Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Henrietta Swan Leavitt was employed as a computer - to analyse stellar images for the astronomer she worked for for.
But she made a crucial discovery that vastly improved our ability to measure astronomical distances and led the complete transformation of our understanding of the cosmos.


Credit
Glass plate (Credit: Harvard College Observatory, Photographic Glass Plate Collection)

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