Henrietta Swan Leavitt
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Henrietta Swan Leavitt was an American astronomer. Her discovery of how to effectively measure vast astronomical distances led to a shift in the understanding of the scale and nature of the universe.
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Photos 7
The observatory at Harvard where Henrietta Swan Leavitt worked.
Henrietta Leavitt (third from left) is shown working among "The Harvard Computers" who assisted astronomer Edward Charles Pickering at the Harvard College Observatory. The assistants also included Annie Jump Cannon, Williamina Fleming, and Antonia Maury.![Leavitt working at her desk in the Harvard College Observatory.[21]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Leavitt_henrietta_b1.jpg/500px-Leavitt_henrietta_b1.jpg)
Leavitt working at her desk in the Harvard College Observatory.[21]![Plot from a paper prepared by Leavitt in 1912 - The horizontal axis is the logarithm of the period of the corresponding Cepheid, and the vertical axis is its magnitude. The lines drawn connect points corresponding respectively to the stars' minimum and maximum brightness.[8][23]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/HSLeavittHSCr13Fig2_1912.jpg/500px-HSLeavittHSCr13Fig2_1912.jpg)
Plot from a paper prepared by Leavitt in 1912 - The horizontal axis is the logarithm of the period of the corresponding Cepheid, and the vertical axis is its magnitude. The lines drawn connect points corresponding respectively to the stars' minimum and maximum brightness.[8][23]
Leavitt making measurements in 1921
The Leavitt family monument in Cambridge CemeteryIn their orbit 2
Scientists from United States 6
About this person
Country
United StatesCategory
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1868 to 1921 · aged 53
Written about in
32 languages
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