The Sky Is for Everyone: Women Astronomers in Their Own Words
504
The Sky Is for Everyone: Women Astronomers in Their Own Words
504Paperback
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Overview
The Sky Is for Everyone is an internationally diverse collection of autobiographical essays by women who broke down barriers and changed the face of modern astronomy. Virginia Trimble and David Weintraub vividly describe how, before 1900, a woman who wanted to study the stars had to have a father, brother, or husband to provide entry, and how the considerable intellectual skills of women astronomers were still not enough to enable them to pry open doors of opportunity for much of the twentieth century. After decades of difficult struggles, women are closer to equality in astronomy than ever before. Trimble and Weintraub bring together the stories of the tough and determined women who flung the doors wide open. Taking readers from 1960 to today, this triumphant anthology serves as an inspiration to current and future generations of women scientists while giving voice to the history of a transformative era in astronomy.
With contributions by Neta A. Bahcall, Beatriz Barbuy, Ann Merchant Boesgaard, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Catherine Cesarsky, Poonam Chandra, Xuefei Chen, Cathie Clarke, Judith Gamora Cohen, France Anne Córdova, Anne Pyne Cowley, Bożena Czerny, Wendy L. Freedman, Yilen Gómez Maqueo Chew, Gabriela González, Saeko S. Hayashi, Martha P. Haynes, Roberta M. Humphreys, Vicky Kalogera, Gillian Knapp, Shazrene S. Mohamed, Carole Mundell, Priyamvada Natarajan, Dara J. Norman, Hiranya Peiris, Judith Lynn Pipher, Dina Prialnik, Anneila I. Sargent, Sara Seager, Gražina Tautvaišienė, Silvia Torres-Peimbert, Virginia Trimble, Meg Urry, Ewine F. van Dishoeck, Patricia Ann Whitelock, Sidney Wolff, and Rosemary F. G. Wyse.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780691253916 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Princeton University Press |
| Publication date: | 10/31/2023 |
| Pages: | 504 |
| Sales rank: | 412,580 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x (d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations xiii
List of Abbreviations xvii
Acknowledgments xxiii
Prelude xxv
1 Beginnings 1
2 Navigating My Life with the Stars Anne Pyne Cowley (PhD, 1963) 31
3 Making Things Work Ann Merchant Boesgaard (PhD, 1966) 40
4 Changing the Landscape Sidney Wolff (PhD, 1966) 53
5 Kites Rise against the Wind Jocelyn Bell Burnell (PhD, 1968) 63
6 Breaking through the Telescopic Glass Ceiling Virginia Trimble (PhD, 1968) 73
7 Be Your Own Advocate Roberta M. Humphreys (PhD, 1969) 85
8 An Astronomer in Mexico Silvia Torres-Peimbert (PhD, 1969) 95
9 My Life in Astronomy Neta A. Bahcall (PhD, 1970) 105
10 Equations, Satellites, and Telescopes Catherine Cesarsky (PhD, 1971) 116
11 A Long and Winding Road Judith (Judy) Gamora Cohen (PhD, 1971) 127
12 Taking Advantage of Opportunity Judith Lynn Pipher (PhD, 1971) 139
13 Princeton 1984 Gillian (Jill) Knapp (PhD, 1972) 150
14 The Southern Half of the Sky Patricia Ann Whitelock (PhD, 1976) 161
15 A Long Way for a Wee Lassie Anneila I. Sargent (PhD, 1977) 171
16 Hands-on Adventures with Telescopes: From the Backyard to Cerro Chajnantor Martha P. Haynes (PhD, 1978) 181
17 The Learn'd Astronomer Discovers the Policy World France Anne Córdova (PhD, 1979) 194
18 From Stars to Comets and Back Dina Prialnik (PhD, 1980) 204
19 From Stargazing the Southern Cross to Probing the Depths of the History of the Milky Way Beatriz Barbuy (PhD, 1982) 214
20 A Journey through Space and Time Rosemary (Rosie) F. G. Wyse (PhD, 1983) 225
21 A Fortunate Sequence of Events Bozena Czerny (PhD, 1984) 236
