# List of women astronomers

The following is a list of astronomers, astrophysicists and other notable women who have made contributions to the field of astronomy.
* A
* B
* C
* D
* E
* F
* G
* H
* I
* J
* K
* L
* M
* N
* O
* P
* Q
* R
* S
* T
* U
* V
* W
* X
* Y
* Z

## A

* Madge Adam (1912–2001), English solar astronomer
* Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), English space scientist
* Conny Aerts (born 1966), Belgian astrophysicist specializing in asteroseismology
* Aglaonike (c. 1st or 2nd Century BCE), ancient Greek astronomer and thaumaturge
* María Luisa Aguilar Hurtado (1938–2015), Peruvian astronomer
* Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs (1912–1954), German variable star astronomer
* Elizabeth Alexander (1908–1958), English geologist and physicist
* Leah Allen (1884–1973), American astronomer and educator
* Adelaide Ames (1900 - 1932), American astronomer
* Anja Cetti Andersen (born 1965), Danish astronomer focused on cosmic dust
* Necia H. Apfel (born 1930), American astronomer and educator
* Alice Archenhold (1874–1943), German astronomer
* Anne Archibald, Canadian astronomer and educator

## B

* Neta Bahcall (born 1942), Israeli astrophysicist and cosmologist specializing in dark matter
* Odette Bancilhon (1908–1998), French astronomer
* Kirsten Banks Wiradjuri astronomer researching red giant stars
* Beatriz Barbuy (Born 1950), Brazilian astrophysicist
* Amy Barger (born 1971), American galactic astronomer
* Nadine G. Barlow, American planetary scientist
* Amy Barr, American planetary geophysicist
* Maria A. Barucci, Italian astronomer
* Sarbani Basu, Indian-American astronomer working in solar and stellar astrophysics
* Natalie Batalha (born 1966), American astronomer
* Stefi Baum (born 1958), American astronomer and educator
* Reta Beebe (born 1936), American planetary scientist
* Sabine Bellstedt [d], Australian astronomer studying galaxy evolution
* Emilia Pisani Belserene (1922-2012), American astronomer
* Jocelyn Bell Burnell (born 1943), Irish radio astronomer
* Mary Adela Blagg (1858–1944), English selenologist
* Erika Böhm-Vitense (1923–2017), German-born American stellar astronomer
* Priscilla Fairfield Bok (1896–1975), American astronomer of galactic astronomy
* Tabetha S. Boyajian (born c. 1980), American stellar and exoplanetary astronomer
* Sophia Brahe (c. 1559 to 1643), Danish noble woman
* Ingeborg Brun (1872–1929), Danish amateur astronomer
* Margaret Burbidge (1919–2020), British-American observational astronomer and astrophysicist
* Marta Burgay (born 1976), Italian radio astronomer
* Mary E. Byrd (1849–1934), American educator and cometary observer

## C

* Annie Jump Cannon (1863−1941), American astronomer who cataloged stellar spectra
* Robin M. Canup (born 1968), American planetary scientist
* Nicole Capitaine (born 1948), French astronomer specializing in astrometry
* C. Marcella Carollo, Italian astronomer studying galaxy formation and evolution
* Catherine Cesarsky (born 1943), Argentinian–French astrophysicist
* Merieme Chadid (born 1969), Moroccan-French astronomer
* Kyongae Chang (born 1946), South Korean astrophysicist and instructor
* Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen (1751–1827), German noble and patron of astronomy
* Jun Chen, Chinese–American astronomer
* Lyudmila Chernykh (1935–2017), Russian astronomer
* Jessie Christiansen, Australian astrophysicist
* Agnes Mary Clerke (1842–1907), Irish astronomer and author
* Judith Gamora Cohen (born 1946), American astronomer researching galactic astronomy
* Françoise Combes (born 1952), French astrophysicist and educator
* Lynn Cominsky (born 1953), American astrophysicist and educator
* Janine Connes (born c. 1934), French astronomer
* France A. Córdova (born 1947), American astrophysicist and administrator
* Heather Couper (1949–2020), English astronomer, broadcaster and science populariser
* Athena Coustenis, Greek planetary scientist
* Carolin Crawford, English astrophysicist and educator
* Lucy D’Escoffier Crespo da Silva (1978–2000), Brazilian astronomy student
* Maria Cunitz (1610–1664), Silesian astronomer and author

