WOMEN SCIENTISTS IN ASTRONOMY AND SPACE Looking to the Stars For as long as humans have existed people have gazed up at the stars Over the centuries the work of talented astronomers has helped us understand the universe Astronomy is the study of the universe It began long ago when ancient peoples began to track the movements of the sun moon planets and stars Soon astronomers were keeping detailed records and taking a more scientific approach Ancient peoples used the stars to find their way and sometimes to tell the future 4
Children studying science today will be the next generation of scientists UNDERSTANDING THE UNIVERSE Most early astronomers believed that Earth was at the center of the universe and everything else revolved around it In the 1500s scientists began to accept that the sun was at the center and Earth moved around it Around the same time the invention of the telescope let astronomers see objects in space clearly for the first time Now high-tech telescopes both on the ground and in space expand our knowledge on a daily basis Spacecraft have traveled to all of the planets and even beyond the solar system But there is still a lot to learn MAKING THEIR MARK For most of history astronomers were nearly always men Few women went to school and they were not expected to be interested in science Even when women did study space their efforts were often overlooked or ignored That is finally changing and many of today’s top astronomers are women But they are just the most recent in a long line of determined female scientists who broke with tradition to pursue their goals 5
WOMEN SCIENTISTS IN ASTRONOMY AND SPACE WANG ZHENYI Chinese astronomer Wang Zhenyi is best known for her works on eclipses and the movement of the planets and for her beautiful poetry Wang Zhenyi was born in China in 1769 at a time when women were expected to be little more than wives and mothers She was raised by her father and her grandparents They loved reading and learning and they passed this love on to Zhenyi Her grandfather taught her astronomy and her grandmother taught her poetry Her father taught her other subjects such as medicine geography and math The family traveled a lot within China and Zhenyi was able to see how other people lived 6
QUICK FACTS NAME Wang Zhenyi BIRTH 1769 Anhui Province China OCCUPATION Scholar and poet EDUCATION Self-taught 7
