Antonia Maury - Astronomical Work

Astronomical Work

Antonia Maury attended Vassar College, graduating in 1887. She was employed at Harvard College Observatory, where she observed stellar spectra and published a catalogue of classifications in 1897 (Spectra of Bright Stars Photographed with the 11-inch Draper Telescope as part of the Henry Draper Memorial, Annals of Harvard College Observatory, vol. 28, pp. 1–128).

When the director of HCO at the time, Edward Charles Pickering, disagreed with Maury’s system of classification and explanation of differing line widths, she left Harvard College Observatory. However, Ejnar Hertzsprung realized the value of her classifications and used them in his system of identifying giant and dwarf stars.

In 1908, Antonia Maury returned to Harvard College Observatory where she remained for many years. Her most famous work there was the spectroscopic analysis of the binary star Beta Lyrae, published in 1933 (The Spectral Changes of Beta Lyrae, Annals of Harvard College Observatory, vol. 84, no. 8).