Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin was born in Wendover, England in 1900. At the age of 25, she made a fundamental discovery that would change our understanding of the physical universe forever. She discovered what stars are made of by analysing the absorption lines in the spectrum of light they emit. Her thesis established that hydrogen was the overwhelming constituent of the stars and accordingly was the most abundant element in the Universe. Her name still doesn't appear in our schoolbooks.

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She spent her entire career at Harvard Observatory and was named a lecturer in astronomy in 1938, but even though she taught courses, they were not listed in the Harvard catalogue until after World War II. Finally, at the age of 56 she became the first woman to be appointed full professor and the first to chair a department. She retired officially in 1966, but continued to carry out research work.

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Each of these portraits are off centre – a nod to Cecilia’s poor positioning within the popular canon of science.The precise nature of the drawings mimic the astronomer’s intense attention to detail over time, in observation, description and pattern recognition.

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Images:

1. Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin age 4, pencil on paper, 13cm x18cm

2. Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin age 19, pencil on paper, 13cm x18cm

3. Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin age 25, pencil on paper, 13cm x18cm

4. Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin age 45, pencil on paper, 13cm x18cm

5. Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin age 72, pencil on paper, 13cm x18cm

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For further works in the Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin series see;

The Gaposchkin Chandelier

2039 Payne Gaposchkin

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