Philosophers and poets in times past tried to figure out why the stainless moon smoothly polished, like a diamond in Dante's words, had stains. The agreed solution was that, like a mirror, it reflected the imperfect Earth. Today we smile, but it was a clever way to understand the Moon in a manner that was consistent with the beliefs of their age. The Moon is no longer the in thing. We see it as often as the Sun and give it little thought - we've become indifferent. However, the Moon does reflect more than just sunlight. The Moon, or more precisely the nomenclature of lunar craters, still holds up a mirror to an important aspect of human history. Of the 1586 craters that have been named honoring philosophers and scientists, only 28 honor a woman. These 28 women of the Moon present us with an opportunity to meditate on this gap, but perhaps more significantly, they offer us an opportunity to talk about their lives, mostly unknown today.
Daniel Altschuler Stern is a professor in the Physics Department of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. In 1991, he was appointed Senior Research Associate at Cornell University and Director of the Arecibo Observatory, a post he held for 13 years. He is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Max Planck institute for Radio Astronomy, and a UNESCO fellow at the University of Valencia. His research centered on radio astronomy, in particular on active galactic nuclei and hydrogen in galaxies. In 2010, he received the Andrew Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics (AIP) for his science outreach work. Altschuler Stern is the author of Children of the Stars, published by Cambridge University Press and translated into Spanish and Italian. His latest book is Contra la Simpleza, Sciencia y Pseudociencia. Fernando Ballesteros Rosello is Head of Instrumentation at the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia. He worked on the design of the gamma-ray space telescope INTEGRAL (ESA), in orbit around the earth. Currently his research centers on astrobiology and exoplanets. In 2006 he was awarded the European Prize for Scientific Outreach, Estudi General, for his book E.T. Talk: How Will We Communicate with Intelligent Life on Other Worlds? and the Bronze Prism award in 2016 for his book, Fractales y caos. La aventura de la complejidad. He is the author of over ten other books, including: Astrobiologia, un puente entre el Big Bang y la vida and 10.000 anos mirando estrellas. He was co-host of the Spanish National Radio program The Sounds of Science and regularly publishes science outreach articles in the press.
Title: The Women of the Moon: Tales of Science, Love, Sorrow, and Courage
Author: Ballesteros, Fernando J.,Altschuler, Daniel R.
ISBN: 9780198844419
Binding:
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication Date: 2019-07-04
Number of Pages: 332
Weight: 0.5702 kg
...an apt quotation from an article in the New Yorker caught my eye: There's a romance to ushering lost women back into the light.... . Readers can be grateful to [the authors] for sharing that romance with us. * Naomi Pasachoff, Metascience *
The authors excel at communicating scientific concepts clearly. Their narrations of the women's lives seamlessly interweave lessons on stellar spectroscopy with biographical accounts of marriage, tragic illnesses, and impressive scientific accomplishments to lend a fresh and much fuller appreciation for the contributions made by women of the Moon. * Emily K. Gibson, Science *
Revealing that 1558 craters on the moon have been named for men, but only 28 for women, this valuable survey offers an illuminating perspective on the latter... The cumulative result of these neat but telling histories is a memorable introduction to 28 strong, smart, and too often forgotten female pioneers of science and exploration. * Publishers Weekly *
The book's clear writing style is complemented by relevant, high-quality graphics and photos ... the quality of the printing, paper, and binding give The Women of the Moon the look and feel of a fine book ... Astronomy and science history enthusiasts should consider adding this informative and interesting read to their book shelf or buying it for a young woman interested in STEM. * Brian Webb, Space Archive *
The book gives the reader an in-depth introduction to the Moon, its formation and lunar nomenclature ... However, the book's strength is in the individual chapters reserved for the women immortalised on the Moon ... To sum up, this book acts as a really nice biographical collection of many historical female scientists. * Carolyn Kennet, Astronomy Now *
A readable and enjoyable title. * Brian Clegg, Popular Science blog *
[Altschuler and Ballesteros] write extremely well, explaining the science parts with enough simplicity and clarity for a non-scientist to grasp at least the relevance and importance of it, and recounting the life stories of these remarkable women with warmth and admiration ... An excellent book that I heartily recommend to all, but think would be especially great to give as a gift to a teenage girl who's interested in a career in science. * FictionFan *
