1868
Born
Museum Exhibit
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
Astronomy • American
1868 – 1921
Major Discovery
Discovered the period-luminosity relationship of Cepheid variable stars
Biography
Her Story
Henrietta Swan Leavitt studied photographic plates at the Harvard College Observatory. While examining variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds, she identified a relationship between the period of a Cepheid star's brightness changes and its true luminosity. Astronomers could use this relationship to estimate distances across space.
Field
Astronomy
Nationality
American
Discovery
Discovered the period-luminosity relationship of Cepheid variable stars
Nobel
—
Life Timeline
Important Moments
Career
Discovered the period-luminosity relationship of Cepheid variable stars
1921
Legacy continues.
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