Our Observable World: The Resonance of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt’s Life and Work
October 15 @ 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm
The Royal Astronomical Society is pleased to announce that our Public Talks for the 2024-25 season will take place at Burlington House at 1pm and 6pm. Please check the schedule as some talks may be online-only due to speaker availability.
This talk is a hybrid event and is free and open to the public and will take place at Burlington House and online at 1pm and 6pm.
To register for the 1pm hybrid talk.
To register for the 6pm hybrid talk.
Our Observable World: The Resonance of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt’s Life and Work
Visual artist and author Anna Von Mertens offers a layered portrait of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt who worked at the Harvard College Observatory at the turn of the 20th century and whose discovery is foundational to modern cosmology. Von Mertens will speak to the reverberations of Leavitt’s groundbreaking discovery, her creative methodologies, and the cultural context surrounding her work, as well as how appreciating Leavitt’s skill at attention helped Von Mertens cultivate her own. Looking—truly seeing—is an active and inventive process, which requires constant reimagining, relevant to both scientific and artistic practices. Von Mertens’s talk will be illustrated with a wealth of imagery: details of artworks the artist made in response to Leavitt’s legacy; examples of the glass plate photographs of the night sky Leavitt studied; and historic photos of the unique community of women, now known as the Harvard Computers, who worked alongside Leavitt. Please join us for this lecture celebrating the significance of Henrietta Leavitt’s discovery and the richness of its inheritance.