Henrietta Swan Leavitt worked as a human “computer” at Harvard College Observatory, studying thousands of images of stars to determine their brightness. Her interest led her to discover a certain type of star whose absolute brightness could be determined. A simple mathematical formula relating apparent brightness to absolute brightness can be used to compute the distance of the star. Her discovery was called the yardstick to the universe shocked the astronomy world by revealing the true vastness of space.
Edwin Hubble stood on the shoulders of Henrietta’s work to eventually “see” the expansion of the universe and rise to prominence in the field of astronomy. Without her discovery, Edwin would never have known how far the universe extended or that it is expanding.
Perhaps it’s time to rename the telescope.
Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings 