Reclaiming the Astronomical and Historical Legacy of Antonia Maury (Abstract)

Volume 37 number 2 (2009)

Kristine Larsen

Abstract

(Abstract only) Antonia Maury is perhaps best known in astronomical history circles as a student of Maria Mitchell’s at Vassar and a pioneer in spectral classification at the Harvard College Observatory. Among her other astronomical interests were eclipsing and spectroscopic binaries, especially beta Aurigae (which she discovered) and beta Lyrae, whose peculiar behavior occupied her interest in the later years of her career. This paper will highlight Maury’s often overlooked contributions to variable star and binary star astronomy, and strive to put a human face on this brilliant yet enigmatic woman astronomer through personal stories told to the author by Dorrit Hoffleit.