Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Discovery and Contribution to Society

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin was an eminent astronomer who discovered that stars are made of two chemicals, including hydrogen and helium. When she proposed this in her first doctoral thesis, scientists found it hard to believe. They claimed that the composition of stars is identical to the elements of Earth. However, later her proposal was proved correct, and it was found that hydrogen is one of the most abundant element present in a star. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin discovery led astronomy in a new direction. Her contribution helped develop modern astrophysics’ foundation. Cecilia was one of the noted female astronomers of her time.

Early Life and Education

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin was born on May 10, 1900. Her father, Edward, was a Lawyer in London, apart from having a knack for history and music. Her mother was Emma Leonora Helena. Cecilia’s father died when she was only four years old, which compelled her mother to look after the family. The birthplace of Cecilia was Wendover in Buckinghamshire, England. 

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin biography is quite inspiring as she always tried to overcome challenges. One such challenge she faced was when she went to St. Mary’s college and had to leave the college because of failing in mathematics and science. Therefore, she decided to shift to St. paul’s Girls’ School in 1918. Cecilia attended a private school in Wendover.

After winning a scholarship, she attended Newnham College at Cambridge University, and she started studying Physics, Botany and Chemistry. Later she dropped the plan of studying Botany in the first year itself.

Due to her contribution to the field of astronomy and astrophysics, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin biography is a source of inspiration for many science enthusiasts. She began to develop her interest in astronomy after her first brush with the speech given by Arthur Eddington in 1919. Arthur’s speech was regarding the observation of stars beside a solar eclipse.

Higher Education of Cecilia and Personal Life

Since there was no provision for awarding a degree to a woman from Cambridge until 1948, Cecilia was not allowed to receive a degree despite completing her education. She realised that the only option left to her was to become a teacher in the U.K. Thus she decided to leave for the United States. When Cecilia learned that a bachelor’s degree course in astronomy was just introduced by then Director Harlow Shapley in Harvard College Observatory, she left for the United States in 1923. She was able to grab the opportunity with the help of a fellowship program granted to a woman as an encouragement to study further. 

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin discovery began to develop during her PhD research. Cecilia stood in the second position to attend the observatory on a fellowship program. At the persuasion of Shapley, Payne was able to earn her PhD in 1925. She was the first person to receive a doctorate in astronomy from Redcliff College in Harvard University. Her thesis was “Stellar Atmospheres: A Contribution to the Observational Study of High Temperature in the Reversing Layers of Stars.”

During a tour in Europe, Cecilia met Russian-born Astrophysicist Sergei I. Gaposchkin in Germany. Both tied the knot in March 1934 and settled in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Discovery and Contribution

Cecilia successfully related the spectral classes of stars to the temperatures with the help of ionisation theory which was discovered by Indian Physicists Meghnad Saha. One significant Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin discovery was that she proved that the amount of Silicon, Carbon and other metals present in the Sun is the same as on the earth. Helium and hydrogen are abundantly present in the stars, and her PhD thesis stated that the amount of hydrogen is overwhelming.

Astronomer Henry Norris Russel disagreed with the conclusion of the PhD thesis of Cecilia, which concluded that hydrogen is present in the Sun in a large amount. Later, Russel also realised that Cecilia was correct when he found the same result from different derivations. Russel said that if the heat of the Earth’s crust is raised to the temperature of the Sun, the absorption spectrum of the Sun and the Earth would be similar. But, a few years later, Otto Struve stated her work to be “the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy”.

Career and Achievements

Cecilia started her career after receiving her PhD and studied many things related to stars and the universe. Some of her studies include:

• Structure of the Milky Way
• Variable stars
• Magellanic Cloud.

After completing her PhD, Cecilia pursued her career at Harvard. Besides the important discoveries, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin contributions include many of her books published during her lifetime. These books are The Stars of High Luminosity, Variables Stars and Variable Stars and Galactic Structure. With the efforts of Shapley, she was awarded the title of “Astronomer” in 1938. Cecilia retired from active teaching in 1966 and was appointed Emeritus Professor of Harvard.

Conclusion

Despite a lot of struggles, Cecilia contributed a lot to the field of astronomy. Even though she had to face the battle to receive higher education only because of being a woman, she struggled to achieve her goal. At that time, Cambridge did not allow women to obtain a degree. Therefore, Cecilia moved to the United States to pursue higher education at Harvard. Later, she was able to prove herself to be one of the greatest astronomers in the world. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin discovery of the components of stars made her famous around the globe. Her contribution to society will be remembered through her works in years to come.