Join us in the Planetarium for the next public talk in the Expanding Boundaries Speakers Series, titled “The Harvard Computers: The Women Who Launched Twentieth Century Astronomy,” presented by Gary Kader, Director of Burrell Observatory and Lecturer at Baldwin Wallace University.

“The Harvard Computers: The Women Who Launched Twentieth Century Astronomy” is a story about how the right people came together with new technology, and scientific understanding to make the discoveries that lead to some of the greatest advances in astronomy.

Our understanding of the light spectrum came in the late 1800’s which opened a new area of astronomical study. Around the same time, dry plate photography was invented. This combination moved astronomy from the observatory to the laboratory. To staff his lab, Edward Pickering at the Harvard Observatory hired a number of women to do the photographic analysis. The discoveries they made, launched twentieth century astronomy.

This program is part of a series of six sessions on a wide range of interdisciplinary topics, each with a connection to astronomy. Programs in the series will be every other Thursday throughout the semester and will follow the regularly scheduled 6:30 p.m. Planetarium show. All Expanding Boundaries Speakers Series events are free and open to the public. 

This talk will also be available to livestream via Zoom.