Book ID: CBB215194288

Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond: The Life of Astronomer Vera Rubin (2021)

unapi

Ashley Jean Yeager (Author)


The MIT Press


Publication Date: 2021
Physical Details: 256
Language: English

How Vera Rubin convinced the scientific community that dark matter might exist, persevering despite early dismissals of her work. We now know that the universe is mostly dark, made up of particles and forces that are undetectable even by our most powerful telescopes. The discovery of the possible existence of dark matter and dark energy signaled a Copernican-like revolution in astronomy: not only are we not the center of the universe, neither is the stuff of which we’re made. Astronomer Vera Rubin (1928–2016) played a pivotal role in this discovery. By showing that some astronomical objects seem to defy gravity’s grip, Rubin helped convince the scientific community of the possibility of dark matter. In Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond, Ashley Jean Yeager tells the story of Rubin’s life and work, recounting her persistence despite early dismissals of her work and widespread sexism in science. Yeager describes Rubin’s childhood fascination with stars, her education at Vassar and Cornell, and her marriage to a fellow scientist. At first, Rubin wasn’t taken seriously; she was a rarity, a woman in science, and her findings seemed almost incredible. Some observatories in midcentury America restricted women from using their large telescopes; Rubin was unable to collect her own data until a decade after she had earned her PhD. Still, she continued her groundbreaking work, driving a scientific revolution. She received the National Medal of Science in 1993, but never the Nobel Prize—perhaps overlooked because of her gender. She’s since been memorialized with a ridge on Mars, an asteroid, a galaxy, and most recently, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory—the first national observatory named after a woman.

...More
Reviewed By

Review Samantha M. Thompson (2022) Review of "Vera Rubin: A Life". Journal for the History of Astronomy (pp. 370-372). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB215194288/

Similar Citations

Book Jacqueline Mitton; Simon Mitton; Jocelyn Bell Burnell; (2021)
Vera Rubin: A Life (/isis/citation/CBB011987646/)

Article Quinn, Jim; (2020)
Vera Rubin, Dark Matter (/isis/citation/CBB271513561/)

Book Chanda Prescod-Weinstein; (2021)
The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred (/isis/citation/CBB612612757/)

Article Carlos Viscasillas Vázquez; Ederlinda Viñuales Gavín; Adriana De La Calle Viscasillas; Ricardo Moreno Luquero; (2023)
The scientific books and astronomical inventions of the Jesuit astronomer Dr. Emmanuel Carreira (/isis/citation/CBB658912165/)

Article Peter Anderson; Wayne Orchiston; (2023)
Arthur Anthony Page: At the Forefront of Queensland Astronomy during the Second Half of the Twentieth Century (/isis/citation/CBB437538036/)

Book Gabriella Bernardi; (2016)
The Unforgotten Sisters: Female Astronomers and Scientists before Caroline Herschel (/isis/citation/CBB442974460/)

Book Virginia Trimble; David A. Weintraub; (2022)
The Sky Is for Everyone: Women Astronomers in Their Own Words (/isis/citation/CBB359220173/)

Book Janet L. Beery; Sarah J. Greenwald; Jacqueline A. Jensen-Vallin; Maura B. Mast; (2017)
Women in Mathematics: Celebrating the Centennial of the Mathematical Association of America (/isis/citation/CBB586763464/)

Book Sanders, Robert H.; (2010)
The Dark Matter Problem: A Historical Perspective (/isis/citation/CBB001023170/)

Article Fritz Krafft; (2018)
Max Wolfs Eintritt in die scientific community der Astronomen (/isis/citation/CBB019108447/)

Article Pieter C. Van Der Kruit; (2023)
Excited states and spontaneous transitions: Astronomer, lecturer, administrator, biographer (/isis/citation/CBB861265982/)

Article Schaechter, Moselio; (2012)
Lynn Margulis (1938--2011) (/isis/citation/CBB001320454/)

Article Gabriella Bernardi; Alberto Vecchiato; (2018)
The advent of female astronomers at Turin Observatory (/isis/citation/CBB592498056/)

Book Walter Isaacson; (2021)
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race (/isis/citation/CBB677514543/)

Book Kathryn D. Sullivan; (2019)
Handprints on Hubble: An Astronaut's Story of Invention (/isis/citation/CBB905524834/)

Book Mays Hoopes, Laura L.; (2010)
Breaking through the Spiral Ceiling: An American Woman Becomes a DNA Scientist (/isis/citation/CBB001220990/)

Article Nigro, Maria; (2002)
Lise Meitner: donna, ebrea, scienziato (/isis/citation/CBB000502811/)

Book Wasserman, Elga R.; (2000)
The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in Science (/isis/citation/CBB000100139/)

Book Marcus, Julie; (2002)
The Indomitable Miss Pink: A Life in Anthropology (/isis/citation/CBB000201470/)

Authors & Contributors
Bernardi, Gabriella
Jensen-Vallin, Jacqueline A.
Mast, Maura B.
Sullivan, Kathryn D.
Carlos Viscasillas Vázquez
Prescod-Weinstein, Chanda
Concepts
Biographies
Women in science
Astronomers
Science and gender
Dark matter
Autobiographies
Time Periods
21st century
20th century
20th century, late
19th century
Places
United States
Queensland (Australia)
Turin (Italy)
Netherlands
Spain
New Zealand
Institutions
Astronomical Society of Australia
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Rijksuniversiteit te Groningen
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Universiteit Leiden
Jesuits (Society of Jesus)
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment