Biography
Henrietta Swan Leavitt was one of the Harvard 'computers' who measured stars on photographic plates. Studying variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds, she found that a Cepheid's pulsation period reveals its true brightness — a relation that let astronomers measure distances across the universe, and which Hubble used to prove that galaxies lie far beyond the Milky Way.
Scientific contributions
- Discovered the Cepheid period–luminosity relation
- Gave astronomers their first reliable cosmic 'standard candle'
Major discoveries
Related scientists
Knowledge connections
- StudiesThe Milky Way
- Part ofModern Astronomy
- InfluencedEdwin Hubble
- Collaborated withEdward Charles Pickering
- DiscoveredThe Cepheid Period–Luminosity Relation
Sources & references
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- 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.