Book Review: The Glass Universe (Essay Sample)

Name
Class
Instructor
Date
Book Review-The Glass Universe
The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took a Measure of the Stars by Dava Sobel explores the efforts of the women back in the late 19th century and the early 20th century were involved in astronomy at the Harvard Observatory. The women were mostly involved in the classification of data that had been harvested by their male counterparts at the observatory. From the provided accounts, it occurs that most of the initial women to work in astronomy at the observatory and many others worked in an assistant capacity and were mostly wives, sisters and relatives of the male employees and scholars at the facility. The women were tasked with the classification and cataloguing of data about stars as sourced from the photographs that had been captured from different thousands of glass plates. Ideally, they did a form of work that “no man would stoop to” doing, and thus ideally changed the way the universe was perceived and understood. Dava Sobel’s non-fiction book recounts the experiences of these women and many others who joined the observatory and the contributions that they made to the discovery of many starts and formations in the milkyway galaxy and beyond.
In the exploration of the history of women in astronomy, Sobel chronologically highlights their experiences, right from their initial introduction into the field that was previously male-dominated. The narrative starts with the appointment of physicist Edward Charles to serve as the director at the Harvard College Observatory. Here, he developed a new technique to photograph and record the spectral data that relates to the different star. The data was more accurate and detailed than any other form of data that had been recorded on the stars before. However, the director noted that his male staff poorly sorted and catalogued the data, exclaiming that his “Scottish maid could do better!” (Sobel, 175). True to his exclamation, Edward Charles hired his maid in 1881 to assist in the sorting and cataloguing of the data that he had harvested about the stars. Williamina Fleming, the Scottish maid that Charles hired at the observatory to help in the cataloguing of data became known as the first member of the “Harvard Computers”. This was a group of women who had been given the task of ensuring the mathematical classifications of the stars were sorted and computed. Further, they were also responsible for editing the scientific journal that was published by the observatory.
The Glass Universe is elegantly authored with a detailed record of the history of women in astronomy. To support the events that are highlighted in the narrative of the text, Sobel provides memoirs, diaries and letters that were shared during the period covered in the history. Further, she provides an elaborate description of the details in these letters and memoirs to provide the reader with an in-depth view of the conditions and challenges that the women faced in the backlight of the late 19th century and early 20th century employment preferences for men. Women, as portrayed in the book had to work harder, and through this dedication, they contributed to ground-breaking discoveries that they often received little credit for (Sobel, 216). The book is poised to explore the painstaking scientific endeavors that sought to re-shape the understanding of the cosmos. The discoveries that are highlighted in the book range from those of the discovery of the stars that orbit each to the overall theorization of the vastness of this universe. She embarks on a mission to demonstrate the tenacity, grit and the brilliance of women in the discovery of the intricacies of the universe. She offers that “Even before they won the right to vote, several of them made contributions of such significance that their names gained honoured places in the history of astronomy.” (Sobel, 219). This way, Sobel presents a historical struggle of women as they tried to make an impact in the world of astronomy and the discovery of the universe.
The book the Sobel (2016) presents to the readers is a form of a biography. It is intricate, fascinating and complex. Given that women got to contribute to such a complex field in a time when society was so discriminating against them was so fascinating. In the highlighting of these achievements, the role of Edward Pickering in offering women a chance to participate as professionals in astronomy. The text ideally highlights the role of radical changes such as that taken by Edward Charles in the transformation of an organization to achieve an equal contribution from both genders.
The glass universe explores the themes of male-chauvinism and feminism in the exploration of the way women are denied opportunities at scientific contribution. This is ideally in the backlight of their contributions being equally paradigm changing as those of men. Through an elaborate prose narration that is supported by excerpts from letters, records, journals, diaries and memoirs, Sobel (2016) brings the struggle of women in astronomy to light; while at the same time accentuating their victories in a rather challenging and limited environment. The Glass Universe, to this end, is a good repertoire of the victories of women in professional practice.
The book highlights the role of different individuals in the provision of service to different careers. Ideally, professional women in service are less talked about and their contributions are overly underplayed. As an instance, Sobel (2016) offers an example of Anna Palmer Draper, a widow who chartered the course for research at the Harvard College Observatory. Particularly, there was an overall male chauvinism associated with the late 19th century society. Even as contributors such as Palmer Draper contributed to the presence of women in astronomical research, she hardly had the interest of fellow women in research. She was more interested in fostering the legacy of her late husband through investment in the dream to decode the information that was contained in the forms of starlight (Sobel, 199). This way, there would be a production of a new form of survey of the skies and universe in the light of the new technologies that had been developed.
The book by far, is detailed in the explanation of the different forms of scientific discoveries and the detail by which each is explained. Different stars were catalogued by their brightness and overly analysed on the basis of their brightness. Further, the scientific research that was involved necessitated the overall comparison with previously categorized stars. However, it stood that the comparisons had to be made by women. The women who were employed to come up with the categorizations came up with their own coding systems that are in application to the current times (Sobel, 199). With the application of prisms embedded inside telescopes, it was possible to split the light that came from each of the observed starts. Further, coding allowed classification in computer systems using barcode-like lines to study the spectra of each of the stars and examine the associated patterns. Ideally, the biography follows the discoveries by different women in the overall discovery of the different forms of stars in the orbit each other. For i