One of the truly remarkable woman of the late 1800s who broke through
many barriers for women was Maria Mitchell. She was a 19th-century astronomer and feminist who is best known
for discovering a comet in 1847. Her discovery made her instantly famous and
resulted in her being elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences —
the only woman to have the honor until 1943.
In 1818, Maria Mitchell was born on the island of Nantucket, then a major
whaling location in Massachusetts. Her father, William, was a major force in
his daughter's education. He was a banker as well as a schoolteacher. He also
maintained chronometers, which were devices that allowed ships to measure time
even when moving or sailing in swinging temperatures and air pressures.
While she was growing up, Maria and
her father worked together on
astronomical observations. At age 12, she
helped her father calculate the position of their home by observing a
solar eclipse. By 14, sailors trusted her to do vital navigational computations
for their long whaling journeys,"
In 1836, Maria became librarian of the Nantucket Athenaeum. She
continued there until 1856. While there, she was able pursue her studies
without being disturbed. She also remained close with her father and continued
to do astronomical observations.
A dramatic change came for Maria when, on Oct. 1, 1847, she found
a comet that was later nicknamed Miss Mitchell's Comet (more formally
designated as C/1847 T1).
In 1832, King Frederick VI of Denmark, who was fascinated by astronomy,
announced that he would award gold medals for the first sighting of any new
comet anywhere in the world. The catch: it had to be detectable only by
telescope, not something the human eye could see.
Maria had an ideal place to set up her telescope to search: the rooftop
of the Pacific National Bank in Nantucket where her father worked as a cashier.
She spent night after night scanning the sky with her telescope.
The discovery was initially credited to Francesco de Vico, an
Italian astronomer and Jesuit priest who reported the discovery first. It was
later established that Mitchell saw the comet earlier, however, and she was
credited as the discoverer. She reportedly found her new fame
"irritating" because it made it difficult for her to work. It was
then the U.S. Nautical Almanac asked her to track Venus to help with navigation
at sea.
In 1857, Mitchell at last achieved her long-held dream of visiting Europe
when she was invited to chaperone a banker's daughter there and to the American
South. She made contact with several astronomers in Liverpool. She also
received approval from astronomer, Angelo Sacchi, to see the Vatican
Observatory after personally writing to him.
Mitchell and her father moved to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 1865 when she
became a professor of astronomy at Vassar
College one of their first professors. She
not only made strides for female astronomers when few women were working, but
asked for — and received — the same salary as a male professor. This was a
milestone for women. Vassar College had been founded in the 1860s, followed
by other colleges for women. It was also a time when many felt that educating
women in college was a dangerous experiment.
Maria was also named director
of the Vassar College Observatory and was able to work there using a 12-inch telescope. At the time, it was the
third-largest telescope in the United States. She continued her work with
planetary and solar astronomy and co-founded the Association for the
Advancement of Women, which helped to improve women's rights in the late 1800s.
1879 - Students on lawn in front of Vassar College's old observatoryCredit: ID 08.06.08,
Archives & Special Coll., Vassar College Lib.
She and her students also saw a total eclipse of the sun in Iowa in 1869.
Maria Mitchell inside Vassar College Obervatory-June 1878. Photograph by Henry Sherman Wyer, 1847-1920
In 1878, Maria and several of her former students traveled to Denver to
view the 1878 total solar eclipse. Many felt learning about the eclipse itself
was not her primary goal. Her expedition was intended as a proving ground for women. Five years
earlier, a noted physician hypothesized that too much science education taxed
female brains and atrophied their reproductive organs. She considered the notion
ridiculous and intended to prove that women could be smart, possess strong
abilities in science, and still be healthy and feminine.
Maria Mitchell's astronomy class
The late 1870s was
an interesting time overall for science in the United States. The Europeans were
leaders in scientific innovation, and blamed democratic government for the
United States’ scientific deficiencies. A total eclipse on its soil was a
perfect opportunity for the scientists in the United States to prove it could
compete. The government offered to pay all expenses for several groups of male
scientists to travel to the path of the eclipse.