## D

* Rosina Dafter (1875–1959), Australian astronomer
* Ruth Agnes Daly, American astrophysicist
* Laura Danly (born 1958), American astronomer and educator
* Doris Daou (born 1964), Lebanese-Canada astronomer and educator
* Marie-Jeanne de Lalande (1768–1832), French astronomer and mathematician
* Audrey C. Delsanti (born 1976), French astrobiologist
* Krystal De Napoli [d], Kamilaroi astrophysicist
* Elsa van Dien, Dutch astronomer
* Harriet Dinerstein, American astronomer
* Ewine van Dishoeck (born 1955), Dutch astrochemist
* Anlaug Amanda Djupvik, Norwegian stellar astronomer
* Megan Donahue, American astronomer and instructor
* Vibert Douglas (1894–1988), Canadian astrophysicist
* Laura Driessen [d], Australia radio astronomer and science communicator
* Jeanne Dumée (1660–1706), French astronomer and author
* Jo Dunkley (1979/1980), British cosmologist
* Andrea Dupree, American astrophysicist

## E

* Maria Clara Eimmart (1676-1707), German astronomer, engraver, and designer
* Sara Ellison, Canadian astronomer and instructor studying extragalactic astronomy
* Rebecca Elson (1960–1999), Canadian–American astronomer and writer

## F

* Sandra Faber (born 1944), American astrophysicist and instructor studying galactic evolution
* Fira Fatmasiefa, (born 2000) Indonesian-American astrophysicist (UC Berkeley/Boston University)
* Annette Ferguson, Scottish observational astrophysicist
* Laura Ferrarese, Italian astronomer studying supermassive black holes
* Debra Fischer, American astronomer investigating exoplanets
* Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion (1877–1962), French astronomer
* Williamina Fleming (1857–1911), Scottish astronomer
* Anna Frebel (born 1980), German astronomer
* Wendy Freedman (born 1957), Canadian-American observational cosmologist
* Katherine Freese, German theoretical astrophysicist
* Caroline Furness (1869–1936), American astronomer and teacher

## G

* Catharine Garmany (born 1946), American astronomer and educator
* Pamela L. Gay (born 1973), American astronomer, educator, and writer
* Vera Fedorovna Gaze (1899–1954), Russian astronomer who studied emission nebula and minor planets
* Margaret Geller (born 1947), American astrophysicist studying extragalactic astronomy
* Andrea M. Ghez (born 1965), American astronomer, teacher, and Nobel prize winner
* Agnes Giberne (1845–1939), English novelist and scientific writer
* Nüzhet Gökdoğan (1910–2003), Turkish astronomer, mathematician and academic
* Merle Gold (1921-2017), American astrophysicist
* Andreja Gomboc (born 1969), Slovenian astrophysicist
* Alyssa A. Goodman (born 1962), American astrophysicist
* Eva Grebel, German astronomer studying stellar populations and galaxy formation
* Lucie Green (born c. 1975), English science communicator and solar researcher
* Jenny Greene (born 1978), American astrophysicist and teacher studying supermassive black holes and galaxies
* Ruth Grützbauch (born 1978), Austrian astronomer

