Author : George Johnson
Release : 2006-05-30
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 562/5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis Miss Leavitt's Stars by : George Johnson
Download or read book Miss Leavitt's Stars written by George Johnson. This book was released on 2006-05-30. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "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.