Annie Jump Cannon
Astronomer who created a system to classify the stars.
Their Story
Annie Jump Cannon was an astronomer who studied the light from hundreds of thousands of stars. She developed a way to sort stars into groups based on their spectra, which is still used today. She classified more stars than almost anyone in history.
Era
1900s
Field
Astronomy
Annie Jump Cannon
Astronomer who created a system to classify the stars.
Science · Astronomy · 1900s · Women in STEM
Their Story
Annie Jump Cannon was an astronomer who studied the light from hundreds of thousands of stars. She developed a way to sort stars into groups based on their spectra, which is still used today. She classified more stars than almost anyone in history.
Key Innovation
Created the stellar classification system astronomers still use to organize stars by temperature.
Why It Matters Today
Her system helps astronomers understand stars, a great example of finding patterns in huge amounts of data.
Learn More
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Jump_Cannon
Wilkinson STEM Education Foundation · 251 American Innovators · wilkinsonstemfoundation.org
