What Miss Mitchell Saw by Hayley Barrett

What Miss Mitchell Saw is the story of Maria Mitchell, astronomer extraordinaire. Maria was born and grew up on an island with gull-dappled dunes and fragrant wild roses. Whaling ships returned to the island harbour laden with barrels of oil and homesick sailors. Maria was taught at home by her mother and aided her father as he observed the night sky. Her father's telescope was placed on the roof of their home in Nantucket Town. He taught Maria how to use the telescope, how to observe the sky closely and to sweep each part of the sky carefully. Maria grew to know the stars and the planets, to recognize eclipses and aurora borealis, meteors and comets. Maria also learned how to rate the accuracy of the chronometers used by the whalers.

As an adult Maria taught school and she also became a librarian. However, every night was devoted to observing the night sky. However, one October night Maria discovered a patch of light that was bright but blurry near Polaris. She knew this was a comet and immediately told her father. He immediately sent a letter to Boston, to the astronomers at Harvard Observatory advising of this important discovery. Meanwhile, halfway across the world, in an observatory in Rome, an astronomer-priest had also made the same discovery.

At this time the king of Denmark had a gold medal created to be awarded to whomever discovered a new comet with a telescope. Maria Mitchell eventually was confirmed to be the first to have discovered this comet and was awarded the gold medal!

Discussion

It's wonderful to see so many new picture books telling the little-known stories of women mathematicians, doctors, astronomers, physicists, geologists and scientists whose contributions and efforts have been forgotten or overlooked throughout the centuries. What Miss Mitchell Saw tells the story of astronomer, Maria Mitchell, an American woman astronomer who lived in the middle of the 19th century on Nantucket Island.

Maria was born on August 1, 1818 on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. She was the third child born to William and Lydia Mitchell. Maria grew up in a Quaker family. Quakers believed that girls as well as boys should receive an education. As a result, Maria's father, who was an astronomer and teacher, was an important influence on her. He taught Maria about the stars, how to use a telescope, and how rate ships clocks - called chronometers. During this era, Nantucket was a major whaling port, so learning this latter task was important as whaling and merchant ships were dependent upon their accuracy.

Learning was an important part of the Mitchell family life. Maria's mother was a librarian, so books were also an integral part of their life and learning. Maria attended Cyrus Pierce's School for Young Ladies until she was sixteen-years-old. Maria's father was an astronomer and a teacher and Maria also became a teacher, teaching young girls math and science.

In 1836, Maria began working as a librarian at Nantucket Atheneum. Her evenings were spent observing the night time sky on the roof of the Pacific National Bank using the family's telescope.  On the night of October 1, 1847, Maria discovered Comet 1847 VI using a two and three-quarter inch refractor telescope. Initially Maria was reluctant to make public her discovery, mainly because she was a woman. However, her father was determined that she should receive recognition for her accomplishment and set about obtaining support for his daughter from friends in various observatories. In the end, Maria's discovery won her the gold medal offered by King Frederick VI of Denmark, who was also an amateur astronomer. Frederick had decided to offer the medal for the first astronomer who made the discovery of a new comet.

Portrait of Maria Mitchel by Herminia B. Dassel

The recognition she received for her discovery changed Maria's life. In 1856, Maria left the Atheneum to travel throughout Europe. She was able to visit Sir Isaac Newton's tomb, the observatory at Cambridge, and to visit Sir George Airy, the astronomer who established the Prime Meridian. In Rome, Maria was able to visit the Vatican Observatory and meet Father Secchi, the Vatican astronomer.

She became a trailblazer for women in society and in the sciences. She was the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she was the first professor hired at the newly formed Vassar College, a womens-only college, she was published in academic journals, and was one of the founders of the American Association for the Advancement of Women.

There's no doubt Maria Mitchell made important contributions to the emancipation of women in the sciences. Hayley Barret's picture book focuses only on her discovery of Comet 1847 VI but this discovery was only the beginning for Miss Mitchell. It allowed her to be seen, as Barret points out near the end of her picture book and from there to advance the cause of women in the sciences.To fill out the rest of the story, Barrett includes many more facts about Maria Mitchell at the back in a section titled, "A Bit More About Maria Mitchell - Astronomer, Educator, Activist."

The story of Maria Mitchell is wonderfully illustrated by the starry artwork of Diana Sudyka. Her illustrations make use of a blue, black and silver palatte in keeping with the astronomical theme of the picture book. Sudyka's illustrations were rendered in gouache, watercolour and ink.

 For more information about Maria Mitchell and for resources for students and teachers please check out the Maria Mitchell Association 
This website offers considerable resources about Maria Mitchell as well as suggestions for follow-up research and reading.

image credit: https://www.mariamitchell.org/about/awards/maria-mitchells-gold-medal


Book Details:

What Miss Mitchell Saw by Hayley Barrett
New York: Beach Lane Books   2019