Williamina Fleming Classified Star Secrets

In the 1880s, Harvard College Observatory director Edward Charles Pickering hired Scottish astronomer Williamina Fleming after she had worked as a maid in his household. Pickering reportedly complained about his staff by saying, "My Scottish maid could do better," and Fleming soon proved the point by helping classify more than 10,000 stars. In 1888, she discovered the Horsehead Nebula on a Harvard photographic plate, and during her career she cataloged 59 gaseous nebulae, more than 310 variable stars, and 10 novae.

Previous Fact Next Fact