The following is a list of

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

s, astrophysicists and other notable women who have made contributions to the field of

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

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* Madge Adam (1912–2001), English solar astronomer *

Maggie Aderin-Pocock Margaret Ebunoluwa Aderin-Pocock (; born 9 March 1968) is a British space scientist and science educator. She is an honorary research associate of University College London's Department of Physics and Astronomy. Since February 2014, she has co ...

(born 1968), English space scientist * Conny Aerts (born 1966), Belgian astrophysicist specializing in asteroseismology * Aglaonike (c. 1st or 2nd Century BCE), ancient Greek astronomer and thaumaturge * María Luisa Aguilar Hurtado (1938–2015), Peruvian astronomer *

Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs (11 August 1912 – 9 March 1954) was a German astronomer. She made key observations of variable stars. Eva Ahner-Rohlfs was born in Coburg (Duchy Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). She studied in Würzburg, Munich and Kiel from 1931 to 1933 ...

(1912–1954), German variable star astronomer * Elizabeth Alexander (1908–1958), English geologist and physicist *

Leah Allen Leah Brown Allen (November 6, 1884 in Providence, Rhode Island – February 1973) was an American astronomer and Professor of Astronomy at Hood College. She joined Lick Observatory as Carnegie Assistant in 1908.Mary Proctorbr>"Halley's Comet ...

(1884–1973), American astronomer and educator *

Adelaide Ames Adelaide Ames (June 3, 1900 – June 26, 1932) was an American astronomer and research assistant at Harvard University. She contributed to the study of galaxies with her co-authorship of ''A Survey of the External Galaxies Brighter Than the Thirt ...

(1900 - 1932), American astronomer *

Anja Cetti Andersen Anja Cetti Andersen (born 25 September 1965) is an astronomer and astrophysicist from Hørsholm, Denmark. Life She received her BSc in 1991, MSc in astronomy in 1995, and her PhD in 1999, from the University of Copenhagen. Her thesis was titled ...

(born 1965), Danish astronomer focused on

cosmic dust Cosmic dust, also called extraterrestrial dust, star dust or space dust, is dust which exists in outer space, or has fallen on Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and 0.1 mm (100 micrometers). Larger particles are c ...

Necia H. Apfel Necia Apfel ( Halpern; born July 31, 1930) is an American astronomer, author and educator. Personal life Necia Halpern graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and did graduate work at Radcliffe College and Northwestern University. She h ...

(born 1930), American astronomer and educator *

Alice Archenhold Alice Archenhold (''née'' Markus; 27 August 1874 – 9 February 1943) was a German astronomer whose husband was fellow astronomer Friedrich Simon Archenhold. Alice Markus was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, and married Friedrich Simon Archenhol ...

(1874–1943), German astronomer *

Anne Archibald Anne Murray Archibald is a Canadian astronomer known for her observations of pulsars and as one of the developers of SciPy, a scientific programming library for the Python programming language. She is a senior lecturer in astronomy at Newcastl ...

, Canadian astronomer and educator

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Neta Bahcall Neta Bahcall ( he, נטע אסף בקל; born 1942) is an Israeli astrophysicist and cosmologist specializing in dark matter, the structure of the universe, quasars, and the formation of galaxies. Bahcall is the Eugene Higgins Professor of A ...

(born 1942), Israeli astrophysicist and cosmologist specializing in dark matter *

Odette Bancilhon Odette Bancilhon (22 September 1908 – 1998) was a French astronomer. She is best known for her work during the 1930s and 1940s at the Algiers Observatory, in Algeria, North Africa, where she discovered 1333 Cevenola, a stony Eunomian asteroid f ...

(1908–1998), French astronomer *

Amy Barger Amy J. Barger (born January 18, 1971) is an American astronomer and Henrietta Leavitt Professor of Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is considered a pioneer in combining data from multiple telescopes to monitor multiple wa ...

(born 1971), American galactic astronomer * Nadine G. Barlow, American planetary scientist *

Amy Barr Amy Barr Mlinar is an American planetary geophysicist known for her studies of icy body formation. She is a member of the National Academies Standing Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science and a co-investigator on NASA's Europa Imaging Sy ...

, American planetary geophysicist *

Maria A. Barucci Maria Antonella Barucci is an Italian astronomer at the Paris Observatory, Observatory-Meudon, Paris. She is credited by the Minor Planet Center with a total of 3 minor planet discoveries she made in 1984 and 1985. Most notably is her joint disco ...

, Italian astronomer *

Natalie Batalha Natalie M. Batalha (born 1966) is professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz. Previously she was a research astronomer in the Space Sciences Division of NASA Ames Research Center and held the position of Co-Investigator and Kepler M ...

(born 1966), American Astronomer *

Stefi Baum Stefi Baum (born December 11, 1958 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American astronomer. The American Astronomical Society honored her work by awarding her the Annie J. Cannon Prize in 1993. Baum helped to develop the Hubble Space Telescope and, start ...

(born 1958), American astronomer and educator *

Reta Beebe Reta F. Beebe (born October 10, 1936 in Baca County Colorado) is an American astronomer, author, and popularizer of astronomy. She is an expert on the planets Jupiter and Saturn, and the author of ''Jupiter: The Giant Planet''. She is a professo ...

(born 1936), American planetary scientist *

Emilia Pisani Belserene Emilia Pauline Pisani (Lee) Belserene (December 12, 1922 – December 11, 2012) was an American astronomer specializing in the observation of variable stars and recognized as an expert on RR Lyrae variable stars. She became known for her work as ...

(1922-2012), American astronomer *

Jocelyn Bell Burnell Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell (; Bell; born 15 July 1943) is an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who, as a postgraduate student, discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967. The discovery eventually earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in ...

(born 1943), Irish radio astronomer *

Mary Adela Blagg Mary Adela Blagg (17 May 1858 – 14 April 1944) was an English astronomer and was elected a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1916. Biography She was born in Cheadle, Staffordshire, and lived her entire life there. Mary was th ...

(1858–1944), English selenologist *

Erika Böhm-Vitense Erika Helga Ruth Böhm-Vitense (June 3, 1923 – January 21, 2017) was a German-born American astrophysicist known for her work on Cepheid variables and convection in stellar atmospheres. Early life Böhm-Vitense was born Erika Helga Ruth Vit ...

(1923–2017), German-born American stellar astronomer *

Priscilla Fairfield Bok Priscilla Fairfield Bok (April 14, 1896 – November 1975) was an American astronomer and the wife of Dutch-born astronomer Bart Bok, Director of Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia and later of Steward Observatory in Arizona, US. Their harmon ...

(1896–1975), American astronomer of galactic astronomy *

Tabetha S. Boyajian Tabetha "Tabby" Suzanne Boyajian is an American astronomer of Armenian descent and astrophysics, astrophysicist on faculty (academic staff), faculty at Louisiana State University. She was a post-doctoral fellow 2012–16 at Yale University, workin ...

(born c. 1980), American stellar and exoplanetary astronomer * Sophia Brahe (c. 1559 to 1643), Danish noble woman *

Ingeborg Brun Ingeborg Brun (27 June 1872–19 May 1929) was a Danish amateur astronomer, socialist and writer and best known for her hand-painted globes depicting the surface of Mars. Although she made only a small number of them, Brun's museum-owned globes ( ...

(1872–1929), Danish amateur astronomer *

Margaret Burbidge Eleanor Margaret Burbidge, FRS (; 12 August 1919 – 5 April 2020) was a British-American observational astronomer and astrophysicist. In the 1950s, she was one of the founders of stellar nucleosynthesis and was first author of the influentia ...

(1919–2020), British-American observational astronomer and astrophysicist *

Marta Burgay Marta Burgay (30 November 1976, Torino) is an Italian radio astronomer whose initial claim to fame was being the discoverer of PSR J0737-3039, the first double pulsar (two pulsars orbiting each other), through using the 64-metre Parkes radio teles ...

