The crater good: Holes on the moon will be forever Scottish after pioneering women of science are awarded lunar salute
Author of new book calls for greater recognition of work of female scientists who blazed trail in mapping the skies
When Neil Armstrong became the first person to plant his foot on the lunar surface, he famously proclaimed it as a giant leap for mankind.
The history of astronomy and science has been dominated by men and, of the 1,586 craters which mark the surface of the Moon, only 28 have been named after women.
But now the lives of these 28 women – and the vital scientific studies they carried out – are being celebrated in a new book, The Women Of The Moon.
It examines the lives of these women and the impact they had on our understanding of the universe.
Two of the women in the book – Mary Somerville and Williamina Fleming – hail from Scotland.
For the authors of the book, their efforts to break into a traditionally male-dominated field make them as brave and pioneering as the astronauts of the Apollo missions.
“Williamina comes through as a brilliant woman,” explained Daniel Altschuler, one of the authors of The Women Of The Moon.
“She was dedicated to her work, overcame the struggle of being alone after being abandoned by her husband while she was pregnant, she worked to make sure she had more time to do research and pursue her own curiosity, and she stood up for her rights.
“I feel on her portrait her stern look says much.”
Fleming went from a penniless single mother from Dundee to one of the most important figures in astronomy.
Among her achievements is discovering more than 200 stars, as well as the Horsehead Nebula – one of the most beautiful natural phenomenon in the galaxy.
Williamina Fleming was born in Dundee in 1857.
After being abandoned by her husband, single mother Fleming moved to Boston to work as a maid, for Professor Edward Pickering, of the prestigious Harvard College Observatory. The demanding
Pickering dismissed one of his assistants with the cutting remark: “Even my Scottish housekeeper could do a better job.”
He backed up his words and gave Williamina – then 24 – a job part-time in the Harvard Observatory.
Astronomy at the time was done through a process of measuring light from stars to decode their nature.
It was time-consuming, arduous work, in which Pickering thought women – who he believed were more patient and diligent than men – excelled.
“In those days, photography was done on glass plates and spectroscopy – which means analysing the light from stars – and the telescope offered a way to physically study stellar phenomena,” explained Daniel.
“The first task was to do this for thousands of images obtained throughout the sky.
“It is estimated that Williamina, who was appointed to supervise a group of ‘women computers’ to do this arduous work, studied about 200,000 images during her lifetime.
“She discovered many planetary nebulae, and variable stars which were a novelty at that time. Williamina also worked on the first stellar classification scheme.”
Williamina’s work impressed Pickering so much so he employed her full-time. Williamina discovered 59 nebulae in total, one of which has become a favourite of astrophotographers, called the Pickering Triangle – after her boss. For some, however, it should have been named after Fleming, rather than her boss.
“What Pickering thought of women – that they are more patient – was a prejudice and is not true,” added Daniel. “In reality there are no intellectual differences, that we know of, between males and females in spite of their apparent differences.
“In almost all respects it is a male world and looking at our history it is evident that we have not done too well. We need women in government, industry and science, perhaps they can do it better. Reading about the lives and struggles of these women we hope to inspire more to wish to pursue a scientific career.
“One thing that’s worth nothing is that there are plenty of more craters on the moon available to add the names of illustrious women scientists.”
‘ In almost all respects it is a male world and looking at our history it is evident, we have not done well