Published in 2021
12 hours and 48 minutes
Jacqueline Mitton has published over thirty books on astronomy and is a past editor of the Journal of the British Astronomical Association. In 1990 the International Astronomical Union named Asteroid 4027 “Mitton” in recognition of her and Simon Mitton.
Simon Mitton is Life Fellow at St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge. He has written more than a dozen books on astronomy and the history of science and is Fellow and a former Vice-President of the Royal Astronomical Society.
What is this book about?
The first biography of a pioneering scientist who made significant contributions to our understanding of dark matter and championed the advancement of women in science.
In Vera Rubin: A Life, prolific science writers Jacqueline Mitton and Simon Mitton provide a detailed, accessible overview of Rubin’s work, showing how she leveraged immense curiosity, profound intelligence, and novel technologies to help transform our understanding of the cosmos. But Rubin’s impact was not limited to her contributions to scientific knowledge. She also helped to transform scientific practice by promoting the careers of women researchers. Not content to be an inspiration, Rubin was a mentor and a champion. She advocated for hiring women faculty, inviting women speakers to major conferences, and honoring women with awards that were historically the exclusive province of men.
Rubin’s papers and correspondence yield vivid insights into her life and work, as she faced down gender discrimination and met the demands of family and research throughout a long and influential career. Deftly written, with both scientific experts and general listeners in mind, Vera Rubin is a portrait of a woman with insatiable curiosity about the universe who never stopped asking questions and encouraging other women to do the same.
