Sweeper in the Sky: The Life of Maria Mitchell
Name: Maria Mitchell Birthplace: Nantucket, Massachusetts Birthdate: 1 Aug 1818 Today is the anniversary of the American astronomer Maria Mitchell. The first woman to work as a professional astronomer in the USA, she became interested in the night sky at an early age after having been taught astronomy by her father. Maria gained fame when her prolonged search for a comet came to fruition when she observed a 6th magnitude comet on the evening of 1 Oct 1847 and was the first to report it. Although several other observers spotted the comet over the next few days, Maria Mitchell was credited with the original discovery. Comet 1847 VI (modern designation C/1847 T1) became known as ‘ Miss Mitchell’s Comet ’ and the discovery resulted in her being awarded a medal by King Frederick VI of Denmark who some years previously had established gold medal prizes to be awarded to the first discoverers of ‘telescopic comets’ (comets which were too faint to be seen with the nake...
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