Sweeper in the Sky: The Life of Maria Mitchell

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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 naked eye). The prize was given to the first discoverer only, later independent discoverers of each such comet not qualifying for the award.

 Winning this prize gave Maria Mitchell worldwide fame, the only previous women to discover comets being the astronomers Caroline Herschel and Maria Margarethe Kirch. In 1848, Maria Mitchell became the first woman to be elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, this being followed in 1850 by election to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Philosophical Society in 1869, and becoming professor of astronomy at Vassar College in 1865, where she was later named as Director of Vassar College Observatory. She taught at the college until her retirement in 1888.

 The work and achievements of Maria Mitchell are described in the classic biography 'Sweeper in the Sky: The Life of Maria Mitchell' (1949) written by the American astronomer and historian Mary Helen Wright Greuter. The 30 km diameter lunar crater Mitchell, located on the southern shores of Mare Frigoris (pictured here adjoining the eastern rim of the much larger crater Aristoteles), is named in her honour.

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