Even though Maria was a famous astronomer and well-known Vassar
professor, she was not offered a grant. She was about to turn 60 and was
frustrated by this lack of support. She had been working to persuade the public
for years that women could be scientists. She was tired of listening to the
nonsense spouted about women’s so-called limitations. She knew that a group of
women astronomers could do the work as well as the men. The narrow band of the
moon shadow, where there would be three minutes of absolute darkness, carved a
path from Montana through Texas. As Maria described it, “each astronomer
selected his bit of darkness on which to locate the light of his science.” She
chose Denver.
1878 Maria Mitchell's total solar eclipse expedition to Denver
It was an 1800 mile trip by rail and the women dealt with many mishaps
along the way, including lost luggage. They set up camp just outside of Denver,
overlooking the plains to the east and the Rocky Mountains to the west. They
had wooden chairs, a small tent for shade, three telescopes, and other
instruments. They set up their chronometer, which measured time to the tenth of
a second and calibrated it every hour as conditions changed.
The novelty of a group of women scientists attracted much attention from
the public and press. On the day of the eclipse, they had an audience. As the
inky black spots of shadow began to appear on the sun, marking the beginning of
the eclipse, one of them watched the chronometer and counted the seconds for
those at the telescopes. Some used took pictures of the sun. Others began using
a spectroscope to break down the light into its component colors to learn more
about the sun’s chemistry. Different colors correspond with various elements,
like copper and sodium.
The day got darker. Finally, in Maria’s words, “as the last ray of
sunlight disappeared the corona burst out, all around the sun, so intensely
bright near the sun that the eye could scarcely bear it.” After three minutes
of total darkness, the women turned their attention to the southeast and
watched the “black band of shadow” move away. The entire eclipse took about an
hour.
Three months after the eclipse, Maria was a featured speaker at the
Women’s Congress. Her all-women expedition had been written about in newspapers
nationwide, and her lecture attracted more than 1000 people. Maria, who
believed in using art to enhance science, used poetic language with great
effect. Even the local paper grudgingly admitted that “Professor Maria Mitchell
of Vassar, who came to describe the solar eclipse at Denver with graphic and
beautiful language, must have satisfied every man fortunately present that the
highest scientific attainment is compatible with true womanliness.”
After that, in spite of it being
toward the end of her career, Maria Mitchell continued to push for
women’s higher education and women in science. Still, in great part due to her
efforts, a whole generation of female scientists followed in her footsteps,
including those who were educated by her, and those who were educated by her
former students.
Maria constructed an
apparatus for making photographs of the sun and preserved the plate of the
photographs in a closet in the observatory. It remained undiscovered until 1997
when it was found during housecleaning. The
plate was labelled in her own handwriting. Her students used the Morse
telegraphy instrument invented and given to them by Samuel F. B. Morse, a
neighbor of the college and one of its original trustees."
Mitchell retired in
1888 and died a year later. An asteroid, 1455 Mitchella, discovered in 1937,
was named after her, as was a lunar crater. The Maria Mitchell Association —
which continues her commitment to education — was established in 2007.
~o0o~
In one of my earlier
books, Mail Order Blythe, which was
set mostly set in Rawlins, Wyoming Territory, I wrote about the 1878 total
solar eclipse. In it, I mentioned the Draper Expedition which included famous
inventor, Thomas Edison. My hero, Eli Morgan, was one of three university
professors who came to Rawlins.
In my latest release, Figgy Pudding by Francine, Eli’s friend, Jason Sewell, is the hero.
My heroine, Francine Mulder, views the same 1878 eclipse, but she does it in
Denver, the same location where Miss Maria Mitchell and her all-female team of
scientists observed the eclipse.
To find the book
description and pre-order purchase link for Figgy
Pudding by Francine, please CLICK HERE.
Sources:
https://www.space.com/34709-maria-mitchell-astronomer-feminist.html
https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/american-eclipse/
http://brainprick.com/maria-mitchell-the-united-states-first-professional-woman-astronomer/
