to interpret the observations their male counterparts made via telescope each night. At the outset this group consisted of the wives, sisters, and daughters of the resident astronomers, but soon the female corps included graduates of the new women's colleges--Vassar, Wellesley, Radcliffe, and Smith. As photography transformed the practice of astronomy, the ladies turned from computation to studying the stars captured nightly on glass photographic plates. The "glass universe" of half a million plates that Harvard amassed over the ensuing decades--through the generous support of Mrs. Anna Palmer Draper, the widow of a pioneer in stellar photography--enabled the women to make extraordinary discoveries that attracted worldwide acclaim. They helped discern what the stars were made of, divided the stars into meaningful categories for further research, and even found a way to measure distances across space by starlight. Their ranks included Williamina Fleming, a Scottish immigrant originally hired as a maid who went on to identify ten novae and more than three hundred variable stars, Annie Jump Cannon, who designed a stellar classification system that was adopted by astronomers the world over and is still in use today; and Dr. Cecilia Helena Payne, who in 1956 became the first woman professor of astronomy at Harvard--and Harvard's first female department chair. Elegantly written and enriched by excerpts from letters, diaries, and memoirs, The Glass Universe is the hidden history of the women whose contributions to the burgeoning field of astronomy forever changed our understanding of the stars and our place in the universe."--Jacket of hardcover edition
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
Unabridged.
Extent
10 audio discs (12 hr., 30 min.)
Note
Compact discs
Contents
  • Part one: The colors of starlight. Mrs. Draper's intent ; What Miss Maury saw ; Miss Bruce's largesse ; Stella nova ; Bailey's picture from Peru
  • Part two: Oh, be a fine girl, kiss me!. Mrs. Fleming's title ; Pickering's "harem" ; Lingua franca ; Miss Leavitt's relationship ; The Pickering fellows
  • Part three: In the depths above. Shapley's "kilo-girl" hours ; Miss Payne's thesis ; The Observatory Pinafore ; Miss Cannon's prize ; The lifetimes of stars
  • Some highlights in the history of the Harvard College Observatory
  • A catalogue of Harvard astronomers, assistants, and associates
Isbn
9780735288645
Instance
Label
The glass universe : how the ladies of the Harvard Observatory took the measure of the stars
Title
The glass universe
Title remainder
how the ladies of the Harvard Observatory took the measure of the stars
Statement of responsibility
Dava Sobel
Creator
Contributor
Author
Narrator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
  • The little-known true story of the unexpected and remarkable contributions to astronomy made by a group of women working in the Harvard College Observatory from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s.--
  • "In the late nineteenth century, the Harvard College Observatory began employing women as calculators, or "human computers, " to interpret the observations their male counterparts made via telescope each night. At the outset this group consisted of the wives, sisters, and daughters of the resident astronomers, but soon the female corps included graduates of the new women's colleges--Vassar, Wellesley, Radcliffe, and Smith. As photography transformed the practice of astronomy, the ladies turned from computation to studying the stars captured nightly on glass photographic plates. The "glass universe" of half a million plates that Harvard amassed over the ensuing decades--through the generous support of Mrs. Anna Palmer Draper, the widow of a pioneer in stellar photography--enabled the women to make extraordinary discoveries that attracted worldwide acclaim. They helped discern what the stars were made of, divided the stars into meaningful categories for further research, and even found a way to measure distances across space by starlight. Their ranks included Williamina Fleming, a Scottish immigrant originally hired as a maid who went on to identify ten novae and more than three hundred variable stars, Annie Jump Cannon, who designed a stellar classification system that was adopted by astronomers the world over and is still in use today; and Dr. Cecilia Helena Payne, who in 1956 became the first woman professor of astronomy at Harvard--and Harvard's first female department chair. Elegantly written and enriched by excerpts from letters, diaries, and memoirs, The Glass Universe is the hidden history of the women whose contributions to the burgeoning field of astronomy forever changed our understanding of the stars and our place in the universe."--Jacket of hardcover edition
