Understanding Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s Contributions to Astronomy

To understand Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s contributions to astronomy, we must understand the person, her findings, and what makes her so influential in astronomy.

It is much required to speak about her as many people are still unaware of Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s contributions to astronomy.

Leavitt was an American astronomer born in 1868. Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s discoveries are still ahead of many well-known astronomers’ research projects. She dreamt of uncovering the infinite reality of the cosmos and became the first to discover many of the universe’s unanswered riddles.

One can never forget Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s contributions to astronomy, but before going any further, it’s imperative to understand Henrietta’s early life and how it led to such remarkable discoveries.

Early Life

Henrietta was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, and had seven other siblings in the family. Her parents discovered her inclination towards academic intellect at a very young age and shifted to Ohio, as female education was not an accepted norm in Lancaster.

Henrietta discovered an inclination toward astronomy during her final year of college, which led her to take her first step in astronomy. This later led to such a phenomenon that Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s contributions to astronomy changed the subject’s discourse.

There were numerous obstacles that Leavitt had to face in her early life. She developed a terrible sickness while pursuing her course in astronomy. As a result of the illness, she became profoundly deaf and had to stay at home for a long period.

After overcoming her illness, Leavitt returned with double the strength and was offered a fellowship at Harvard University. Later, Edward Pickering, the chairman of the Harvard College Observatory, appointed her as a permanent member.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s Contributions to Astronomy

Leavitt soon got promoted to the head of the photometry department. She then discovered 200 variable stars in the universe using the Magellanic Clouds regions approach. She also developed a mechanism for ranking stars using photometry plates.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s discoveries did not just end with one successful discovery. Having an interest in cepheids, she identified numerous Cepheid stars, one of which she dubbed the delta cepheid.

Later, Henrietta was instructed to develop a north polar sequence based on her discoveries. This experiment used the brightness of stars to determine the magnitude of the distance between stars, and she tried this experiment with 43 stars near the north pole.

Facts About Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s Discoveries

• Henrietta discovered that other galaxies have cepheid stars, which was the driving force behind locating other galaxies and determining their distances
• The finding of the cepheid and other galaxies demonstrated that other galaxies contain spiral nebulae. Milky Way Galaxy is the giant galaxy known as the spiral nebulae’s centre
• Many of Henrietta’s Swan Leavitt discoveries were the springboard for many subsequent discoveries, allowing other astronomers to complete their work
• Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s contributions to astronomy were not well-known worldwide because she carried out all of her experiments anonymously and never sought celebrity
• Leavitt’s law is a law that is used to calculate the magnitude difference between objects in galaxies using the brightness of stars
• Henrietta Swan Leavitt contributed biographically to discovering the light-year, which determines distances in the cosmos

Henrietta Swan Leavitt made several astounding findings for which she will always be remembered. Many of her discoveries were previously unknown since she opted to labour in complete anonymity.

She also discovered how the cepheid stars in other galaxies create spiral nebulae, which can be later used to determine the positions and size of the galaxies in the universe.

Conclusion

Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s contribution to astronomy was a marvel that no one had ever done. Science and technology owe her great respect. If not for it, many discoveries about space and astronomy would have remained impossible. She was also awarded for her work, but sadly, it was three years after her death.

She had been unwell for most of her life, and her hearing had deteriorated substantially in the last few decades. On December 21, 1912, she died in Massachusetts following a protracted battle with cancer.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s discoveries remain a great factor, especially at the young age she executed them. Leavitt was one of the greats in her field of study who paved the way for astronomy to flourish.