The Glass Sky. How the Women of the Harvard Observatory Measured the Stars

In the mid-19th century, the Harvard Observatory began hiring women as calculators to interpret the results of the nightly astronomical observations conducted by men. At first, these were the wives, sisters, and daughters of the staff astronomers of the observatory, and later they were joined by graduates of women's colleges.

When photography entered astronomical practice, women began to study the stars captured at night on glass photographic plates, in addition to calculations. The "glass universe" of half a million photographic plates accumulated at Harvard over the decades allowed women to make remarkable discoveries that gained worldwide recognition. They helped to understand what stars are made of, classify them, and find a way to determine interstellar distances.

The book contains a wealth of interesting facts, featuring many excerpts from letters, diaries, and memoirs. It is essentially the story of women whose contributions to science changed our understanding of stars and humanity's place in the Universe.

The book is primarily aimed at those interested in astronomy and the history of the development of our understanding of the Universe.