Posted on August 1, 2021
Key Points
This is an update of my post published on August 1, 2010:
Born on this day in 1818, in Massachusetts, Mitchell became a self- and home-educated astronomer. She became known for her discovery of a new comet…
…and she went on to study sunspots, moons, and “surface features” of Jupiter and Saturn.
(Obviously, I really mean that Mitchell studied the “features of the top layer of clouds of Jupiter and Saturn.”)
Mitchell was a professor at Vassar College and was the first woman to be a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Maria Mitchell said…
“We have a hunger of the mind which asks for knowledge of all around us, and the more we gain, the more is our desire…”
“We especially need imagination in science.”
“Question everything.”
Read about Mitchell.
Read the book Maria’s Comet, by Deborah Hopkinson, or Rooftop Astronomer, by Stephanie McPherson.
Or how about this one:
Astronomy is fun!
Make a comet using this recipe.
Find puzzles and games on this NASA website.
Also on this date:
Africa from A to Z
Emancipation Day in the Caribbean
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National Kids Day
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Satchmo Days
(July 31 – August 1, 2021)
Plan ahead:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
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August holidays
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August birthdays
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Historical anniversaries in August
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September holidays
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September birthdays
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Historical anniversaries in September
