History comes alive for a group of girls in the Science Club for Girls (SCFG) summer Rocketry Program. On a hazy summer day in August, the club made the trek to the Center for Astrophysics (CFA) | Harvard & Smithsonian.
The girls first gathered in a large room to view some precious and delicate artifacts as the curator handled them with gloves.
“My job and the way that I approach it is to connect as many people, to bring their voices to our history, their lenses, and to uncover the things that resonate with them,” said Thom Burns, curator and technical art historian at CfA.
Burns is the curator of the largest collection of glass plates in the world. The club had the honor of seeing the tedious work that women scientists from the late 1800s did. The images printed from a section of our sky, on glass, were taken from the “great refractor,” a giant telescope housed in the Harvard Observatory.
This telescope came from Munich, Germany in the 1840s after an extra bright comet in the night sky over New England inspired the public’s interest in astronomy, discovery, and the purchase of what was once the largest instrument in America at that time.
“It’s a collection of photography, but also a collection of history,” explained Burns. “Wilhelmina Fleming, was the first curator. She came to Harvard as an immigrant, a single mother, and originally started working here on Observatory Hill as the maid to our then director. This is in the 1880s, working her way up to being his secretary. To then being the first woman to ever be appointed an official position at Harvard when she became the curator is something that’s very inspirational, something that I think resonates with me right now and is a person that, yeah, I feel honored to follow in her legacy.”
Harvard Observatory hired about 200 women in the 1800s and 1900s who were highly skilled and made remarkable achievements and discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics. One of the many achievements was the “Leavitt Law,” also known as the period-luminosity relationship, which allows astronomers to measure distance in space. American Astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt made this discovery during her tenure at the observatory (1893-1921). The hidden history is, however, jarring.
“I found it very shocking to learn that these women, despite their skill and despite their talent, were often referred to as assistants,” says Philippe Reeke, communication and outreach manager at CfA. “They weren’t referred to as scientists. On peer-reviewed papers, those are the titles that they were given. Assistants or clerks. And that was very shocking to me, and it’s something that my colleague and I, Thom, like to talk about. To highlight, to make sure that it never happens again.”
Most women on the meager payroll weren’t even allowed in the same room as the telescope. So a male colleague would take the glass plate images captured from the Great Refractor and hand them to the ladies in another room. The women tediously analyzed what was on the glass; stars, planets, galaxies and anything in the night sky. The images represent space, but in opposite contrast. So what’s dark is light, and what’s light is dark. The glass plates have hundreds of annotations on the objects, like the movement of planets. And the women discovered breakthroughs such as unlocking time, and finding that the universe is expanding. So many breakthroughs that it fascinates us still today.
“There’s so many. One I’d like to talk about is the first image of a black hole, which I consider to be one of the greatest technological achievements of the human race. The fact that we managed to photograph a blackhole, and that was very much a collaboration between the SAO and the HCO. Plus many other organizations around the globe,” said Reeke.
The field trip is hopefully an inspiration to many future scientists, like Benisha Marseille. She’s the current head intern of the Junior Mentors and for the program team at SCFG.
“I just love how we’re just like exposing them to so many things. This is definitely something that if like if it existed when I was younger like I would have definitely eaten this up because I was so obsessed with space as a kid,” said Marseille.
Now, she’s on her way to making a career connection, a result of her experience in Science Club for Girls.
“I am a computer science major. My plan is to become a web developer specifically at NASA because I want to combine my love of like creating applications with my love of space,” Marseille said.
While the club also explores anything STEM-related throughout the year, this two-week rocketry program expands the curriculum for select sixth to eighth grade applicants. And they’re having a blast doing it!
“As they go through the program, they really learn about the concepts and fundamentals behind science and STEM as well as the applications to their everyday world and how it fits into real world problems,” said Bonnie Bertolaet, executive director of Science Club for Girls.
The Rocketry Program continues through mid-August with the girls creating and building their own rockets, then launching them. This summer program is a favorite for the girls and for the mentors who return after they age out of the club.
For a link to apply to the club or to volunteer with this nonprofit, check out this website for more info.
While the club has this unique opportunity, you too can immerse yourself in, or with, the stars. Events periodically invite the public to view other telescopes, or sit in on education seminars about the life and legacy of the women scientists at the Observatory.
“Women historically have been underrepresented in the sciences and so it’s very important for us to showcase the women who worked here at the Harvard College Observatory,” Reeke said.
“So having over a century and a half of women pioneering and working here. Making that history accessible and directly connecting to young people, young girls in particular, is something that we’re eager and eager to do and to continue,” says Burns.
For more information on the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, check out their site.