George Johnson brings to life Henrietta Swan Leavitt, who found the key to the vastness of the universe—in the form of a “yardstick” suitable for measuring it. Unknown in our day, Leavitt was no more recognized in her own: despite her enormous achievement, she was employed by the Harvard Observatory as a mere number-cruncher, at a wage not dissimilar from that of workers in the nearby textile mills. Miss Leavitt’s Stars uncovers her neglected history.
| ISBN: | 9780393328561 |
| Publication date: | 14th July 2006 |
| Author: | George Johnson |
| Publisher: | WW Norton & Co |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 176 pages |
| Series: | Great Discoveries |
| Genres: |
Astronomy, space and time |