(born 1976), Italian radio astronomer *

Mary E. Byrd Mary Emma Byrd (November 15, 1849 – July 13, 1934) was an American educator and is considered a pioneer astronomy teacher at college level. She was also an astronomer in her own right, determining cometary positions by photography. Early life M ...

(1849–1934), American educator and cometary observer

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Annie Jump Cannon Annie Jump Cannon (; December 11, 1863 – April 13, 1941) was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C. Pickering, she is credited with the creation of ...

(1863−1941), American astronomer who cataloged stellar spectra *

Robin M. Canup Robin M. Canup (born November 20, 1968) is an American astrophysicist. Her main area of research concerns the origins of planets and satellites. In 2003, Canup was awarded the Harold C. Urey Prize. In April, 2022, Canup presented the findings of t ...

(born 1968), American planetary scientist *

Nicole Capitaine Nicole Capitaine (born ''Nicole Taton''; March 14, 1948) is an astronomer at the Paris Observatory who is known as an expert on astrometry and related standards. Early life and education In 1969, Capitaine received a bachelor's degree ("licenc ...

(born 1948), French astronomer specializing in astrometry * C. Marcella Carollo, Italian astronomer studying galaxy formation and evolution * Catherine Cesarsky (born 1943), Argentinian–French astrophysicist * Merieme Chadid (born 1969), Moroccan-French astronomer * Kyongae Chang (born 1946), South Korean astrophysicist and instructor *

Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen , consort = yes , succession = Duchess consort of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg , reign = 10 March 1772 – 20 April 1804 , image = Charlotte Amalie of Saxe-Meiningen.jpg , caption = Portrait by Johann Ernst Heinsius , spouse ...

(1751–1827), German noble and patron of astronomy * Jun Chen, Chinese–American astronomer *

Lyudmila Chernykh Lyudmila Ivanovna Chernykh (russian: Людми́ла Ива́новна Черны́х, June 13, 1935 in Shuya, Ivanovo Oblast – July 28, 2017) was a Russian-born Soviet astronomer, wife and colleague of Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, and a ...

(1935–2017), Russian astronomer *

Jessie Christiansen Jessie Christiansen is an Australian astrophysicist working at the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). She won the 2018 NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal for her work on the Kepler p ...

, Australian astrophysicist * Agnes Mary Clerke (1842–1907), Irish astronomer and author *

Judith Gamora Cohen Judith Gamora Cohen (born 1946), is an American astronomer and the Kate Van Nuys Page Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. She is a recognized expert regarding the Milky Way Galaxy, particularly with respect to the G ...

(born 1946), American astronomer researching galactic astronomy *

Françoise Combes Françoise Combes (; born 12 August 1952) is a French astrophysicist at the Paris Observatory and a professor at the Collège de France where she has been the chair of Galaxies and cosmology since 2014. On 15 September 2017 the 'City of Succes ...

(born 1952), French astrophysicist and educator *

Lynn Cominsky Lynn Cominsky is an American astrophysicist and educator. She was the Chair of Astronomy and Physics at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California from August 2004 through August 2019. She is currently the Project Director for the NASA ...

(born 1953), American astrophysicist and educator *

Janine Connes Janine Connes (born c. 1934) is a female French astronomer whose research led to the establishment of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy method, which was of major significance and laid the foundations of what was to grow into a significa ...

(born c. 1934), French astronomer *

France A. Córdova France Anne-Dominic Córdova (born August 5, 1947) is an American astrophysicist and administrator who was the fourteenth director of the National Science Foundation. Previously, she was the eleventh President of Purdue University from 2007 to ...

(born 1947), American astrophysicist and administrator *

Heather Couper Heather Anita Couper, (2 June 1949 – 19 February 2020) was a British astronomer, broadcaster and science populariser. After studying astrophysics at the University of Leicester and researching clusters of galaxies at Oxford University, C ...

(1949–2020), English astronomer, broadcaster and science populariser *

Athena Coustenis Athena Coustenis is an astrophysicist specializing in planetology. Dr. Coustenis, a French national, is director of research, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS] French National Center for Scientific Research), at LESIA (Laborato ...

, Greek planetary scientist *

Carolin Crawford Carolin Susan Crawford is a British communicator of science and astrophysicist. She is an emeritus member of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge and an emeritus fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Education Crawford studied the Mathem ...

, English astrophysicist and educator *

Lucy D’Escoffier Crespo da Silva Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Luc ...

(1978–2000), Brazilian astronomy student * Maria Cunitz (1610–1664), Silesian astronomer and author

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Rosina Dafter Rosina Dafter (née Fitton), FRAS (15 March 1875 - 9 June 1959) was an astronomer and the first Australian woman to be made a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. She re-discovered the Pons-Winnecke comet in 1927 and was responsible for the ...

(1875–1959), Australian astronomer *

Ruth Agnes Daly Ruth Agnes Daly (born 1958) is an American astrophysicist. Education and career Daly obtained a B.A. in Psychology and English from Boston College in 1979 and then switched fields to study Astronomy and Physics at Boston University. She obtaine ...

, American astrophysicist * Laura Danly (born 1958), American astronomer and educator *

Doris Daou Doris Daou (born 1964) is a Lebanese-born astronomer from Canada who was formerly the Director for Education and Public Outreach of the NASA Lunar Science Institute and the Associate Director of the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual ...

(born 1964), Lebanese-Canada astronomer and educator *

Marie-Jeanne de Lalande Marie-Jeanne-Amélie Le Francais de Lalande, born Marie-Jeanne Harlay (1768 – 8 November 1832), was a French astronomer and mathematician. Biography Lalande married her father's young cousin, also an astronomer, Michel Lefrançois de Lalande ( ...

(1768–1832), French astronomer and mathematician *

Audrey C. Delsanti Audrey Delsanti (; born 27 August 1976) is a French astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. The Minor Planet Center credits her with the discovery of two numbered minor planets, but erroneously gives ...

(born 1976), French astrobiologist * Elsa van Dien, Dutch astronomer *

Harriet Dinerstein Harriet Dinerstein is an American astronomer. The American Astronomical Society honored her work by awarding her the Annie J. Cannon Prize in 1985. She also received the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in 1989. Dinerstein received her Bachelor of Scie ...

, American astronomer *

Ewine van Dishoeck Ewine Fleur van Dishoeck (born 13 June 1955, in Leiden) is a Dutch astronomer and chemist. She is Professor of Molecular Astrophysics at Leiden Observatory, and served as the President of the International Astronomical Union (2018–2021) and a ...

(born 1955), Dutch astrochemist *

Anlaug Amanda Djupvik Anlaug Amanda Djupvik is a Norwegian astronomer. Her main field of research is star formation and the origin of the initial mass function. She used Kaas as a family name (due to marriage), but changed it back to Djupvik in 2004. She was born i ...

, Norwegian stellar astronomer *

Megan Donahue Megan Donahue is an American astronomer who studies galaxies and galaxy clusters. She is a professor of physics and astrophysics at Michigan State University, and the president of the American Astronomical Society for the 2018–2020 term. Edu ...

, American astronomer and instructor *

Vibert Douglas Allie (or Alice) Vibert Douglas, (December 15, 1894 – July 2, 1988), who usually went by her middle name, was a Canadian astronomer and the first Canadian woman to become an astrophysicist. Life Douglas was born in Montreal, Quebec, on 15 Dec ...

(1894–1988), Canadian astrophysicist *

Jeanne Dumée Jeanne Dumée (Paris 1660 - 1706) was a French astronomer and the author of an astronomical text, ''Entretiens sur l’opinion de Copernic touchant la mobilité de la terre'' (Conversations on Copernicus’ Opinion on the Movement of the Earth). ...

(1660–1706), French astronomer and author *

Jo Dunkley Joanna Dunkley is a British astrophysicist and Professor of Physics at Princeton University. She works on the origin of the Universe and the Cosmic microwave background (CMB) using the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, the Simons Observatory and t ...

