description: "A short, excellent account of [Leavitt’s] extraordinary life and achievements." ―Simon Singh, New York Times Book Review 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.
language: English
title: Miss Leavitt's Stars: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe
titlecomplete: Miss Leavitt's Stars: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe (Great Discoveries)
characters: Henrietta Swan Leavitt
genres: Biography, Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Womens, Space, Biography Memoir, History Of Science, Astronomy, History
ratings_count: 359
series: Great Discoveries
publisher: W. W. Norton & Company