Review: How Henrietta Leavitt and the ‘Harvard Computers’ Launched Modern Cosmology
August 20, 2024
1 min read
Review: How a Group of Women Launched Modern Cosmology
A new biography of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt celebrates meaning making in science
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In Brief
Attention Is Discovery: The Life and Legacy of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt
by Anna Von Mertens.
MIT Press, 2024 ($34.95)
Fans of Hidden Figures and The Glass Universe will appreciate Anna Von Mertens’s captivating portrait of Henrietta Leavitt and the Harvard Computers, who laid the foundation for modern cosmology at the turn of the 20th century. Blending complex science with human-interest stories, Von Mertens celebrates the constellation of women scientists who discovered how to calculate galactic distances and classify stars by chemical composition. The writing occasionally veers into textbook territory, but Von Mertens includes vibrant illustrations and archival documents that help to bring these astronomical legends to life on the page. This deeply researched book is ultimately an homage to the process of observation and meaning making in science.