(1979/1980), British cosmologist * Andrea Dupree, American astrophysicist

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* Maria Clara Eimmart (1676-1707), German astronomer, engraver, and designer *

Sara Ellison Sara Ellison is an Astronomy Professor at University of Victoria. Her work involves observational extragalactic astronomy, galaxy mergers and evolution, galactic chemistry and active galactic nuclei. Background and education Ellison was in ...

, Canadian astronomer and instructor studying extragalactic astronomy *

Rebecca Elson Rebecca Anne Wood Elson (2 January 1960 – 19 May 1999) was a Canadian–American astronomer and writer. Early life and education Rebecca "Becky" Anne Wood Elson was born in Montreal, Quebec, to Jeanne Bridgman, ''née'' Hickey and John ...

(1960–1999), Canadian–American astronomer and writer

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Sandra Faber Sandra Moore Faber (born December 28, 1944) is an American astrophysicist known for her research on the evolution of galaxies. She is the University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and works ...

(born 1944), American astrophysicist and instructor studying galactic evolution *

Annette Ferguson Annette Mairi Nelson Ferguson Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE is a Scotland, Scottish observational astrophysicist who specialises in the area of galaxy evolution. She is a professor at the University of Edinburgh School of Phys ...

, Scottish observational astrophysicist *

Laura Ferrarese Laura Ferrarese is a researcher in space science at the National Research Council of Canada. Her primary work has been performed using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Early life and career Laura ...

, Italian astronomer studying supermassive black holes *

Debra Fischer Debra Ann Fischer is a professor of astronomy at Yale University researching detection and characterization of exoplanets. She was part of the team to discover the first known multiple-planet system. Education Fischer received her degree from ...

, American astronomer investigating exoplanets *

Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion (née Renaudot) (31 May 1877 – 28 October 1962) was a French astronomer. She worked at the Camille Flammarion Observatory at Juvisy-sur-Orge, France, and was General Secretary of the Société Astronomique de Fr ...

(1877–1962), French astronomer *

Williamina Fleming (15 May 1857 – 21 May 1911) was a Scottish-American astronomer. She was a single mother, hired by the director of the Harvard College Observatory to help in the photographic classification of stellar spectra. She helped develop a common d ...

(1857–1911), Scottish astronomer *

Anna Frebel Anna Frebel (born 1980 in Berlin) is a German astronomer working on discovering the oldest stars in the universe. Career Anna Frebel grew up in Göttingen, Germany. After finishing high school, she began studying physics in Freiburg im Brei ...

(born 1980), German astronomer *

Wendy Freedman Wendy Laurel Freedman (born July 17, 1957) is a Canadian-American astronomer, best known for her measurement of the Hubble constant, and as director of the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California, and Las Campanas, Chile. She is now the J ...

(born 1957), Canadian-American observational cosmologist *

Katherine Freese Katherine Freese (born 8 February 1957) is a theoretical astrophysicist. She is currently a professor of physics at the University of Texas at Austin, where she holds the Jeff and Gail Kodosky Endowed Chair in Physics. She is known for her work ...

, German theoretical astrophysicist *

Caroline Furness Caroline Ellen Furness (June 24, 1869 – February 9, 1936) was an American astronomer who taught at Vassar College in the early twentieth century. She studied under Mary Watson Whitney at Vassar and was the first woman to earn a PhD in astronomy ...

(1869–1936), American astronomer and teacher

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Catharine Garmany Catharine "Katy" D. Garmany (born March 6, 1946) is an astronomer with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. She holds a B.S. (astrophysics), 1966 from Indiana University; and a M.A. (astrophysics), 1968, and Ph.D. (astronomy), 1971, from ...

(born 1946), American astronomer and educator *

Pamela L. Gay Pamela L. Gay (born December 12, 1973) is an American astronomer, educator, podcaster, and writer, best known for her work in astronomical podcasting and citizen science astronomy projects. She is a senior education and communication specialist ...

(born 1973), American astronomer, educator, and writer *

Vera Fedorovna Gaze Vera Fedorovna Gaze (russian: Вера Фёдоровна Газе; 29 December 1899 – 3 October 1954) was a Russian astronomer who studied emission nebula and minor planets. She discovered around 150 new nebulae and was posthumously honored for ...

(1899–1954), Russian astronomer who studied emission nebula and minor planets *

Margaret Geller Margaret J. Geller (born December 8, 1947) is an American astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian. Her work has included pioneering maps of the nearby universe, studies of the relationship between galaxies and their ...

(born 1947), American astrophysicist studying extragalactic astronomy * Andrea M. Ghez (born 1965), American astronomer, teacher, and Nobel prize winner *

Agnes Giberne Agnes Giberne (19 November 1845 – 20 August 1939) was a prolific British novelist and scientific writer. Her fiction was typical of Victorian evangelical fiction with moral or religious themes for children. She also wrote books on science f ...

(1845–1939), English novelist and scientific writer *

Nüzhet Gökdoğan Hatice Nüzhet Gökdoğan (; 14 August 1910 – 24 April 2003) was a Turkish astronomer, mathematician and academic. After studying mathematics and astronomy in France as a young adult, Gökdoğan joined the faculty of Istanbul University in 19 ...

(1910–2003), Turkish astronomer, mathematician and academic * Merle Gold (1921-2017), American astrophysicist *

Andreja Gomboc Andreja Gomboc (born 10 November 1969) is a Slovenian astrophysicist. Biography Andreja Gomboc was born in Murska Sobota, Slovenia. Andreja Gomboc graduated in 1995 at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (FMF) at University of Ljubljana w ...

(born 1969), Slovenian astrophysicist *

Alyssa A. Goodman Alyssa Ann Goodman (born July 1, 1962) is the Robert Wheeler Willson Professor of Applied Astronomy at Harvard University, co-Director for Science at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution, a ...

(born 1962), American astrophysicist *

Eva Grebel Eva K. Grebel is a German astronomer. Since 2007 she has been co-director of the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Eva Grebel is an expert in the study of stellar populations and galaxy formation. Resea ...

, German astronomer studying stellar populations and galaxy formation *

Lucie Green Lucinda "Lucie" May Green (born c. 1975) is a British science communicator and solar physicist. Green is a Professor of Physics and a Royal Society University Research Fellow (previously the Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow) at Mullard S ...

(born c. 1975), English science communicator and solar researcher *

Jenny Greene Jenny Greene (born October 9, 1978) is an Astrophysicist and Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. She is notable for her work on supermassive black holes and the galaxies in which they reside. Her work also involves a partne ...

(born 1978), American astrophysicist and teacher studying supermassive black holes and galaxies *

Ruth Grützbauch Ruth Grützbauch (born 3 October 1978) is an Austrian astronomer, planetarium director and science communicator. After earning her doctoral degree in 2007, she conducted extragalactic research until 2013, and worked as an educator and scienc ...

(born 1978), Austrian astronomer

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Erika Hamden Erika Tobiason Hamden is an American astrophysicist and Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona and Steward Observatory. Her research focuses on developing ultraviolet (UV) detector technology, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV/VIS ...

, American astrophysicist and instructor *

Heidi Hammel Heidi B. Hammel (born March 14, 1960) is a planetary astronomer who has extensively studied Neptune and Uranus. She was part of the team imaging Neptune from Voyager 2 in 1989. She led the team using the Hubble Space Telescope to view Shoem ...

(born 1960), American planetary scientist *

Fiona A. Harrison Fiona A. Harrison is the Kent Kresa, Kent and Joyce Kresa Leadership Chair of the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy at California Institute of Technology, Caltech, Harold Rosen (electrical engineer), Harold A. Rosen Professor of Phys ...

, American astrophysicist *

Marjorie Hall Harrison Marjorie Hall Harrison (September 14, 1918 – August 6, 1986) was an English-born American astronomer. Hall was born in Nottingham, England in September 1918. In 1947, she authored one of the first scientific books, a dissertation while at the ...

(1918–1986), English-born American astronomer *

Lisa Harvey-Smith Lisa Harvey-Smith (born 1979) is a British-Australian astrophysicist, Australia's Women in STEM Ambassador and a Professor of Practice in Science Communication at the University of NSW. Her research interests include the origin and evolution o ...

