LA Made Presents: An Expanding Universe - A Story of Deaf Women Astronomers

Get to know the Harvard Computers, a historically overlooked group of 19th-century women who laid the groundwork for modern astronomy by cataloging thousands of stars by hand. The program centers on the lifelong friendship between two deaf astronomers, Annie Jump Cannon and Henrietta Swan Leavitt, who made monumental stellar discoveries that helped lay the foundations of our universe.

Their story will be told by Casey, a modern astronomer with progressive sensorineural hearing loss, who provides a unique perspective on accessibility and inclusion in the sciences. The program features a PowerPoint presentation followed by an introduction to the ASL alphabet and a handful of astronomy-focused signs. There will be a dedicated time for questions and group discussion at the end.

This program is made possible by the LA Made Fund.