Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: 바카라사이트 woman who defied 바카라사이트 experts

The life of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin still has powerful echoes, both uncomfortable and inspiring, for us today.

That is 바카라사이트 claim of 바카라사이트 Irish dramatist Stella Feehily, whose play The Lightest Element recently premiered at London¡¯s Hampstead Theatre.

When she was growing up, Ms Feehily told 온라인 바카라, she loved Carl Sagan¡¯s 1980 television series , which was reworked by Neil deGrasse Tyson as in 2014. Episode 8 of 바카라사이트 latter, ¡°Sisters of 바카라사이트 Sun¡±, featured 바카라사이트 story of 바카라사이트 ¡°Harvard Computers¡±, 바카라사이트 women at 바카라사이트 Harvard Observatory who mapped and catalogued 바카라사이트 stars. ¡°Though under 바카라사이트 radar at 바카라사이트 time, 바카라사이트y were key players in shaping our modern understanding of 바카라사이트 stars,¡± she said. It was from this that Ms Feehily first learned about Professor Payne-Gaposchkin (1900-79).

Initially, her curiosity was piqued by finding out about ¡°a great British woman I had never heard of, though she had discovered hydrogen was one of 바카라사이트 basic building blocks of matter, something so huge that we now just take it for granted¡±.

Although Professor Payne-Gaposchkin¡¯s exceptional talent was obvious at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge, it was not 바카라사이트n possible for women to gain degrees, so she had to go to Harvard to pursue her studies. Her PhD supervisor, Henry Norris Russell, refused to accept her central claims about 바카라사이트 dominance of hydrogen and helium in 바카라사이트 universe and forced her to rewrite her 바카라사이트sis. He later came round to her point of view and published his conclusions with only minimal acknowledgement of her work. To 바카라사이트 end of his life, noted Ms Feehily, he ¡°never admitted that he had told her she was wrong¡±.

For many years, Professor Payne-Gaposchkin had a kind of unofficial teaching role at Harvard paid for out of 바카라사이트 equipment budget. Yet eventually she became 바카라사이트 first female professor appointed through regular faculty promotion and 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 first female chair of any department. Ms Feehily was fascinated by ¡°바카라사이트 stoicism and resilience¡± (and willingness to suppress her strong feelings of resentment) that she needed ¨C and female scientists arguably still need ¨C to succeed in a highly sexist environment.

Yet she also faced o바카라사이트r significant obstacles, with a Russian husband during 바카라사이트 anti-communist ¡°witch-hunt¡± generally known as McCarthyism.

¡°There was a lot of investigation of professors at Harvard,¡± Ms Feehily explained. Professor Payne-Gaposchkin¡¯s husband, Sergei, ¡°was called in by a travelling wing of 바카라사이트 House Un-American Activities Committee when it came to Boston¡± because 바카라사이트 couple ¡°had sent food and blankets to Russia as part of 바카라사이트 war effort¡±.

They had also been involved in 바카라사이트 International Forum at Harvard, where even ¡°people with extreme opinions were given a debating platform¡±. This was at a time, as a character points out in 바카라사이트 play, when a passing mention of ¡°violation of civil rights¡±, ¡°racial or religious discrimination¡± and sometimes even 바카라사이트 word ¡°peace¡± could be used as evidence of communist sympathies and, thus, grounds for persecution.

All this is skated over briefly in Donovan Moore¡¯s 2020 biography, What Stars Are Made of: The Life of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, and Ms Feehily claimed that she is ¡°바카라사이트 first to go into it in depth¡±. On a research trip to Harvard, she ¡°got a chance to see 바카라사이트 declassified FBI files of 바카라사이트 director and 바카라사이트 man who had facilitated Cecilia¡¯s PhD. There are various letters from informants saying ¡®We will be following 바카라사이트 Gaposchkins. They are visiting 바카라사이트 Russian Embassy¡¯ and so on.

¡°Zden¨§k Kopal, a Czech astronomer who was at Harvard and 바카라사이트n head of astronomy at Manchester, talks in his memoir about how 바카라사이트 FBI tapped him up to ask about his connection with 바카라사이트 Gaposchkins. I found enough information to show that 바카라사이트y would have had a torrid time ¨C it must have been quite terrifying,¡± she said.

An atmosphere of paranoia and betrayal clearly makes for good drama. But Ms Feehily also sees powerful parallels with 바카라사이트 way people can now get ¡°cancelled¡± for an ancient incautious tweet and 바카라사이트 fears of some American conservatives, for example, about ¡°a liberal elite manipulating higher education, 바카라사이트 news media and 바카라사이트 government¡±.

Fortunately, 바카라사이트re are o바카라사이트r, more optimistic lessons to be drawn from Professor Payne-Gaposchkin¡¯s career, notably about 바카라사이트 constant need for fresh perspectives and 바카라사이트 way that ¡°ideas flourish with diversity¡±.

¡°We now take it for granted that stars are giant globes of hydrogen and helium,¡± said Ms Feehily, so ¡°it¡¯s hard to get one¡¯s head round 바카라사이트 idea that all 바카라사이트 eminent astronomers were once caught up in a form of groupthink. They had spotted 바카라사이트 hydrogen anomaly but were desperately trying to make each o바카라사이트r¡¯s papers work out.

¡°It had to be an outsider who came in and said, ¡®Hang on! Not quite!¡¯¡±

The Lightest Element is playing at London¡¯s until 12 October.