One of the most notable contributors to the field of astronomy, never actually worked a telescope. The unjust discrimination against women barred one of the most brilliant astronomers of the 20th century from ever actually viewing the stars she was studying. This did not pose a problem however, as Henrietta Swan Leavitt challenged these notions of female inferiority and ineptitude by entering the predominately male field of astrology and excelling. Henrietta Leavitt's prodigious discovery of the period-luminosity relationship amongst Cepheid variable stars would forever change the way we perceive the universe and known galaxies as well as lay the foundation for astronomers such as Harlow Shapley, Hertzsprung, and Edwin Hubble to expand our knowledge of the universe. The androcentric view of history often fails to acknowledge the achievements of notable women who have made profound impacts that have revolutionized the way in which we see the world, as well as the universe. Although the modernized 21st century society is more apt to recognize the achievements of women with an equivocal perspective with men, it was not always so. During the early 20th century, women were consistently denied equality with men due to a perverse androcentric, male-dominated perspective that deemed women as subordinate and insignificant. This androcentric perspective limited the opportunities available to women at the time, leaving them only with domestic occupations that were deemed acceptable for women such as nurses, teachers or clerics. Very few women aspired for higher education, and even fewer achieved it. There were very few colleges that accepted women at the time, save for those erected for women alone. It is because of this, women rarely e... ... middle of paper ... ...woman by pursuing a career in the predominately male field of astrology and excelling. The “standard candle” of measurement, known as the period-luminosity relationship, developed through her study of Cepheid variable stars allowed us to view the universe like never before and forever changed the way we look at the cosmos. Works Cited Dyson, Marianne J. Space and Astronomy: Decade by Decade. New York: Facts on File, 2007. 14+. Print. Impey, Chris. How It Began: A Time-traveler's Guide to the Universe. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 123+. Print. Krauss, Lawrence Maxwell, and Richard Dawkins. A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing. New York, NY: Free, 2012. 7-8. Print. Levy, David H. Cosmology 101. New York: I, 2003. 86-87. Print. Waller, William H. The Milky Way: An Insider's Guide. Princeton, N.J: Princeton UP, 2013. 42+. Print.
As mentioned above, women’s role were unjust to the roles and freedoms of the men, so an advanced education for women was a strongly debated subject at the beginning of the nineteenth century (McElligott 1). The thought of a higher chance of education for women was looked down upon, in the early decades of the nineteenth century (The American Pageant 327). It was established that a women’s role took part inside the household. “Training in needlecraft seemed more important than training in algebra” (327). Tending to a family and household chores brought out the opinion that education was not necessary for women (McElligott 1). Men were more physically and mentally intellectual than women so it was their duty to be the educated ones and the ones with the more important roles. Women were not allowed to go any further than grammar school in the early part of the 1800’s (Westward Expansion 1). If they wanted to further their education beyond grammar, it had to be done on their own time because women were said to be weak minded, academically challenged and could n...
Throughout history there has always been discussions and theories as to how the universe came to be. Where did it come from? How did it happen? Was it through God that the universe was made? These philosophies have been discussed and rejected and new theories have been created. I will discuss three theories from our studies, Kalam’s Cosmological Argument, Aquinas’s Design Argument, and Paley’s Design Argument. In this article, I will discuss the arguments and what these arguments state as their belief. A common belief from these three theories is that the universe is not infinite, meaning that the universe was created and has a beginning date. Each believe that there was a God, deity, or master creator that created the universe for a reason. They also believe that
(adopted from an article by Greg Laughlin and Fred Adams, "Celebrating the Galactic Millennium", Astronomy November 2001)
Lucretius. On the Nature of the Universe. Tr. R. E. Latham. Introduction by John Godwin. Penguin Books, London: 1994.
2, Alter Dinsmore, Cleminshaw H. Clarence, Philips G John. Pictorial Astronomy. United States: Sidney Feinberg, 1963.
...er the last century women have made enormous contributions in the sciences, art, and medicine, proving that those fields are not just for men. By completing their education women have proven that they can handle the many stresses that go along with college, such as dealing with others, exams, and receiving a diploma. Women have also been dealing with immense stress through the years, with both having children and maintaining their families.
An underlying theme present throughout the series is the possibility that our existence is not the only one. According to current theories in physics, it is entirely possible that our universe is just one of many universes f...
The number of theories surrounding how the universe materialized is nearly endless, but Krauss’ thesis is one of the most convincing and buttressed that has been proposed. Lawrence Krauss is one of the most well respected theoretical physicists and cosmologists in America and has done extensive research on how and why the universe is in existence. Like the title of his book, A Universe from Nothing: Why There is Something Rather than Nothing, his entire theory surrounds the fact the universe was created from nothing. In support of his argument, he explores the weight and shape of the universe, dark matter and energy, quantum mechanics, visual particles, and expansion rates. While the world may never know exactly how the universe was created, society is getting closer to figuring it out and Krauss may have been the one to figure it out.
One of the strongest women scientist/astronomer was born in 1818 as Maria Mitchell whom led an unbelievable life and had an incredible discovery. Maria Mitchell was born when women were not given the opportunity to vote nor did women have the same equal rights as men did, but given her circumstances of her father being a principal, founding his own school and being a distant family member of Benjamin Franklin she was given the same rights as the men did. Given a few obstacles she led an extraordinary life and became the first woman in America to work as an astronomer professionally, which she than later received an award personally from King Frederick VII, for her work and discovery.
Danielson, Dennis Richard, Ed. The book of the cosmos : imagining the universe from Heraclitus to Hawking. Cambridge: Perseus Publishing, 2000.
Zimmerman, Robert. "The Great Supernova Race." Sky & Telescope 126.4 (2013): 16. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 7 Apr.
Redd, Nola T. "Space and NASA News – Universe and Deep Space Information | Space.com." Space.com. Space.com, 08 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. .
When most people think of the Scientific Revolution, they think of scientists such as Galileo, Newton, Brahe, and Boyle. However, many people do not even know about the many women who played a vital role in the scientific advancements of this period. Even when these women were alive, most of society either ignored them or publicly disapproved their unladylike behavior. Because of this, these women were often forgotten from history, and very little is known about the majority of them. Although their names rarely appear in history books, the female scientists of the Scientific Revolution still impacted the world of science in several ways. In fact, all of the scientists listed above had a woman playing an influential role assisting them in their research. However, assisting men in their studies was not the only role open to women; several women performed experimentation and research on their own, or advancing science in some other way, even though the society of the time looked down upon and even resisted their studies.
Tyler, Pat. Supernova. NASA’s Heasarc: Education and Public Information. 26 Jan. 2003. 22 Nov. 2004
Space has always been a pivotal and utmost important subject for many years. In the past, scientists have made monumental advances in this field such as sending people into orbit and landing a man on the moon. Of course, this has only barely been explored and we still have a lot more to see of the ever-vast outer space. One of the most significant topics of all of science has only been touched and there’s still more to come.