How Women’s Invisible Labor Shaped Astronomy

By Kimberly Mitchell

For centuries, the work women did in astronomy went uncredited. Much of that work has been lost to the past, but some examples exist of women astronomers whose work was never fully recognized in their time or was attributed to men. 

• Sophia Brahe (1556–1643) assisted her brother, Tycho Brahe, with detailed astronomical observations and record‑keeping that Tycho used in his publication, “De Nova Stella.” Her contributions were treated as assistant work, although the observations she helped produce were foundational for heliocentric orbital theory.

• Maria Margarethe Winckelmann Kirch (1670–1720) collaborated closely with her husband, Gottfried Kirch, at the Berlin Academy, making observations and calculations and co‑discovering at least one comet in 1702. The comet discovery was formally credited to her husband, and after his death, Maria was denied his post because of her gender.

• Caroline Herschel (1750–1848) catalogued nebulae and clusters, discovered multiple comets, and compiled an influential index of nebulae that underpinned her brother, William Herschel’s, work. Much of her cataloging and reduction work appeared under William’s name, with Caroline described as an assistant, despite being the first salaried woman astronomer and an accomplished observer in her own right.

Sophia Brahe in 1602.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

We will never fully know the extent to which women contributed to astronomy in its earliest recorded days, but these women, whose efforts went mostly unrecognized or whose contributions were downplayed, were part of the early invisible labor that shaped astronomy.

Moving from the early modern era to the late modern era, women’s contributions to astronomy continued, with work still largely invisible or unacknowledged. In the 19th and 20th centuries, women filled the roles of human “computers.” The calculations they made pushed astronomy forward even as their contributions remained largely unknown. 

• Annie Maunder (1868–1947) was one of the first “lady computers” at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Maunder worked alongside her husband, Edward, studying the prolonged period of time from 1645 to 1715 when little sunspot activity appeared on the Sun. Edward Maunder eventually published two papers on the phenomenon, but Annie’s name was excluded because she lacked a college degree. This work is now known as the Maunder Minimum, with Annie finally getting the credit she deserves.

• Mary Adela Blagg (1858–1944) was a self‑taught mathematician who did meticulous work standardizing lunar nomenclature and analyzing lunar features. Her observations were crucial to lunar mapping. She also worked on variable stars. 

• Women worked as “computers” at many major observatories (Harvard, Yerkes, Mount Wilson, etc.) They measured positions, spectra, and brightnesses from photographic plates to produce catalogs of stellar classification, variable‑star studies, and galactic structure. Their contributions are buried in annual reports and plate logs, remaining largely unknown.

• Jocelyn Bell Burnell (b. 1943) identified the first radio pulsar in the data from a new radio telescope she helped build while still a graduate student. The 1974 Nobel Prize for this discovery went to her (male) supervisor and a senior colleague, with Bell Burnell’s contribution omitted completely. As Bell Burnell was graduate student, the omission was controversial, but her contribution to the discovery was well-documented.

• Margaret Burbidge (1919–2020) co‑authored the landmark B²FH paper explaining how elements are formed in stars and was a leader in observational spectroscopy. While she is now well-known, she faced early exclusion from the use of some telescopes. 

Harvard Computers in March 1898. 
Photo credit: UAV 630.271 (E4116), olvwork432388. Harvard University Archives.

While women in astronomy today are now credited for their work, the invisible labor continues in various ways, ultimately affecting individual careers and the advancement of women in the field in the long run. 

• Women are disproportionately responsible for doing the tasks that keep offices and departments running, without receiving credit or career advancement for their efforts. 

• Despite women’s growing participation in the general workforce (rising from about 44% to over 46% of workers globally between 2000 and 2024), they still hold only about a quarter of senior management roles (around 25% in 2024), and invisible labor is cited as one of several systemic factors slowing their advancement.

• A 2025 analysis of higher education reports that women make up about 43% of academic staff but only 28% of full professors, with an 11.9% gender pay gap despite similar levels of education and experience.

Invisible labor continues to impact the lives and work of women astronomers. While it looks different today than simply excluding women from recognition for their work, it is still a significant problem that must be recognized and rectified to bring true parity to the field.