(born 1979), British-Australian astrophysicist *

Margaret Harwood Margaret Harwood (March 19, 1885 February 6, 1979) was an American astronomer specializing in photometry and the first director of the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts. An asteroid discovered in 1960 was named 7040 Harw ...

(1885–1979), American astronomer *

Martha P. Haynes Martha Patricia Haynes (born 24 April 1951) is an American astronomer who specializes in radio astronomy and extragalactic astronomy. She is the distinguished professor of arts and sciences in astronomy at Cornell University.Martha Locke Hazen Martha Locke Hazen (15 July 1931- 23 December 2006) was an American astronomer, best known for her contributions as curator of the Harvard astronomical photographs collection and her work on variable stars. Early life and education Martha Lock ...

(1931-2006), American astronomer *

E. Ruth Hedeman Emma Ruth Hedeman (1910 – 2006) was an American solar astronomer at McMath–Hulbert Observatory, McMath-Hulbert Solar Observatory in Lake Angelus, Michigan, Michigan. Biography Known as Ruth, she was born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 2 ...

(1910–2006), American solar astronomer *

Mary Lea Heger Mary Lea Heger (July 13, 1897 – July 13, 1983, later Mary Lea Shane) was an American astronomer who made important discoveries on the interstellar medium. She later founded the Lick Observatory Archives located in the Dean E. McHenry Library. ...

(1897–1983), American astronomer who studied the

interstellar medium In astronomy, the interstellar medium is the matter and radiation that exist in the space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, as well as dust and cosmic rays. It fills interstella ...

Charlene Heisler Charlene Heisler (1 December 1961 – 28 October 1999) was a Canadian astronomer. She is best known for her work on Active galactic nucleus, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). The Astronomical Society of Australia created the Charlene Heisler Prize ...

(1961-1999), Canadian astronomer *

Eleanor F. Helin Eleanor Francis "Glo" Helin (née Francis, 19 November 1932 – 25 January 2009) was an American astronomer. She was principal investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Some sources gi ...

(1932–2009), American astronomer who studied near–Earth asteroids *

Amina Helmi Amina Helmi (6 October 1970) is an Argentine astronomer and professor at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Education Helmi was educated at Leiden University where she was awarded a PhD in 2000 ...

, Argentine astronomer *

Amanda Hendrix Amanda R. Hendrix (May 21, 1968) is an American planetary scientist known for her pioneering studies of solar system bodies at ultraviolet wavelengths. She is a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. Her research interests include m ...

(born 1968), American planetary scientist *

Caroline Herschel Caroline Lucretia Herschel (; 16 March 1750 – 9 January 1848) was a German born British astronomer, whose most significant contributions to astronomy were the discoveries of several comets, including the periodic comet 35P/Herschel–Rigolle ...

(1750–1848), German astronomer * Elisabeth Hevelius (1647–1693), Polish astronomer *

Jacqueline Hewitt Jacqueline Nina Hewitt (born September 4, 1958) is an American astrophysicist. She was the first person to discover an Einstein ring. She is a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society. Early life and education Hewitt was born in Washington, ...

(born 1958), American astrophysicist * Catherine Heymans, British astrophysicist and instructor *

Dorrit Hoffleit Ellen Dorrit Hoffleit (March 12, 1907 – April 9, 2007) was an American senior research astronomer at Yale University. She is best known for her work in Variable star, variable stars, astrometry, Astronomical spectroscopy, spectroscopy, Mete ...

(1907–2007), American astronomer *

Helen Sawyer Hogg Helen Battles Sawyer Hogg (August 1, 1905 – January 28, 1993) was an American-Canadian astronomer who pioneered research into globular clusters and variable stars. She was the first female president of several astronomical organizations and a ...

(1905–1993), American-Canadian astronomer * Ann Hornschemeier, American astronomer studying X-ray astronomy *

Joan Horvath Joan Horvath is an American aeronautical engineer, writer, and entrepreneur. She worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for sixteen years, in the technology transfer office and on the Magellan and TOPEX/Poseidon flight projects. She served as C ...

, American aeronautical engineer and writer *

Nancy Houk Nancy Houk is an American astronomer who led the effort to establish a comprehensive database of stellar temperatures and luminosities. Education After earning her Doctorate in Astronomy from Case Western Reserve University in 1967, Nancy ...

, American astronomer *

Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld (; 21 October 1921 – 30 March 2015) was a Dutch astronomer. Background In a jointly credited trio with Tom Gehrels and her husband Cornelis Johannes van Houten, she was the discoverer of many thousands of astero ...

(1921–2015), Dutch astronomer studying minor planets *

Margaret Lindsay Huggins Margaret Lindsay, Lady Huggins (14 August 1848, in Dublin – 24 March 1915, in London), born Margaret Lindsay Murray, was an Irish-English scientific investigator and astronomer. With her husband William Huggins she was a pioneer in the field o ...

(1848–1915), Irish-English scientific investigator and astronomer *

Carolyn Hurless Carolyn Hurless (November 24, 1934 – February 13, 1987) was an American astronomer and an American Association of Variable Star Observers merit award winner. She made an estimated 78,876 astronomical observations in her lifetime. Life Carol ...

(1934-1987), American astronomer and an

American Association of Variable Star Observers The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is an international nonprofit organization, founded in 1911, focused on coordinating, analyzing, publishing, and archiving variable star observations made largely by amateur astronomers. ...

merit award winner. *

Hypatia Hypatia, Koine pronunciation (born 350–370; died 415 AD) was a neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, then part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a prominent thinker in Alexandria wher ...

(c. 350–370 to 415), Hellenistic Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician

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* Violeta G. Ivanova, Bulgarian astronomer * Al-ʻIjliyyah (c. 10th-century), Arab maker of astrolabes

J

Odette Jasse Odette Jasse (21 August 1899 – 9 January 1949) was a French astronomer who led a scientific and administrative career at the Marseille Observatory. Biography Jasse was born in Saint-Victoret, France. Her parents were a teacher and a customs ins ...

(1899–1949), French astronomer at

Marseille Observatory Marseille Observatory (french: Observatoire de Marseille) is an astronomical observatory located in Marseille, France, with a history that goes back to the early 18th century. In its 1877 incarnation, it was the discovery site of a group of gal ...

. *

Louise Freeland Jenkins Louise Freeland Jenkins (July 5, 1888 – May 9, 1970) was an American astronomer who compiled a valuable catalogue of stars within 10 parsecs of the sun, as well as editing the 3rd edition of the Yale Bright Star Catalogue. She was born in Fit ...

(1888–1970), American astronomer of stellar astronomy * Carole Jordan (born 1941), English physicist, astrophysicist, astronomer and academic

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Vicky Kalogera Vassiliki Kalogera is a Greek astrophysicist. She is a professor at Northwestern University and the Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA). She is a leading member of the LIGO Collaboration ...

, Greek astrophysicist *

Lyudmila Karachkina Lyudmila Georgievna Karachkina (russian: Людмила Георгиевна Карачкина, born 3 September 1948, Rostov-on-Don) is an astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. In 1978 she began as a staff astronomer of the Institute for ...

(born 1948), Russian astronomer studying astrometry and minor planets *

Victoria Kaspi Victoria Michelle Kaspi (born June 30, 1967) is a Canadian astrophysicist and a professor at McGill University. Her research primarily concerns neutron stars and pulsars.

(born 1967), American-Canadian astrophysicist and instructor * Lisa Kewley (born 1974), Australian astronomer studying galactic evolution *

Pamela M. Kilmartin Pamela M. Kilmartin is a New Zealand astronomer and a co-discoverer of minor planets and comets. She is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 41 asteroids, all in collaboration with her husband, the astronomer Alan C. Gilmo ...

, New Zealand astronomer searching for comets and minor planets *

Maria Margarethe Kirch Maria Margaretha Kirch (''née'' Winckelmann, in historic sources named Maria Margaretha Kirchin; 25 February 1670 – 29 December 1720) was a German astronomer. She was one of the first famous astronomers of her period due to her writing on ...

