What lady would take mathematics instead of Latin?

December 31, 2018 5:14 AM

NASA Astronomer Nancy Grace Roman has died at 93. Pioneering astronomer Nancy Grace Roman fought to earn her place in a field dominated by men, and led the way in convincing ground-based astronomers that space astronomy was worthwhile. She developed and planned the Hubble Space Telescope, which is famous for its stunning images of space.
posted by stillmoving (17 comments total)

🛰 • a huge loss!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 5:17 AM on December 31, 2018 [3 favorites]

∫
posted by sammyo at 6:22 AM on December 31, 2018

I have her Lego minifig in my office! A hero and a pioneer.
posted by emjaybee at 6:25 AM on December 31, 2018 [6 favorites]

.
posted by limeonaire at 7:01 AM on December 31, 2018

.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 7:21 AM on December 31, 2018

.
posted by Fizz at 7:25 AM on December 31, 2018

What a wonderful story! Can we call it the Nancy Grace Roman Hubble Space Telescope now?

And this lady woman would totally take math instead of Latin, because languages are f***ing hard.
posted by heatherlogan at 7:25 AM on December 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

If there's one thing this hero (and that's what she was!) has shown us is how much talent we have lost/wasted over the millennia, and how much we're still wasting with all this misogynic bs.

Thank you, Nancy Grace Roman, for all your hard work!

.
posted by DreamerFi at 7:42 AM on December 31, 2018 [3 favorites]

.
posted by tilde at 7:52 AM on December 31, 2018

I have her Lego minifig in my office!
Me too.

.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 8:15 AM on December 31, 2018

.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:53 AM on December 31, 2018

If there's one thing this hero (and that's what she was!) has shown us is how much talent we have lost/wasted over the millennia, and how much we're still wasting with all this misogynic bs.

And we did our best to lose her talent as well, even after she'd proven herself professionally. I don't know the details, but I gather that the 10 years left out of the bio above weren't exactly easy for her.

For those hankering for more info about her life, there's a great, if long, AIP interview from 1980 that's worth a look.

.
posted by eotvos at 12:54 PM on December 31, 2018

✧
posted by Quackles at 3:55 PM on December 31, 2018

.
posted by bryon at 9:27 PM on December 31, 2018

☼
posted by Cranberry at 12:24 AM on January 1, 2019

.
posted by filtergik at 3:44 AM on January 1, 2019

Damn. Her contribution was awesome. I think PBS gave her props in their most recent history of the Hubble.

.
posted by Artful Codger at 3:11 PM on January 1, 2019