Sweeper in the Sky: The Life of Maria Mitchell

SWEEPER IN THE SKY is the biography of Maria Mitchell, the first woman astronomer in the U.S. At the age of 28, Mitchell discovered a comet in 1847 and was awarded a gold medal by the King of Denmark for her discovery. When Vassar College opened in 1865, Mitchell became its first astronomy professor and observatory director. For 23 years, Mitchell presided over a rigorous astronomy program at Vassar College. She gained national fame as a pioneering teacher, noted for her progressive ideas and her emphasis on the importance of research. In subsequent years, more than two dozen of her students were featured in "Who's Who in America." Mitchell served as a founder and president of the Association for the Advancement of Women.

This special commemorative edition of SWEEPER IN THE SKY -- marking the 150th Anniversary of Maria Mitchell's discovery of a comet, as well as the opening of the Class of 1951 Observatory at Vassar College -- features an unabridged reprint of Helen Wright's classic 1949 biography, plus archival photographs, a new preface and epilogue by Vassar astronomy professors, and a new "For Further Exploration" section, including related web sites on the Internet.

Helen Wright (1914-1997) was born in Washington, DC and was educated there and in London and Lausanne, Switzerland. She attended Bennett Junior College, and holds two degrees from Vassar College. She served as an assistant in the Astronomy Department at Vassar, and later worked at the U.S. Naval Observatory and at the Mt. Wilson Observatory. She authored numerous books and articles on astromony.