Her Luminous Distance: Legacies of Women Astronomical Computers at Harvard

The Harvard Plate Stacks is presenting a special exhibition, Her Luminous Distance: The Legacies of Women Astronomical Computers at Harvard, in the rotunda and dome of the Great Refractor at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian. Free and open to the public, the exhibition will celebrate the legacy of the Women Astronomical Computers and illuminate to audiences the various disciplines and fields of study that have been inspired by these women and the astronomical photographs that they studied.

Aura Satz’s installation piece, , will be on view in the dome of the Great Refractor. Inspired by Henrietta Swan Leavitt and the Women Astronomical Computers, the slide-based installation uses a blink comparator to juxtapose archival images of the Women Astronomical Computers in the workplace, craters on the moon named after women astronomers, as well as glass plates with annotations and marks made by the women, many of which were erased during the DASCH project. A blink comparator is a device used by astronomers to detect small pattern differences on astronomical glass plate photographs by alternating quickly back and forth between two images. Satz chose the format of a blink comparator to invite the viewer to consider the labor and expertise involved in this detailed work. Satz’s artwork will be on view with the Great Refractor telescope first used in 1847, and for its first 50 years not allowed to be used by women.

The rotunda exhibition will feature profiles of a selection of the Women Astronomical Computers, highlighting their contributions while working at the Harvard College Observatory and other facts about their life and career in astronomy. The women selected for the rotunda exhibition have been chosen in order to bring forward those who have not been publicized or researched as much as figures like Annie Jump Cannon and Henrietta Swan Leavitt. There were over 146 women who stewarded and studied the hundreds of thousands of glass plate photographs in the observatory plate stacks between 1880-1960. Curatorial Assistants have been researching and writing biographies of these under-recognized women, making their stories more accessible and prominent for researchers and visitors to the collection.

In addition to the featured Women Astronomical Computers, the Harvard Plate Stacks has asked people from various fields to reflect on the impact and legacy of these women who worked and dedicated their careers to astronomical discovery at the Harvard Plate Stacks. Their responses will be featured in the rotunda alongside the Women Astronomical Computers with information on how to learn more about their work with the Plate Stacks collection.

***Please Note: The Aura Satz artwork is located in a historical building that requires walking through small spaces and the use of spiral stairs. Please note that the artwork emits bright and flashing lights. Visitors should use their discretion when deciding to experience the exhibition. ***

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