## H

* Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and first female director of Trieste's Observatory
* Erika Hamden, American astrophysicist and instructor
* Heidi Hammel (born 1960), American planetary scientist
* Fiona A. Harrison, American astrophysicist
* Marjorie Hall Harrison (1918–1986), English-born American astronomer
* Lisa Harvey-Smith (born 1979), British-Australian astrophysicist
* Margaret Harwood (1885–1979), American astronomer
* Martha P. Haynes (born 1951), American astronomer specialized in radio astronomy and extragalactic astronomy
* Martha Locke Hazen (1931-2006), American astronomer
* E. Ruth Hedeman (1910–2006), American solar astronomer
* Mary Lea Heger (1897–1983), American astronomer who studied the interstellar medium
* Charlene Heisler (1961-1999), Canadian astronomer
* Eleanor F. Helin (1932–2009), American astronomer who studied near–Earth asteroids
* Amina Helmi, Argentine astronomer
* Amanda Hendrix (born 1968), American planetary scientist
* Caroline Herschel (1750–1848), German astronomer
* Elisabeth Hevelius (1647–1693), Polish astronomer
* Jacqueline Hewitt (born 1958), American astrophysicist
* Catherine Heymans, British astrophysicist and instructor
* Renée Hložek, South African cosmologist
* Dorrit Hoffleit (1907–2007), American astronomer
* Helen Sawyer Hogg (1905–1993), American-Canadian astronomer
* Ann Hornschemeier, American astronomer studying X-ray astronomy
* Joan Horvath, American aeronautical engineer and writer
* Nancy Houk, American astronomer
* Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld (1921–2015), Dutch astronomer studying minor planets
* Margaret Lindsay Huggins (1848–1915), Irish-English scientific investigator and astronomer
* Carolyn Hurless (1934-1987), American astronomer and an American Association of Variable Star Observers merit award winner.
* Natasha Hurley-Walker, Australian radio astronomer who discovered long-period radio transients
* Hypatia (c. 350–370 to 415), Hellenistic Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician

## I

* Violeta G. Ivanova, Bulgarian astronomer
* Al-ʻIjliyyah (c. 10th-century), Arab maker of astrolabes

## J

* Odette Jasse (1899–1949), French astronomer at Marseille Observatory.
* Louise Freeland Jenkins (1888–1970), American astronomer of stellar astronomy
* Carole Jordan (born 1941), English physicist, astrophysicist, astronomer and academic

## K

* Vicky Kalogera, Greek astrophysicist
* Devika Kamath, Australian astrophysicist
* Lyudmila Karachkina (born 1948), Russian astronomer studying astrometry and minor planets
* Victoria Kaspi (born 1967), American-Canadian astrophysicist and instructor
* Lisa Kewley (born 1974), Australian astronomer studying galactic evolution
* Pamela M. Kilmartin, New Zealand astronomer searching for comets and minor planets
* Maria Margarethe Kirch (1670–1720), German astronomer and calendar maker
* Margaret G. Kivelson (born 1928), American planetary scientist
* Dorothea Klumpke (1861–1942), American astronomer
* Gillian R. Knapp, American astronomer
* Kirsten Kraiberg Knudsen, Danish astronomer studying galaxies
* Heather A. Knutson, American astronomer studying exoplanets
* Gloria Koenigsberger, Mexican astrophysicist and instructor
* Bärbel Koribalski, German astrophysicist studying galaxy formation and evolution
* Lenka Kotková (born 1973), Czech astronomer
* Chryssa Kouveliotou, Greek astrophysicist and instructor
* Reiki Kushida, Japanese amateur astronomer

## L

* Elizabeth Lada, American astronomer and instructor
* Eleanor Annie Lamson (1875-1932), American astronomer
* Marguerite Laugier, French astronomer who discovered minor planets
* Gemma Lavender (born 1986), British astronomer, author and journalist
* Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868–1921), American astronomer who observed variable stars
* Nicole-Reine Lepaute (1723–1788), French astronomer and mathematician
* Isabel Martin Lewis (1881–1966), American astronomer and author
* Nikole Lewis, American astrophysicist
* Helen Lines (died 2001), American amateur astronomer
* Sarah Lee Lippincott (1920–2019), American astronomer and instructor who focused on astrometry
* Jane Luu (born 1963), Vietnamese–American astronomer and defense systems engineer

## M

* Amy Mainzer (born 1974), American astronomer specializing in astrophysical instrumentation and infrared astronomy
* Esmeralda Mallada (born 1937), Uruguayan astronomer and instructor
* Rachel Mandelbaum, American astronomer
* Karen Masters (born 1979), American astrophysicist studying galaxy formation and evolution
* Janet Akyüz Mattei (1943–2004), Turkish-American astronomer studying variable stars
* Annie Russell Maunder (1868–1947), Irish-British astronomer
* Antonia Maury (1866–1952), American astronomer studying stellar astronomy
* Claire Ellen Max (born 1946), American astronomer and instructor
* Margaret Mayall (1902–1995), American astronomer studying variable stars
* Jaylee Burley Mead (1929–2012), American astronomer
* Karen Jean Meech (born 1959), American planetary scientist
* Maria Mitchell (1818–1889), American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator
* Linda A. Morabito (born 1953), American planetary scientist
* Vanessa Moss, Australian radio astronomer, researching galaxy evolution
* Jean Mueller (born 1950), American astronomer
* Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil, Turkish astrophysicist

## N

* Sultana N. Nahar, Bangladeshi-American physicist studying atomic processes in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas
* Joan Najita, American astronomer researching the formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems
* Yaël Nazé, Belgian astrophysicist studying massive stars and their environmental interaction
* Heidi Jo Newberg, American astrophysicist studying the Milky Way structure
* Karlie Noon, Gamilaroi astrophysicist

## O

* Carolina Ödman-Govender, (1974–2022), Swiss astrophysicist and lecturer
* Sally Oey, American astronomer researching massive stars
* Kathleen Ollerenshaw, (1912–2014), English mathematician, politician, and amateur astronomer
* C. Michelle Olmstead, American astronomer and computer scientist who has discovered minor planets
* Liisi Oterma (1915–2001), Finnish astronomer
* Mazlan Othman, Malaysian astrophysicist
* Feryal Özel (born 1975), Turkish astrophysicist studying stellar remnants

## P

* Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900–1979), British-born American astrophysicist and instructor
* Ruby Payne-Scott (1912–1981), Australian radio astronomer
* Louise du Pierry (1746–1807), French astronomer and instructor
* Carle Pieters (born 1943), American planetary scientist
* Thushara Pillai, (born 1980), Indian astrophysicist and astronomer
* Paris Pişmiş (1911–1999), Armenian-Mexican astronomer
* Elena V. Pitjeva, Russian astronomer studying solar system dynamics and celestial mechanics
* Carolyn Porco (born 1953), American planetary scientist
* Helen Dodson Prince (1905–2002), American astronomer and instructor
* Mary Proctor (1862–1957), American popularizer of astronomy

## Q

* Elisa Quintana, American planetary scientist

## R

* Hilkka Rantaseppä-Helenius, Finnish astronomer who studied minor planets
* Katharine Reeves, American solar astronomer
* Emily Rice, American astronomer researching sub-stellar objects including brown dwarfs
* Christina Richey, American planetary scientist and astrophysicist
* Julia Riley, English radio astronomer
* Constance M. Rockosi, American galactic astronomer
* Elizabeth Roemer (1929–2016), American astronomer who studied minor planets
* Nancy Roman (1925–2018), American stellar astronomer
* Kat Ross, Australian astrophysicist studying black holes
* Marta Graciela Rovira, Argentinian astrophysicist
* Vera Rubin (1928–2016), American astronomer researching extragalactic astronomy
* María Teresa Ruiz, Chilean astronomer

