Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond: The Life of Astronomer Vera Rubin

Vera Rubin’s persistence changed humans’ understanding of space, according to this moving debut biography from science journalist Yeager. Rubin (1928–2016) is the reason scientists accepted the notion that dark matter exists, Yeager writes: “Her work was pivotal to redefining the composition of our cosmos, revealing that most of it is some mysterious form of matter that, even today, we do not understand.” Two aspects of Rubin’s life are recurring themes: her passion for astronomy and the sexism she faced. When she began her career, for example, women were excluded from using telescopes at most of the world’s observatories. The application for telescope time at the Palomar Observatory in 1964 made this point clearly—“Due to limited facilities, it is not possible to accept applications from women.” But Rubin overcame these hurdles, transformed her field, won a host of prestigious scientific awards (among them the National Medal of science, for her discovery of galaxy NGC 4550), and devoted a significant portion of her later career to making her field more open to women. While Yeager has an easy hand with breaking down scientific explanations, her take on Rubin as a person can feel like more of an outline than an in-depth analysis. Still, for those not familiar with Rubin’s achievements, this is a good place to start. (Aug.)