(1670–1720), German astronomer and calendar maker * Margaret G. Kivelson (born 1928), American planetary scientist *

Dorothea Klumpke Dorothea Klumpke Roberts (August 9, 1861 in San Francisco – October 5, 1942 in San Francisco) was an American astronomer. She was Director of the Bureau of Measurements at the Paris Observatory and was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honn ...

(1861–1942), American astronomer *

Gillian R. Knapp Gillian Knapp is a professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, astronomical sciences at Princeton University. She is a faculty fellow at Whitman College. She has been involved in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and she is an active member of the Interna ...

, American astronomer *

Kirsten Kraiberg Knudsen Kirsten Kraiberg Knudsen is a professor of astrophysics in the department of Space, Earth and Environment at Chalmers University of Technology. Her research concerns galaxy formation and evolution. She is a member of the Swedish Young Academy a ...

, Danish astronomer studying galaxies *

Heather A. Knutson Heather A. Knutson is an astrophysicist and professor of planetary science at California Institute of Technology in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences.http://www.gps.caltech.eduHeather A. Knutson , www.gps.caltech.edu accessdate ...

, American astronomer studying exoplanets *

Gloria Koenigsberger Gloria Suzanne Koenigsberger Horowitz is a Mexican astrophysicist and professor working at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Her areas of expertise are in stellar spectroscopy, massive stars and binary interaction effects. She ...

, Mexican astrophysicist and instructor *

Bärbel Koribalski Dr. Bärbel Silvia Koribalski is a research scientist working on galaxy formation at CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), part of CSIRO's Astronomy & Space Science (CASS). She obtained her PhD at the University of Bonn in Germa ...

, German astrophysicist studying galaxy formation and evolution *

Lenka Kotková Lenka Kotková ('' née'' Šarounová; born 26 July 1973) is a Czech astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets. She works at Observatoř Ondřejov (Ondřejov Observatory), located near Prague. Besides numerous main-belt asteroids she also ...

(born 1973), Czech astronomer *

Chryssa Kouveliotou Chryssa Kouveliotou is a Greeks, Greek astrophysicist. She is a professor at George Washington University and a retired senior technologist in high-energy astrophysics at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Early life and ...

, Greek astrophysicist and instructor *

Reiki Kushida is a Japanese amateur astronomer, discoverer of supernovas such as 1991bg (the first visual discovery made by a female astronomer), and co-discoverer of 4875 Ingalls, a Flora asteroid from the main-belt. Reiki Kushida is married to ast ...

, Japanese amateur astronomer

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Elizabeth Lada Elizabeth Lada is an American astronomer whose self-described research interests include "understanding the origin, properties, evolution and fate of young embedded clusters within molecular clouds". Life Lada received her Bachelor of Science in ...

, American astronomer and instructor *

Eleanor Annie Lamson Eleanor Annie Lamson (19 April 1875 – 27 July 1932) was an astronomer and the first woman scientist at the US Naval Observatory. Early life and education Eleanor Annie Lamson was born in Washington, D.C, to Franklin Silas Lamson and Anne ...

(1875-1932), American astronomer *

Marguerite Laugier Marguerite Laugier (née Lhomme) (12 September 1896 – 10 June 1976) was a French astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They ob ...

, French astronomer who discovered minor planets *

Gemma Lavender Gemma Lavender (born 13 September 1986) is a British astronomer, author and journalist. She currently serves as the editor of All About Space (magazine), ''All About Space'', a monthly scientific magazine owned by British publisher Future plc. L ...

(born 1986), British astronomer, author and journalist *

Henrietta Swan Leavitt Henrietta Swan Leavitt (; July 4, 1868 – December 12, 1921) was an American astronomer. A graduate of Radcliffe College, she worked at the Harvard College Observatory as a "computer", tasked with examining photographic plates in order to measu ...

(1868–1921), American astronomer who observed variable stars *

Nicole-Reine Lepaute Nicole-Reine Lepaute () née Étable de la Brière, also erroneously known as Hortense Lepaute, (5 January 1723 – 6 December 1788) was a French astronomer and human computer. Lepaute along with Alexis Clairaut and Jérôme Lalande calculated t ...

(1723–1788), French astronomer and mathematician * Isabel Martin Lewis (1881–1966), American astronomer and author *

Nikole Lewis Nikole Lewis is an astrophysicist and an assistant professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. Career Her major research interests include observational and theoretical techniques for probing exoplanet atmospheres. She co-led a spectroscop ...

, American astrophysicist *

Helen Lines Helen Chambliss Williams Lines (July 13, 1918 – January 29, 2001) was an American amateur astronomer. In her beginnings she was a deep-sky observer and astrophotographer. Astronomy In 1969, Lines was one of early members of the Phoenix Astro ...

(died 2001), American amateur astronomer *

Sarah Lee Lippincott Sarah Lee Lippincott (October 26, 1920 – February 28, 2019), also known as Sarah Lee Lippincott Zimmerman, was an American astronomer. She was professor emerita of astronomy at Swarthmore College and director emerita of the college's Sproul Obs ...

(1920–2019), American astronomer and instructor who focused on astrometry *

Jane Luu Jane X. Luu ( vi, ; born July 1963) is a Vietnamese-American astronomer and defense systems engineer. She was awarded the Kavli Prize (shared with David C. Jewitt and Michael Brown) for 2012 "for discovering and characterizing the Kuiper Belt ...

(born 1963), Vietnamese–American astronomer and defense systems engineer

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Amy Mainzer Amy Mainzer (born January 2, 1974) is an American astronomer, specializing in astrophysical instrumentation and infrared astronomy. She is the Deputy Project Scientist for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and the Principal Investigator for ...

(born 1974), American astronomer specializing in astrophysical instrumentation and infrared astronomy *

Esmeralda Mallada Esmeralda Herminia Mallada Invernizzi (born 10 January 1937) is a Uruguayan astronomer and professor who, for her contributions to that scientific discipline, has been honored with the designation of her name to an asteroid. Career Mallada was a ...

(born 1937), Uruguayan astronomer and instructor *

Rachel Mandelbaum Rachel Mandelbaum is a professor of astrophysics at Carnegie Mellon University, studying cosmology and galactic evolution with a focus on dark matter and dark energy. Much of her work has used the phenomenon of gravitational lensing of galaxies a ...

, American astronomer *

Karen Masters Karen Masters (born 1979) is an Astrophysicist and Associate Professor of Astrophysics in Haverford College, Pennsylvania exploring galaxy formation. She is also the project scientist for the citizen science project Galaxy Zoo, and uses the ...

(born 1979), American astrophysicist studying galaxy formation and evolution *

Janet Akyüz Mattei Janet Akyüz Mattei (January 2, 1943 – March 22, 2004) was a Turkish-American astronomer who was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1973 to 2004. Biography Mattei was born in Bodrum, Turkey t ...

(1943–2004), Turkish-American astronomer studying variable stars *

Annie Russell Maunder Annie Scott Dill Maunder (née Russell) (14 April 1868 – 15 September 1947) was an Irish-British astronomer, who recorded the first evidence of the movement of sunspot emergence from the poles toward the equator over the sun's 11-year cycle. ...

(1868–1947), Irish-British astronomer *

Antonia Maury Antonia Caetana de Paiva Pereira Maury (March 21, 1866 – January 8, 1952) was an American astronomer who was the first to detect and calculate the orbit of a spectroscopic binary. She published an important early catalog of stellar spectra us ...

(1866–1952), American astronomer studying stellar astronomy *

Claire Ellen Max Claire Ellen Max (born September 29, 1946) is a Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and is affiliated with the Lick Observatory. She is the Director of the Center for Adaptive Optics at UCSC ...

(born 1946), American astronomer and instructor *

Margaret Mayall Margaret Walton Mayall (January 27, 1902 – December 6, 1995) was an American astronomer. She was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1949 to 1973. Mayall (born Margaret Lyle Walton) was born in Iron ...