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
BLACP
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Sobel, Dava
Dewey number
522/.19744409252
Form of composition
not applicable
Format of music
not applicable
LC call number
QB34.5
LC item number
.S63 2016ab
Literary text for sound recordings
history
Music parts
not applicable
PerformerNote
Read by Cassandra Campbell
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
Campbell, Cassandra
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Harvard College Observatory
  • SCIENCE / History
  • Women in astronomy
  • Women mathematicians
  • Astronomy
  • Astronomy
Target audience
general
Transposition and arrangement
not applicable
Label
The glass universe : how the ladies of the Harvard Observatory took the measure of the stars, Dava Sobel
Instantiates
Publication
Note
Compact discs
Capture and storage technique
unknown
Carrier category
audio disc
Carrier category code
  • sd
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Configuration of playback channels
unknown
Content category
spoken word
Content type code
  • spw
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Part one: The colors of starlight. Mrs. Draper's intent ; What Miss Maury saw ; Miss Bruce's largesse ; Stella nova ; Bailey's picture from Peru -- Part two: Oh, be a fine girl, kiss me!. Mrs. Fleming's title ; Pickering's "harem" ; Lingua franca ; Miss Leavitt's relationship ; The Pickering fellows -- Part three: In the depths above. Shapley's "kilo-girl" hours ; Miss Payne's thesis ; The Observatory Pinafore ; Miss Cannon's prize ; The lifetimes of stars -- Some highlights in the history of the Harvard College Observatory -- A catalogue of Harvard astronomers, assistants, and associates
Control code
1705121
Dimensions
4 3/4 in.
Dimensions
4 3/4 in. or 12 cm. diameter
Edition
Unabridged.
Extent
10 audio discs (12 hr., 30 min.)
Groove width / pitch
not applicable
Isbn
9780735288645
Kind of cutting
not applicable
Kind of disc cylinder or tape
mass produced
Kind of material
plastic with metal
Media category
audio
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • s
Other physical details
CD audio, digital
Publisher number
60c0f3
Special playback characteristics
digital recording
Specific material designation
sound disc
Speed
1.4m. per second (discs)
Stock number
9780735288645
System control number
  • (Sirsi) 1705121
  • (OCoLC)958293864
Tape configuration
not applicable
Tape width
not applicable
Label
The glass universe : how the ladies of the Harvard Observatory took the measure of the stars, Dava Sobel
Publication
Note
Compact discs
Capture and storage technique
unknown
Carrier category
audio disc
Carrier category code
  • sd
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Configuration of playback channels
unknown
Content category
spoken word
Content type code
  • spw
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Part one: The colors of starlight. Mrs. Draper's intent ; What Miss Maury saw ; Miss Bruce's largesse ; Stella nova ; Bailey's picture from Peru -- Part two: Oh, be a fine girl, kiss me!. Mrs. Fleming's title ; Pickering's "harem" ; Lingua franca ; Miss Leavitt's relationship ; The Pickering fellows -- Part three: In the depths above. Shapley's "kilo-girl" hours ; Miss Payne's thesis ; The Observatory Pinafore ; Miss Cannon's prize ; The lifetimes of stars -- Some highlights in the history of the Harvard College Observatory -- A catalogue of Harvard astronomers, assistants, and associates
Control code
1705121
Dimensions
4 3/4 in.
Dimensions
4 3/4 in. or 12 cm. diameter
Edition
Unabridged.
Extent
10 audio discs (12 hr., 30 min.)
Groove width / pitch
not applicable
Isbn
9780735288645
Kind of cutting
not applicable
Kind of disc cylinder or tape
mass produced
Kind of material
plastic with metal
Media category
audio
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • s
Other physical details
CD audio, digital
Publisher number
60c0f3
Special playback characteristics
digital recording
Specific material designation
sound disc
Speed
1.4m. per second (discs)
Stock number
9780735288645
System control number
  • (Sirsi) 1705121
  • (OCoLC)958293864
Tape configuration
not applicable
Tape width
not applicable

Subject

Genre

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