Knowra Harvard Computers Harvard Computers The Harvard Computers were women hired at Harvard College Observatory to analyze astronomical data, especially stellar spectra. Their work helped establish methods for classifying stars and measuring their properties.
Williamina Fleming : A Scottish-American astronomer who classified stars and discovered the Horsehead Nebula while working at Harvard College Observatory. She began as a computer and became a leading supervisor of the observatory’s classification work.
Harvard spectral classification : A sequence for classifying stars by spectral features, later ordered O, B, A, F, G, K, and M. It was the most influential system produced by the observatory’s classification work.
Henry Draper : An American physician and astronomer who made early photographs of stellar spectra and inspired a major Harvard catalog project. His name and scientific legacy gave the catalog its purpose and funding.
Stellar evolution : The sequence of physical changes a star undergoes from formation through its final stages. Classification helped astronomers compare stars at different temperatures and stages.
Annie Jump Cannon : An American astronomer who developed the Harvard spectral classification system used to organize stars by temperature. Her system made the computers’ stellar classifications consistent and widely usable.
Stellar spectroscopy : The study of starlight spectra to infer stars’ composition, temperature, motion, and other properties. Spectroscopy supplied the evidence that the computers sorted and interpreted.
Mary Anna Draper : An American philanthropist who funded Harvard’s Henry Draper Memorial after her husband’s death. Her gift supported the observatory’s sustained study and cataloging of stellar spectra.
Cepheid variable : A pulsating star whose period of brightness variation is related to its intrinsic luminosity. Leavitt’s measurements of these stars enabled a powerful astronomical distance method.
Antonia Maury : An American astronomer who devised a detailed system for classifying stellar spectra and identifying spectral-line differences. Her classification scheme offered a more detailed alternative to the system adopted by Cannon.
Astrophotography : The use of photographic methods to record images of celestial objects for observation and analysis. Photographic plates gave the computers durable records to compare and measure.
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