(1902–1995), American astronomer studying variable stars *

Jaylee Burley Mead Barbara Jaylee Montague Burley Mead (June 14, 1929 – September 14, 2012) was an American astronomer with a long career at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She was also a noted arts patron, a major donor to theatres and cultural organizations ...

(1929–2012), American astronomer * Karen Jean Meech (born 1959), American planetary scientist *

Maria Mitchell Maria Mitchell ( /məˈraɪə/; August 1, 1818 – June 28, 1889) was an American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator. In 1847, she discovered a comet named 1847 VI (modern designation C/1847 T1) that was later known as " Miss Mi ...

(1818–1889), American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator *

Linda A. Morabito Linda A. Morabito (born November 21, 1953), also known as Linda Kelly, Linda Hyder, and Linda Morabito-Meyer, is the astronomer who discovered volcanic activity on Volcanism on Io#Discovery, Io, a moon of Jupiter. She made this finding on March 9, ...

(born 1953), American planetary scientist *

Jean Mueller Jean Mueller (born 1950) is an American astronomer and discoverer of comets, minor planets, and a large number of supernovas at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California. Scientific career In 1983, she became the first woman to operate the hi ...

(born 1950), American astronomer *

Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil is a Turkish-American astrophysicist, and Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College. She formerly served as a National Science Foundation (NSF) and Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics (KICP) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Uni ...

, Turkish astrophysicist

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Sultana N. Nahar Sultana Nurun Nahar is a Bangladeshi-United States, American physicist. She is a research scientist in the Department of Astronomy at Ohio State University. Her research is on atomic processes of photoionization, electron-ion recombination, photo ...

, Bangladeshi-American physicist studying atomic processes in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas * Joan Najita, American astronomer researching the formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems *

Yaël Nazé Yaël Nazé (born 1976) is a Belgian astrophysicist who works at the University of Liège. She specializes in massive stars and their interactions with their surroundings. Biography She came from what she described as a poor part of Belgium w ...

, Belgian astrophysicist studying massive stars and their environmental interaction * Heidi Jo Newberg, American astrophysicist studying the Milky Way structure

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Carolina Ödman-Govender in 2013 (cropped)

Carolina Ödman-Govender Carolina Ödman-Govender () ( – 15 November 2022) was a Swiss physicist and academic who was Professor of Astrophysics at South Africa's University of the Western Cape. She was awarded the 2018 International Astronomical Union Special Executiv ...

, Swiss astrophysicist and lecturer *

Sally Oey Dr. Sally Oey is an American astronomer at the University of Michigan and an expert in massive, hot stars which are often precursors to supernovae. In 1999, she was awarded the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy by the American Astronomical Soci ...

, American astronomer researching massive stars *

Kathleen Ollerenshaw Dame Kathleen Mary Ollerenshaw, (''née'' Timpson; 1 October 1912 – 10 August 2014) was a British mathematician and politician who was Lord Mayor of Manchester from 1975 to 1976 and an advisor on educational matters to Margaret Thatcher's go ...

, (1912–2014), English mathematician, politician, and amateur astronomer * C. Michelle Olmstead, American astronomer and computer scientist who has discovered minor planets *

Liisi Oterma Liisi Oterma (; 6 January 1915 – 4 April 2001) was a Finnish astronomer, the first woman to get a Ph.D. degree in astronomy in Finland. She studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Turku, and soon became Yrjö Väisälä's as ...

(1915–2001), Finnish astronomer *

Mazlan Othman Emerita Professor Tan Sri Dr. Mazlan binti Othman ( ms, مصلان بنت عثمان, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 11 December 1951) is a Malaysian astrophysicist whose work has pioneered Malaysia's participation in space exp ...

, Malaysian astrophysicist *

Feryal Özel Feryal Özel (born May 27, 1975) is a Turkish-American astrophysicist born in Istanbul, Turkey, specializing in the physics of compact objects and high energy astrophysical phenomena. As of 2022, Özel is the Department Chair and a professor at ...

(born 1975), Turkish astrophysicist studying stellar remnants

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Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (born Cecilia Helena Payne; – ) was a British-born American astronomer and astrophysicist who proposed in her 1925 doctoral thesis that stars were composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. Her groundbreaking conclus ...

(1900–1979), British-born American astrophysicist and instructor *

Ruby Payne-Scott Ruby Violet Payne-Scott, BSc (Phys) MSc DipEd (Syd) (28 May 1912 – 25 May 1981) was an Australian pioneer in radiophysics and radio astronomy, and was one of two Antipodean women pioneers in radio astronomy and radio physics at the end of the ...

(1912–1981), Australian radio astronomer * Louise du Pierry (1746–1807), French astronomer and instructor *

Carle Pieters Carle McGetchin Pieters (born 1943) is an American planetary scientist. Pieters has published more than 150 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and was co-author of the book ''Remote Geochemical Analyses: Elemental and Mineralogical Compo ...

(born 1943), American planetary scientist *

Thushara Pillai Thushara Pillai is an Indian astrophysicist and astronomer with a senior research scientist position at Boston University's Institute for Astrophysical Research. Her research interests have included molecular clouds, high-mass star formation, mag ...

, (born 1980), Indian astrophysicist and astronomer *

Paris Pişmiş Marie Paris Pişmiş de Recillas ( hy, Բարիզ Փիշմիշ, 30 January 1911 – 1 August 1999) was an Armenian-Mexican astronomer. Pişmiş was born Mari Sukiasian ( hy, Մարի Սուքիասեան) in 1911, in Ortaköy, Istanbul. She comp ...

(1911–1999), Armenian-Mexican astronomer *

Elena V. Pitjeva __NOTOC__ Elena Vladimirovna Pitjeva (Елена Владимировна Питьева) is a Russian astronomer working at the Institute of Applied Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg. She has published over 100 articles, as li ...

, Russian astronomer studying solar system dynamics and celestial mechanics *

Carolyn Porco Carolyn C. Porco (born March 6, 1953) is an American planetary scientist who explores the outer Solar System, beginning with her imaging work on the Voyager missions to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in the 1980s. She led the imaging scienc ...

(born 1953), American planetary scientist *

Helen Dodson Prince Helen Dodson Prince (December 31, 1905 – February 4, 2002) was an American astronomer who pioneered work in solar flares at the University of Michigan. Early life and education Helen Prince (née Dodson) was born in Baltimore, Maryland on Dece ...

(1905–2002), American astronomer and instructor *

Mary Proctor Mary Proctor (1862 – 11 September 1957) was an American popularizer of astronomy. While not a professional astronomer, Proctor became well known for her books and articles written for the public – particularly her children's fiction. ...

(1862–1957), American popularizer of astronomy

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Elisa Quintana Elisa Victoria Quintana is a scientist working in the field of astronomy and planetary science at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Her research focuses the detection and characterization of exoplanets in addition to studying how they form. She ...

, American planetary scientist

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Hilkka Rantaseppä-Helenius Hilkka Rantaseppä-Helenius (1925–1975) was a Finnish astronomer. Rantaseppä-Helenius began studying mathematics in hopes of becoming a teacher. Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä inspired her to become an astronomer instead. Helenius, as a ...

, Finnish astronomer who studied minor planets *

Katharine Reeves Katharine Reeves is an astronomer and solar physicist who works at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA). She is known for her work on high temperature plasmas in the solar corona, and measurement/analysis techniques to probe t ...

, American solar astronomer *

Emily Rice Emily Rice is an astronomy professor at the William E. Macaulay Honors College, Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York. In addition to her scientific contributions to the study of the atmospheric properties of low mass astronom ...

, American astronomer researching sub-stellar objects including brown dwarfs *

Christina Richey Christina "Chrissy" Richey is an American planetary scientist and astrophysicist working at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, California. Richey is a project staff scientist for the Europa Clipper mission and is a research tech ...

, American planetary scientist and astrophysicist *

Julia Riley Julia M. Riley (née Hill) is a British astrophysicist who developed the Fanaroff–Riley classification. Personal and professional background She is the daughter of Philippa (born Pass) and British marine geophysicist Maurice Hill and grand ...

