Born: September 24, 1898 (Ercildoun, Pennsylvania)
Biography:
Charlotte Emma Moore Sitterly was an American astronomer born on September 24, 1898, in Ercildoun, Pennsylvania. She became known for her groundbreaking spectroscopic studies of the Sun and chemical elements. Her meticulous tables of data, known for their reliability, are still widely used today.
Born to George W. and Elizabeth Walton Moore, Charlotte grew up in a Quaker family and was a lifelong member of the Fallowfield Friends Meeting. Her father served as the Superintendent of Schools for Chester County, and her mother was a schoolteacher. From a young age, Charlotte’s parents instilled in her a love for learning.
Charlotte attended Swarthmore College, where she pursued various extracurricular activities, including ice hockey, student government, glee club, and tutoring. To support her education, she worked as a substitute teacher, as she believed it was the only way to work her way through college. Despite her success in teaching, she realized it wasn’t her true calling, stating, I did not enjoy the teaching that I did from first grade through high school. I succeeded at it, but I didn’t like it; it was too wearing.
In 1920, Charlotte graduated from Swarthmore with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics. She then went on to work as a human computer at Princeton University Observatory under the guidance of Professor Henry Norris Russell. Initially, she felt nervous about her limited experience in astrophysics, but her interest in the field soon flourished.
Russell and Moore focused their research on binary stars and stellar mass, publishing numerous papers together over the years. One significant project involved Charlotte’s classification of 2,500 stars based on their spectra. Her meticulous work and dedication to spectroscopy established her as a respected expert in the field.
Despite her considerable contributions, Charlotte faced discrimination as a woman in the scientific community. At Princeton, where she worked for five years, she was not recognized with a Ph.D., as there were no women in any of Princeton’s graduate programs at the time. However, in 1926, Russell chose to leave his name off a joint paper, crediting Charlotte as the sole author.
Due to health issues, Charlotte took a leave of absence from Princeton and joined the Mount Wilson Observatory. She collaborated with Russell and research groups there, focusing her efforts on solar spectroscopy. Using spectral lines, she analyzed the Sun’s composition, identifying the chemical elements present. Her research significantly advanced our understanding of the Sun’s structure.
Throughout her career, Charlotte Moore Sitterly published numerous papers, sharing her findings with the scientific community. Her dedication and meticulousness in collecting and analyzing spectroscopic data greatly influenced the field of astrophysics and laid the foundation for future breakthroughs.
Awards:
– In 1926, Charlotte Moore Sitterly was awarded the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy by the American Astronomical Society for her exceptional contributions to the field.
– She received the Medal for Merit from the U.S. government in 1946 for her work on the Atomic Energy Commission’s Advisory Committee on Chemistry.
– In 1951, she was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of her outstanding achievements in astronomy and spectroscopy.
– In 1958, she was awarded the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for her contributions to the field of astrophysics.
– In 1968, she became the first woman to receive the William F. Meggers Award from the Optical Society of America for her significant contributions to the field of spectroscopy.
– In 1978, she was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Jimmy Carter for her exceptional work in the field of solar and stellar spectra.
Charlotte Moore Sitterly’s groundbreaking research and achievements as an astronomer paved the way for future generations of women in science. Her dedication to accuracy and reliability in spectroscopy continues to inspire and guide astronomers to this day.