For most people, it would seem impossible to make breakthroughs in astronomy when you aren't allowed to use a telescope, but Henrietta Leavitt did just that. She discovered a formula for determining the distance to stars that are hundreds of light years away. 

Concepts

astronomy, astronomers, famous scientists, famous women, galaxies, stars, light years

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Research the other human computers
• Discover the process of having a moon crater named after her, as well as an asteroid
• Debate if the rules for awarding the Nobel Prize are fair or if it should be granted posthumously

Classroom Considerations

• Remember YouTube comments are open to the public — that includes conspiracy theorists
• Video is the 15th in a series of 25

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Includes cross-curricular connections to astronomy, history, women's rights, and math
• Provides closed captioning for ease of note taking

Cons

• None