, English radio astronomer *

Constance M. Rockosi Constance "Connie" Mary Rockosi (born c. 1972) is a professor and former department chair in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She earned her PhD in 2001 and helped design the camera for the tel ...

, American galactic astronomer *

Elizabeth Roemer Elizabeth "Pat" Roemer (September 4, 1929April 8, 2016) was an American astronomer and educator who specialized in astronomy with a particular focus on comets and minor planets. She was well-known for the recovery of lost comets, as well as for h ...

(1929–2016), American astronomer who studied minor planets *

Nancy Roman Nancy Grace Roman (May 16, 1925 – December 25, 2018) was an American astronomer who made important contributions to stellar classification and motions. The first female executive at NASA, Roman served as NASA's first Chief of Astronomy through ...

(1925–2018), American stellar astronomer *

Marta Graciela Rovira Marta Graciela Rovira is an Argentine astrophysics researcher and was first woman to be named president of CONICET, the government agency that directs and coordinates most of the academic research performed in universities and institutes througho ...

, Argentinian astrophysicist *

Vera Rubin Vera Florence Cooper Rubin (; July 23, 1928 – December 25, 2016) was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studyi ...

(1928–2016), American astronomer researching extragalactic astronomy *

María Teresa Ruiz María Teresa Ruiz (born 24 September 1946) is a Chilean astronomer who was the first woman to receive Chile's National Prize for Exact Sciences, the first female recipient of a doctorate in astrophysics at Princeton University, and the first w ...

, Chilean astronomer

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* Penny Sackett (born 1956), American-born Australian astronomer, educator, and manager *

Rita M. Sambruna Rita M. Sambruna Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Commander OMRI (Hon) is an Italians, Italian-Americans, American astrophysics, astrophysicist and is the Deputy Director of the Astrophysics Science Division at National Aeronautics and S ...

, Italian-American astrophysicist studying supermassive black holes and jets *

Anneila Sargent Professor Anneila Isabel Sargent FRSE DSc (born Anneila Cassells, 1942, Kirkcaldy) is a Scottish–American astronomer who specializes in star formation. Biography Sargent was brought up in Burntisland, Fife, and schooled at Burntisland ...

(born 1942), Scottish–American astronomer specialized in star formation * Caterina Scarpellini (1808–1873), Italian astronomer and meteorologist *

Sara Seager Sara Seager (born 21 July 1971) is a Canadian-American astronomer and planetary scientist. She is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is known for her work on extrasolar planets and their atmospheres. She is the aut ...

(born 1971), Canadian-American astronomer and planetary scientist *

Waltraut Seitter Waltraut Seitter (13 January 1930 – 15 November 2007) was a German astronomer and became the first woman in Germany to hold an astronomy chair. Life and work Waltraut Carola Seitter was born in Zwickau in 1930, where her father worked as ...

(1930–2007), German astronomer and instructor * Muriel Mussells Seyfert (1909–1997), American astronomer *

Pelageya Shajn Pelageya Fedorovna Shajn, ''née'' Sannikova (Пелагея Фёдоровна Шайн) (22 September 1894 – 27 August 1956), was a Russian astronomer in the Soviet Union, and the first woman credited with the discovery of a minor planet, at ...

(1894–1956), Russian astronomer searching for minor planets *

Aomawa Shields Aomawa L. Shields is an associate professor of physics and astronomy at UC Irvine. Her research is focused on exploring the climate and habitability of small exoplanets, using data from observatories including NASA's Kepler spacecraft. Shields w ...

, American astrophysicist and professor researching exoplanets *

Carolyn S. Shoemaker Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker (June 24, 1929 – August 13, 2021) was an American astronomer and a co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9. She discovered 32 comets (then a record for the most by an individual) and more than 500 astero ...

(born 1929), American astronomer *

Amy Simon Amy Simon is an American planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, involved in several missions of the Solar System Exploration Program. Education Simon is from Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, where she attended ...

, American planetary scientist *

Charlotte Moore Sitterly Charlotte Emma Moore Sitterly (September 24, 1898 – March 3, 1990) was an American astronomer. She is known for her extensive spectroscopic studies of the Sun and chemical elements. Her tables of data are known for their reliability and are st ...

(1898–1990), American astronomer who studied stellar physics *

Tamara Mikhaylovna Smirnova Tamara Mikhaylovna Smirnova (russian: Тама́ра Миха́йловна Смирно́ва; 1935–2001) was a Soviet/Russian astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and comets. Career From 1966 to 1988, Smirnova was a staff member of t ...

(1935–2001), Russian astronomer who searched for minor planets and comets *

Alicia M. Soderberg Alicia Margarita Soderberg (born 1977) is an American astrophysicist whose research focused on supernovae. She was an assistant professor of astronomy at Harvard University and a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astroph ...

(born 1977), American astrophysicist and instructor focused on supernovae * Mary Somerville (1780–1872), Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath * Linda Spilker, American planetary scientist *

Denise Stephens Denise C. Nuttall Stephens is an associate professor of astronomy in the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Brigham Young University. Education and research experience Stephens graduated ...

, American astronomer and instructor *

Sarah Stewart-Mukhopadhyay Sarah T. Stewart-Mukhopadhyay is an American Planetary science, planetary scientist known for studying Nebular hypothesis, planet formation, planetary geology, and materials science. She is a professor at the University of California, Davis in th ...

, American planetary scientist *

Annapurni Subramaniam Annapurni Subramaniam is the director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore and works on areas like star clusters, stellar evolution and population in galaxies and Magellanic clouds. Education Subramaniam finished her schooling fro ...

, director of the

Indian Institute of Astrophysics The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), with its headquarters in Bengaluru,is an autonomous Research Institute wholly financed by the department of Science and Technology, Government of India. IIA conducts research primarily in the areas of ...

Karlina Leksono Supelli Karlina Leksono Supelli (born 15 January 1958 in Jakarta) is an Indonesian philosopher and astronomer. One of Indonesia's first female astronomers, she received her bachelor's degree in Astronomy at ITB and MSc in Space Science from the Univers ...

(born 1958), Indonesian philosopher and astronomer *

Jean Swank Jean Hebb Swank is an astrophysicist who is best known for her studies of black holes and neutron stars. Early life and education Swank graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from Bryn Mawr College in 1961. Two of her physics profe ...

, American astrophysicist studying compact objects *

Henrietta Hill Swope Henrietta Hill Swope (October 26, 1902 – November 24, 1980) was an American astronomer who studied variable stars. In particular, she measured the period-luminosity relation for Cepheid stars, which are bright variable stars whose periods of va ...

(1902–1980), American astronomer who studied variable stars *

Paula Szkody Paula Szkody (born July 17, 1948) is a professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Washington in Seattle. She served as president of the American Astronomical Society from 2020 to 2022. Early life and education Szkody was born ...

(born 1948), American astronomer and instructor specialized in cataclysmic variable stars

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Jill Tarter Jill Cornell Tarter (born January 16, 1944) is an American astronomer best known for her work on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Tarter is the former director of the Center for SETI Research, holding the Bernard M. Oliver Cha ...

(born 1944), American astronomer focused on

SETI The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other p ...

Florence Taylor Hildred Florence Taylor Hildred (1865–1932) was the first female member of Leeds Astronomical Society and later a pastor for the Unity Society of Practical Christianity in Sacramento, California, Sacramento, US, where she was the first woman in the cit ...

(1865–1932), English astronomer and pastor *

Alenush Terian Ālenush Teriān ( hy, Ալենուշ Տէրեան; fa, آلنوش طریان; also: آلنوش تریان; November 9, 1921 – March 4, 2011) was an Iranian-Armenian astronomer and physicist and is called 'Mother of Modern Iranian Astronomy'. ...

(1921–2011), Iranian-Armenian astronomer *

Michelle Thaller Dr. Michelle Lynn Thaller is an American astronomer and research scientist. Thaller is the assistant director for Science Communication at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. From 1998 to 2009 she was a staff scientist at the Infrared Processin ...

