Settings 1900 – 1920 Leavitt home, rural Massachusetts The Harvard Observatory Offices Henrietta’s apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Henrietta Leavitt Astronomy wouldn’t be what it is today without an ability to measure distances. This was all made possible by the work of Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Ms. Leavitt worked at the Harvard College Observatory in the early 20th Century. She, along with other Harvard ‘Computers’ like Annie Jump Cannon and Williamina Fleming, performed complex calculations and catalogued the brightness of countless celestial objects. Ms. Leavitt’s careful work led her to discover a relationship in Cepheid Variable stars that is used to find the distance to these bright stars. This revelation led to its use as a yard stick to measure the distance to other galaxies, ultimately contributing to our understanding of an ever-expanding universe. Through Ms. Leavitt and the other Harvard Computers, we know that we are but a small speck in the wide-open universe and are ever on a quest to understand it. Leslie C. P. Chamberlain, PhD Physics Teacher in the Upper School
Cast Henrietta Leavitt...............................................................................Lila Elrod* Margaret Leavitt.......................................................................... Kate Franklin Peter Shaw........................................................................McConnico Sharpe* Williamina Flemming.................................................................Angie Baird* Annie Jump Cannon................................................................Larissa Smith* Understudy..............................................................................Annabelle Nolan
Technical Team Stage Manager....................................................................Frances Bradford* Assist. Stage Manager ...............................................................Emma Pierce Costumes.....................................................................................Lauren Payton Props.........................................................Sara Mac Wallace & Nia Maddux Light Board..................................................................................Taylor Nisbet* Sound Board.................................................................................Autumn Nash Microphone Board .........................................................Michaela Hamman
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