Astronomer · 1900 CE – 1979 CE

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

Biography

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin discovered what stars are made of. Her 1925 doctoral thesis applied new atomic physics to stellar spectra and concluded that the Sun and stars are composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium — a result so unexpected she was pressured to downplay it, but which proved correct and transformed our understanding of the universe.

Scientific contributions

Showed that stars are made overwhelmingly of hydrogen and helium
Wrote one of the most brilliant doctoral theses in astronomy (1925)
First woman promoted to full professor at Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Major discoveries

What Stars Are Made Of1925 CE

Knowledge connections

Part ofModern Astronomy
DiscoveredWhat Stars Are Made Of

Sources & references

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
BritannicaEncyclopaedia Britannica
General reference for the history of astronomy, biographies, and cultural context.

Loading…