Description

An inspiring anthology of writings by trailblazing women astronomers from around the globe

The Sky Is for Everyone is an internationally diverse collection of autobiographical essays by women who broke down barriers and changed the face of modern astronomy. Virginia Trimble and David Weintraub vividly describe how, before 1900, a woman who wanted to study the stars had to have a father, brother, or husband to provide entry, and how the considerable intellectual skills of women astronomers were still not enough to enable them to pry open doors of opportunity for much of the twentieth century. After decades of difficult struggles, women are closer to equality in astronomy than ever before. Trimble and Weintraub bring together the stories of the tough and determined women who flung the doors wide open. Taking readers from 1960 to today, this triumphant anthology serves as an inspiration to current and future generations of women scientists while giving voice to the history of a transformative era in astronomy.

With contributions by Neta A. Bahcall, Beatriz Barbuy, Ann Merchant Boesgaard, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Catherine Cesarsky, Poonam Chandra, Xuefei Chen, Cathie Clarke, Judith Gamora Cohen, France Anne Cordova, Anne Pyne Cowley, Bozena Czerny, Wendy L. Freedman, Yilen Gomez Maqueo Chew, Gabriela Gonzalez, Saeko S. Hayashi, Martha P. Haynes, Roberta M. Humphreys, Vicky Kalogera, Gillian Knapp, Shazrene S. Mohamed, Carole Mundell, Priyamvada Natarajan, Dara J. Norman, Hiranya Peiris, Judith Lynn Pipher, Dina Prialnik, Anneila I. Sargent, Sara Seager, Grazina Tautvaisiene, Silvia Torres-Peimbert, Virginia Trimble, Meg Urry, Ewine F. van Dishoeck, Patricia Ann Whitelock, Sidney Wolff, and Rosemary F. G. Wyse.

Publisher Review

"An inspiring anthology of writings by trailblazing female astronomers from 1960 to today."---Simon Ings, New Scientist "Trimble and Weintraub bring together essays by women who reached for the stars in this uplifting anthology. . . . Filled with moving testimonies and awe-inspiring discoveries, this is a wonderful tribute to the joys of science and the tough road many women had on the way to forging their careers." * Publishers Weekly * "The essays in The Sky Is for Everyone illustrate the progress women have made in the field, although that push to equality is not complete."---Jeff Foust, The Space Review