Tuesday, we’re talking about the 19th-century women who measured the cosmos. Science journalist Dava Sobel is among our guests. Her latest book is about the women employed by Harvard Observatory to serve as “human computers.” They did calculations based on the observations of their male counterparts, but became astronomical pioneers in their own right. Pygmalion Theatre Company is staging a play based on the life of one of these remarkable women, which gives us an excuse to talk about them and discoveries.
Dava Sobel is a former science reporter for the New York Times. She’s the co-author of six books and the author of five, including her newest, The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars
Mark Fossen directed Pygmalion Theatre Company’s production of Lauren Gunderson’s play Silent Sky. It’s about the life of Henrietta Leavitt, an astronomer at Harvard Observatory in the 19th century.
Hannah Minshew plays Henrietta Leavitt in Pygmalion Theatre Company’s production of Silent Sky.