Edward Pickering and His Women ""Computers": Analyzing the Stars
Author(s): Lisa Yount (Author)
Publisher: Chelsea House Publishers
Publication Date: 31 Jan. 2012
Edition: Illustrated
Language: English
Print length: 150 pages
ISBN-10: 1604136642
ISBN-13: 9781604136647
Book Description
In the 42 years that Edward Pickering directed the Harvard College Observatory, he and his team of women “”computers”” made strides in promoting the new field of astrophotography, discovered the first spectroscopic binary star system, and cataloged more than 225,000 stars. Pickering hired women such as Henrietta Leavitt, who found a way to measure the distances to faraway stars, and Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, whose later work became the foundation for astrophysics, to process astronomical data gathered at the observatory. The advances these women made under Pickering’s direction broadened the window of professional opportunity for women as well as our greater understanding of the universe. This new title highlights the lives of Pickering and his women “”computers.
Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
Trailblazers in Science and Technology profiles individuals who made discoveries that greatly broadened human knowledge and sometimes changed society or saved many lives. In addition to describing those discoveries and their effects, the books explore the qualities that made these people trailblazers, the personal relationships they formed, and way those relationships interacted with their scientific work.
Student researchers of science, along with science teachers will benefit from this exciting new series.
This unique and interesting series features full-color photographs and line illustrations.
From the Back Cover
Trailblazers in Science and Technology profiles individuals who made discoveries that greatly broadened human knowledge and sometimes changed society or saved many lives. In addition to describing those discoveries and their effects, the books explore the qualities that made these people trailblazers, the personal relationships they formed, and way those relationships interacted with their scientific work.
Student researchers of science, along with science teachers will benefit from this exciting new series.
This unique and interesting series features full-color photographs and line illustrations.
About the Author
Lisa Yount is a graduate of Stanford University in English and creative writing. For approximately 45 years, she has written educational materials for young people. She has written or edited more than 50 books, nine of which have won awards or been included on “”most recommended”” lists. Yount’s books for Facts On File and Chelsea House include Forensic Science, Modern Marine Science, Energy Supply, Patients’ Rights in the Age of Managed Health Care, A to Z of Biologists, and many volumes in the Makers of Modern Science and Trailblazers in Science and Technology sets.
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