Yet women are still underrepresented in the sciences, and there’s still inequality when it comes to pay and recognition. It has been over a century since the women of the Harvard College Observatory worked tenaciously, and unrelentingly, toward their discoveries as astronomers. Sobel goes headfirst off the deep end, just as the women whose history Sobel is telling did. Though the discoveries and accomplishments of these women are interesting, without a foundational background of astronomy, you may find yourself lost in a night sky of unfamiliar terminology. Sobel’s research is exceptionally detailed, and she recounts it in a way that is elegant and exacting, but does not always provide much explanation as to the basics of the field of astronomy.

But other than a select few women, such as Annie Cannon, Antonia Maury and Anna Palmer Draper, it’s difficult to follow which woman discovered what, and what their unique story is. One woman highlighted by Sobel includes a former maid of Pickering’s, Williamina Paton Fleming, whose life as a Scottish immigrant was transformed when she went on to discover the very first nova on a photographic plate. The background of characters, given between accounts of their work, brings a different dimension to the book. The amount of detail that Sobel delves into when describing the process of interpreting what was captured on glass photographic plates is, at times, almost overwhelming. Gender is a subtle backstory that creates intrigue and admiration for those characters illuminated by Sobel. The Glass Universe is a book about science. She makes it clear that these accomplishments were not extraordinary simply because they were women in a time when gender rights were not a topic of conversation, but because their astronomical discoveries shaped the field that exists today. Sobel’s strategy to recount the history of these women highlights their scientific accomplishments. Through Sobel’s use of historical documents such as letters, financial documents and conference notes we receive what feels like an almost firsthand account, without interpretation or added commentary, of the beginning of women’s 19th century scientific discoveries. This new technology allows the hired women to better analyze the makeup of the stars, as well as find a new way to categorize them-a system that is still used today.

He believes in women’s potential to discover and thrive in the field of science and makes the decision to hire women as calculators, aka “human computers.” Their partnership leads to the study of the stars through the new medium of photography. Anna reaches out to Edward Pickering, the director of the Harvard College Observatory and a surprising male character of this time period. Draper is a strong character, who takes into her own hands the task of finishing her late husband’s work. Henry Draper who helped found stellar photography. The book begins with Anna Palmer Draper, a recent widow of Dr.

The Glass Universe by Dava Sobel