22 Building a Worldwide Astrochemistry Community Ewine F. van Dishoeck (PhD, 1984) 244
23 My Astronomical Journey Wendy L. Freedman (PhD, 1984) 256
24 The Gentlemen and Me Meg Urry (PhD, 1984) 267
25 An Astronomer (Not a Pirate!) of Penzance Cathie Clarke (PhD, 1987) 279
26 From Six Meters to Thirty Meters, Ever Expanding Horizons Saeko S. Hayashi (PhD, 1987) 289
27 The Unfading Joy of Being an Astronomer Grazina Tautvaišiene (PhD, 1988) 301
28 Inspired by a Maths Dress Carole Mundell (PhD, 1995) 311
29 Gravitational Love Gabriela (Gaby) González (PhD, 1995) 322
30 Not Taking "No" for an Answer: Learning How to Persist and Persevere with a Smile Vicky Kalogera (PhD, 1997) 333
31 Adventures Mapping the Dark Universe Priyamvada Natarajan (PhD, 1999) 344
32 On Becoming an Astronomer and Advancing Science Dara J. Norman (PhD, 1999) 355
33 Adventures in the Search for Other Earths Sara Seager (PhD, 1999) 366
34 From Serendip to Serendipity Hiranya Peiris (PhD, 2003) 377
35 A Train to the Stars Poonam Chandra (PhD, 2005) 388
36 Staring at the Stars Xuefei Chen (PhD, 2005) 400
37 The Sky Is for Everyone Shazrene S. Mohamed (PhD, 2009) 411
38 Flipping Tables from the Sonoran Desert to the Stars Yilen Gómez Maqueo Chew (PhD, 2010) 423
39 Postlude 433
Further Reading and Additional Resources 435
Index of Subjects 451
Index of People 463
What People are Saying About This
“I thought I had written the definitive book about women in astronomy, but I bow to The Sky Is for Everyone. Its authors are the observatory directors, the university professors, the leaders of the international research teams that launch telescopes into space and draw down the secrets of the cosmos, each one telling her own story of a life in science.”—Dava Sobel, author of The Glass Universe“A rich and captivating array of personal stories that provide a welcome addition to the history of astronomy. Here are the women who revealed the stars’ chemical compositions, designed cutting-edge telescopes, mapped the universe’s large-scale structure, measured cosmic expansion, and hunted for extrasolar planets. They are the pathfinders who helped define our modern universe.”—Marcia Bartusiak, author of The Day We Found the Universe and Black Hole“This thought-provoking collection of stories by an absolutely amazing set of women astronomers worldwide is motivating, at times heartbreaking, and truly inspirational.”—Anne-Christine Davis, University of Cambridge“What makes this book priceless is that each astronomer has written her own words. Every story is different, and all the details matter, yet the commonalities are impossible to miss. I can’t imagine a better resource for learning what it’s like to be a successful woman in science.”—Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime“Through the individual voices of extraordinary women, Trimble and Weintraub tell a humbling and inspiring story of the evolution of astronomy and the struggle of women to enter the field.”—Jenny Greene, Princeton University“These eloquent memoirs by prominent women astronomers span sixty years of social and scientific progress. They are pointed, poignant, and wise. Read them, ponder their common themes, and let us all learn from them.”—Roger Blandford, KIPAC, Stanford University“This is a book whose protagonists have traversed with joy, perseverance, and pluck the entire golden age of modern astronomy and astrophysics. Together, their thrilling and moving essays combine into an eloquent, detailed history of scientific ideas, education, and aspirations, the magnificent instruments and places of discovery they have inhabited, and the doors they have opened to others and onto the universe.”—Diana Kormos Buchwald, general editor of the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein