The moon is made of cheese and the Milky Way is made of caramel, chocolate and nougat. The stars, like our Sun, are made of hydrogen and helium.

Because Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin moved from her native Buckinghamshire, England to go to college at the Harvard College Observatory, we know that the Sun is a mixture of hydrogen and helium, and Milky Ways are yummy.

Cecilia was born in 1900 England when women were encouraged to stay home and do whatever it is that women in the 1900s England did. Mostly stay uneducated and have children. Her father was a barrister and died when she was four years old leaving her mother to raise her and the two other children alone. The family moved to London in search of a college for her brother who later became an archeologist.

Cecilia was sent to St. Mary’s College, but she wasn’t allowed to study math or science, and when she transferred to St. Paul’s Girls’ School in 1918, she was encouraged to study music. She was most interested in science, and she won a scholarship to the women’s wing of Cambridge, Newnham College where she studied physics and chemistry.

She attended a lecture from someone who had photographed the stars during a solar eclipse off the coast of Africa. She was hooked on astronomy at that moment. Her college wouldn’t give her a degree because she was a woman, so she sought a scholarship in the States, packed her bags and joined a graduate program in astronomy at Harvard. She was the first person to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy from Radcliff.

It was her study of the spectral class of stars to their temperature that led her to deduce that they were made of helium and hydrogen, even though the popular opinion at the time was that the Sun had the same composition as the Earth. She also studied the Milky Way and went on to study over 3,000,000 stars.

She was not always given the recognition that she deserved, so when you think of the Sun, think of Cecilia and not the guys that tried to tell her she was wrong only to later on try to claim it for themselves. Looking at you, Henry Norris Russell!

In addition to blazing the way for further star exploration, she set the path for women in science, particularly astronomy, and she was eventually given Chair of the Department of Astronomy. She was a Professor Emerita at Harvard and a staff member of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

She and her husband, Sergei I. Gaposchkin had three children, and her daughter most remembered her as an inventive knitter, an inspired seamstress and a voracious reader. All of that education and the kids remember you for the things you made.

Speaking of things you made, if you’re shopping for Mother’s Day, then don’t miss out on these wonderful handmade gift ideas from these shining star artists and designers.

Happy Friendsgiving Sticker Labels with Pumpkins Sunflowers – Set of 30

Adore by Nat 

Carmel Gold Lampwork Glass Earrings Handmade Autumn Jewelry

Victorian Style Treasures 

Thanks a Bunch Thank You Card in Gold and Blue

Claire M Designs 2

Sunflower Pendant Necklace Yellow Polymer Clay w Jonquil Mint Crystals

Magdalene Jewels 

Radiance

Joanne Carey 

Oliver The Otter Mother's Day Pattern on yellow Coffee Mug

Butterfly in the Attic 

Red Orange Coral Swarovski Pearl Bracelet

Shadow Dog Designs 

Sterling Silver Star of David (Magen David) Apatite Adjustable V Choker

Rivendell Rocks Sedona 

Wire Beaded Kippah

LinorStoreDesigns

Handmade Lampwork Glass Beads

Covergirl Beads 

Buckeye Burl Exotic Wood Oval Earrings

ExoticWoodJewelryAnd

Yellow Flower Earrings

The Singing Beader 

Collectible Thimble Yellow Rose

BMEonAZ