(born 1969), American astronomer and educator *

Jana Tichá Jana Tichá (born 1965 in České Budějovice) is a Czech astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. She studied at the University of Economics in Prague and graduated in 1987. In 1992 she was selected for the position of a director of the Kle ...

(born 1965), Czech astronomer searching for minor planets *

Beatrice Tinsley Beatrice Muriel Hill Tinsley (27 January 1941 – 23 March 1981) was a British-born New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist and professor of astronomy at Yale University, whose research made fundamental contributions to the astronomical understa ...

(1941–1981), British-born New Zealand astronomer studying galactic evolution * Maura Tombelli (born 1952), Italian amateur astronomer *

Christy A. Tremonti Christy A. Tremonti is an observational astronomer on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She was a 2005 Hubble Fellow while at the University of Arizona. She received her PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 2003 and her BS ...

, American astronomer * Virginia Louise Trimble (born 1943), American astronomer *

Lidiya Tseraskaya Lidiya Petrovna Tseraskaya née Shelekhova (Russian: Лидия Петровна Цераская) (22 June 1855 – 24 December 1931) was a Russian astronomer. Tseraskaya was born in Astrakhan, and graduated from the Teacher's Institute in Pete ...

(1855–1931), Russian astronomer *

Margaret Turnbull Margaret Carol "Maggie" Turnbull (born 1975) is an American astronomer and astrobiologist. She received her PhD in Astronomy from the University of Arizona in 2004. Turnbull is an authority on star systems which may have habitable planets, so ...

(born 1975), American astronomer and astrobiologist

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Anne Barbara Underhill Anne Barbara Underhill FRSC (June 12, 1920 - July 3, 2003) was a Canadian astrophysicist. She is most widely known for her work on early-type stars and was considered one of the world's leading experts in the field. During her lifetime she rec ...

(1920–2003), Canadian astrophysicist who studied massive stars *

Meg Urry Claudia Megan Urry is an American astrophysicist, who has served as the President of the American Astronomical Society, as chair of the Department of Physics at Yale University, and as part of the Hubble Space Telescope faculty.Eileen Pollack"Wh ...

, American astrophysicist studying supermassive black holes and galaxies

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* Bobbie Vaile (1959–1996), Australian astrophysicist and lecturer *

Zdeňka Vávrová Zdeňka Vávrová (born 1945) is a Czech astronomer. She co-discovered periodic comet 134P/Kowal-Vávrová. She had observed it as an asteroid, which received the provisional designation 1983 JG, without seeing any cometary coma. However, lat ...

(born 1945), Czech astronomer * Faith Vilas, American planetary scientist * Julie Vinter Hansen (1890–1960), Danish astronomer *

Emma Vyssotsky Emma Vyssotsky (October 23, 1894 – May 12, 1975, née Emma T. R. Williams) was an American astronomer who was honored with the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy in 1946. Biography Emma earned her bachelor's degree in mathematics at Swarthmor ...

(1894–1975), American astronomer who studied

astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way. His ...

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Lucianne Walkowicz Lucianne Walkowicz ( ; born 1979) is an American astronomer, artist and activist. They were based at the Adler Planetarium until 2022 and are noted for their research contributions in stellar magnetic activity and its impact on planetary sui ...

(born 1979), American astronomer *

Wang Zhenyi Wang Zhenyi (; born November 30, 1924), also known as Zhen-yi Wang, is a Chinese pathophysiologist and hematologist who is a professor emeritus of Medicine and Pathophysiology at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). He is most well known ...

(1768–1797), Chinese astronomer, mathematician, and poet *

Kim Weaver Dr. Kimberly A. Weaver (born April 19, 1964 in Morgantown, West Virginia) is an American astrophysics astronomer and professor. She has worked with NASA on several research projects. She is often seen on television programs about astronomy. She i ...

(born 1964), American astrophysicist and instructor focused on X-ray astronomy *

Alycia J. Weinberger Alycia J. Weinberger is a staff member at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Before joining the Carnegie scientific staff in 2001, she was a Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) postdoctoral researcher and astrobiology ...

, American astronomer studying planetary formation *

Mareta West Mareta Nelle West (August 9, 1915 – November 2, 1998) was an United States of America, American Astrogeology, astrogeologist who in the 1960s chose the site of the first crewed lunar landing, Apollo 11. She was the first female astrogeolog ...

(1915–1998), American astrogeologist * Sarah Frances Whiting (1847–1927), American physicist, astronomer, and instructor *

Mary Watson Whitney Mary Watson Whitney (September 11, 1847 – January 20, 1921) was an Americans, American astronomer and for 22 years the head of the Vassar Observatory where 102 scientific papers were published under her guidance. Early life and education ...

(1847–1921), American astronomer and teacher *

Belinda Wilkes Belinda Jane Wilkes is a Senior Astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, and former director of the Chandra X-ray Center. Education and career She was born in Staffordshire, England and ...

, English astrophysicist *

Beth Willman Beth Willman is an American astronomer who is the Executive Officer of the LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) Corporation, an astronomical organization notable for its support of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. She was previously the deputy dir ...

, American cosmologist *

Lee Anne Willson Lee Anne Willson (born 1947) is an American astronomer. Early life and education Lee Anne Willson (''nee'' Mordy) was born on March 14, 1947, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Willson was interested in science from an early age. The daughter of a scientist, ...

(born 1947), American astronomer * Anna Winlock (1857–1904), American astronomer *

Jennifer Wiseman Jennifer J. Wiseman is Senior Project Scientist on the Hubble Space Telescope, and an American astronomer, born in Mountain Home, Arkansas. She earned a bachelor's degree in physics from MIT and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard University in 19 ...

, American astrophysicist *

Rosemary Wyse Rosemary F. G. Wyse (born 26 January 1957 in Dundee, Scotland) is a Scottish astrophysicist, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS), and Alumni Centennial Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University. Education Wyse ...

(born 1957), Scottish astrophysicist and instructor *

Frances Woodworth Wright Frances Woodworth Wright (April 30, 1897 – July 30, 1989) was an American astronomer based at Harvard University. During World War II, she taught celestial navigation to military officers and engineers. Early life Frances Woodworth Wright wa ...

(1897–1989), American astronomer and educator *

Gillian Wright Gillian Wright (born 5 May 1960) is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Jean Slater on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2004, for which she has won a number of awards. She was a teacher and theatre director before ...

, Scottish astronomer

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Ye Shuhua Ye Shuhua (; born June 21, 1927) is a Chinese astronomer and professor at Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, known for achieving one of the world's most precise measurements of Universal Time in the 1960s, and for establishing the very-long-basel ...

(born 1927), Chinese astronomer and instructor *

Anne Sewell Young Anne Sewell Young (January 2, 1871 – August 15, 1961) was an American astronomer. She was an astronomy professor at Mount Holyoke College for 37 years. Biography Anne Sewell Young was born in Bloomington, Wisconsin on January 2, 1871, to Rever ...

(1871–1961), American astronomer who studied variable stars * Judith Young (1952–2014), American physicist, astronomer, and educator *

Louise Gray Young Louise Gray Young (October 4, 1935 - March 2, 2018) was an American astronomer and researcher who specialised in molecular spectroscopy. She is best known for her spectroscopic analysis of the planetary atmospheres of Earth, Venus and Mars. Ear ...

(1935-2018), American astronomer and researcher

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Lyudmila Zhuravlyova Lyudmila Vasilyevna Zhuravleva (russian: Людмила Васильевна Журавлёва, uk, Людмила Василівна Журавльова, Ljudmyla Vasylivna Žuravljova; born 22 May 1946) is a Soviet, Russian and Ukrainian ast ...

(born 1946), Russian-Ukrainian astronomer who discovered minor planets *

Maria Zuber Maria T. Zuber (born June 27, 1958) is an American geophysicist who is the vice president for research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she also holds the position of the E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics in the Department ...

(born 1958), American planetary scientist

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