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Wisconsinite Henrietta Swan Leavitt's Impact on Astronomy

Public Domain

Often in science, people don’t get credit for the work they do which – eventually – leads to a breakthrough.  Wisconsin native Henrietta Swan Leavitt actually made a significant breakthrough a century ago, and in so doing, fundamentally changed how we understand the size of the universe.

But it’s only comparatively recently that her contributions are being recognized outside the astronomy world.  Her work is the subject of our monthly conversation with astronomy contributor Jean Creighton.

Bonnie North
Bonnie joined WUWM in March 2006 as the Arts Producer of the locally produced weekday magazine program Lake Effect.
Dr. Jean Creighton has always been inspired by how the cosmos works. She was born in Toronto, Ontario and grew up in Athens, Greece where her mother claims she showed a great interest in how stars form from the age of five.