Henrietta Leavitt’s key role in the development of the period-luminosity relation in astronomy

• Autor(a) principal: Almeida Silvério, Bárbara
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Sitko, Camila Maria, Figueirôa, Silvia F.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Caderno Brasileiro de Ensino de Física (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/fisica/article/view/94027
• topic: Variable Stars; Astronomy Teaching; Actor-Network Theory; Women in Science; Estrellas Variables; Enseñanza de la Astronomía; Teoría del Actor-Red; Mujeres en la ciencia; Estrelas Variáveis; Ensino de Astronomia; Teoria Ator-Rede; Mulheres nas Ciências

This argument draws from the pillars of Science Teaching, History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science, as well as the gender issue in the scientific world, argued that a contextualized approach to the teaching of science through the discussion of a historical event in which a woman plays a central role can contribute to the engagement of women in specific fields. A stand-out example of that is that of Henrietta Leavitt (1868-1921), a computer at the Harvard College Observatory, who, in this capacity, formulated the Period-Luminosity Relation (PLR), a tool which would later be essential for the development of methods for estimating large distances in space. One of the people who continued to study the PLR was Harlow Shapley (1885-1972), whose research was much more frequently quoted by his peers than that of Leavitt’s. Considering the gender dynamics that marked Leavitt’s life, especially in the process of establishing the PLR, this study aims to clarify the role historically attributed to her in that specific research context through documentary investigation. The analysis of the social and gender relations therein is founded on Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory and Londa Schiebinger’s Feminist Epistemology. The results indicate that, in addition to his in-depth research, one of the reasons for Harlow Shapley’s prominence among astronomers of the time might have been his academic influence. The findings also reveal that the underrepresentation of Henrietta Leavitt’s role has been gradually decreasing over time, thanks to studies of the history in which she played a significant part.