## S

* Penny Sackett (born 1956), American-born Australian astronomer, educator, and manager
* Rita M. Sambruna, American astrophysicist studying supermassive black holes and jets
* Anneila Sargent (born 1942), Scottish–American astronomer specialized in star formation
* Ann Savage (1946–2017), British astronomer
* Caterina Scarpellini (1808–1873), Italian astronomer and meteorologist
* Sara Seager (born 1971), Canadian-American astronomer and planetary scientist
* Waltraut Seitter (1930–2007), German astronomer and instructor
* Muriel Mussells Seyfert (1909–1997), American astronomer
* Pelageya Shajn (1894–1956), Russian astronomer searching for minor planets
* Aomawa Shields, American astrophysicist and professor researching exoplanets
* Carolyn S. Shoemaker (born 1929), American astronomer
* Amy Simon, American planetary scientist
* Charlotte Moore Sitterly (1898–1990), American astronomer who studied stellar physics
* Tamara Mikhaylovna Smirnova (1935–2001), Russian astronomer who searched for minor planets and comets
* Alicia M. Soderberg (born 1977), American astrophysicist and instructor focused on supernovae
* Mary Somerville (1780–1872), Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath
* Linda Spilker, American planetary scientist
* Denise Stephens, American astronomer and instructor
* Sarah Stewart-Mukhopadhyay, American planetary scientist
* Annapurni Subramaniam, director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics
* Karlina Leksono Supelli (born 1958), Indonesian philosopher and astronomer
* Jean Swank, American astrophysicist studying compact objects
* Henrietta Hill Swope (1902–1980), American astronomer who studied variable stars
* Nadezhda Sytinskaya (1906-1974), Soviet astronomer and planetary scientist
* Paula Szkody (born 1948), American astronomer and instructor specialized in cataclysmic variable stars

## T

* Jill Tarter (born 1944), American astronomer focused on SETI
* Florence Taylor Hildred (1865–1932), English astronomer and pastor
* Alenush Terian (1921–2011), Iranian-Armenian astronomer
* Michelle Thaller (born 1969), American astronomer and educator
* Jana Tichá (born 1965), Czech astronomer searching for minor planets
* Beatrice Tinsley (1941–1981), British-born New Zealand astronomer studying galactic evolution
* Maura Tombelli (born 1952), Italian amateur astronomer
* Christy A. Tremonti, American astronomer
* Virginia Louise Trimble (born 1943), American astronomer
* Lidiya Tseraskaya (1855–1931), Russian astronomer
* Margaret Turnbull (born 1975), American astronomer and astrobiologist

## U

* Anne Barbara Underhill (1920–2003), Canadian astrophysicist who studied massive stars
* Meg Urry, American astrophysicist studying supermassive black holes and galaxies

## V

* Bobbie Vaile (1959–1996), Australian astrophysicist and lecturer
* Zdeňka Vávrová (born 1945), Czech astronomer
* Faith Vilas, American planetary scientist
* Julie Vinter Hansen (1890–1960), Danish astronomer
* Emma Vyssotsky (1894–1975), American astronomer who studied astrometry

## W

* Lucianne Walkowicz (born 1979), American astronomer
* Wang Zhenyi (1768–1797), Chinese astronomer, mathematician, and poet
* Kim Weaver (born 1964), American astrophysicist and instructor focused on X-ray astronomy
* Sara Webb, Australian astrophysicist
* Alycia J. Weinberger, American astronomer studying planetary formation
* Mareta West (1915–1998), American astrogeologist
* Sarah Frances Whiting (1847–1927), American physicist, astronomer, and instructor
* Mary Watson Whitney (1847–1921), American astronomer and teacher
* Belinda Wilkes, English astrophysicist
* Beth Willman, American cosmologist
* Lee Anne Willson (born 1947), American astronomer
* Anna Winlock (1857–1904), American astronomer
* Jennifer Wiseman, American astrophysicist
* Rosemary Wyse (born 1957), Scottish astrophysicist and instructor
* Frances Woodworth Wright (1897–1989), American astronomer and educator
* Gillian Wright, Scottish astronomer
* Barbara A. Williams, American radio astronomer

## Y

* Ye Shuhua (born 1927), Chinese astronomer and instructor
* Anne Sewell Young (1871–1961), American astronomer who studied variable stars
* Judith Young (1952–2014), American physicist, astronomer, and educator
* Louise Gray Young (1935-2018), American astronomer and researcher

## Z

* Magdalena Zeger [de; es; ja] (around 1491–1568), calendar maker, astronomer, first women to publish independently in the field of astronomy
* Lyudmila Zhuravlyova (born 1946), Russian-Ukrainian astronomer who discovered minor planets
* Maria Zuber (born 1958), American planetary scientist