Silent Sky: The True Story of Women Who Mapped the Stars

When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she is not allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in “girl hours” and has no time for the women’s probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. In this exquisite blend of science, history, family ties, and fragile love, Silent Sky follows the true story of a passionate young woman who must map her own passage through a society determined to keep a woman in her place.