Today in History

August 01, 1818
Stars in Her Eyes
Maria Mitchell is born in Nantucket, Massachusetts. As she grows her astronomer father encourages her interest in science. In October 1847, while still an amateur observer, she reports the orbit of a new comet. She becomes the first professional woman astronomer in the United States, and at Vassar College, where she is a professor of astronomy from 1865-1888, she directs the observatory. She dies at age 70 in Lynn, Massachusetts.



Today's Feature History Article

Inside a Keck telescope dome

Homing In On Black Holes

To gain insight into the most mysterious objects in the universe, astronomers shine a light at the chaotic core of our Milky Way




 



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