Women in Astronomy

Equal opportunities for women in science did not always exist as they do today, however Astronomy offers many chances to explore how women have contributed to the understanding of astronomical data and concepts. Below is one such example:

In the late 19th century, Astronomer and Observatory Director, Edward Charles Pickering recruited a group of women who became known as 'Pickering's Women' or 'Pickering's Harem'. These women acted as a human computer and developed a classification system for stellar spectra. They were paid just 25 to 50 cents per hour for this tedious work.

The work of these women has helped enable us to interpret the spectra of stars, which has led scientists to be able to measure a star's surface temperature by seeing only its spectrum.

Here is an example of stella spectra.