A New Scientist Book of the Year
A Physics Today Book of the Year
A Science News Book of the Year

The history of science is replete with women getting little notice for their groundbreaking discoveries. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, a tireless innovator who correctly theorized the substance of stars, was one of them.

It was not easy being a woman of ambition in early twentieth-century England, much less one who wished to be a scientist. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin overcame prodigious obstacles to become a woman of many firsts: the first to receive a PhD in astronomy from Radcliffe College, the first promoted to full professor at Harvard, the first to head a department there. And, in what has been called “the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy,” she was the first to describe what stars are made of.

Payne-Gaposchkin lived in a society that did not know what to make of a determined schoolgirl who wanted to know everything. She was derided in college and refused a degree. As a graduate student, she faced formidable skepticism. Revolutionary ideas rarely enjoy instantaneous acceptance, but the learned men of the astronomical community found hers especially hard to take seriously. Though welcomed at the Harvard College Observatory, she worked for years without recognition or status. Still, she accomplished what every scientist yearns for: discovery. She revealed the atomic composition of stars—only to be told that her conclusions were wrong by the very man who would later show her to be correct.

In What Stars Are Made Of, Donovan Moore brings this remarkable woman to life through extensive archival research, family interviews, and photographs. Moore retraces Payne-Gaposchkin’s steps with visits to cramped observatories and nighttime bicycle rides through the streets of Cambridge, England. The result is a story of devotion and tenacity that speaks powerfully to our own time.

"The first full-length biography, a beautifully written and well-researched study. Handling the science with a light but deft touch, Moore primarily focuses on this astronomer’s personal life, the office politics, and the struggles one woman of science faced in the first half of the 20th century." - Wall Street Journal

"Payne-Gaposchkin pounded on astronomy’s glass ceiling, and she was the first to put major cracks in it. But in many places, the ceiling was impervious to her effort and intellect. She deserves more praise for her accomplishments than she has received…Fortunately, Moore’s new biography of this brilliant scientist is a must-read." - Physics Today

"Male astronomers often achieve a popular fame that eluded one of the field’s most distinguished women: Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. That should be remedied by Donovan Moore’s engaging and accessible biography. It skillfully opens up Payne’s achievements and adventures by setting them in the global village of astronomy…Moore illuminates Payne’s development into a remarkable scientist." - Nature

"Moore takes readers on a meticulously researched tour of Payne-Gaposchkin’s remarkable life, drawn from family interviews, contemporary accounts and Payne-Gaposchkin’s own writings. It’s a riveting tale of a woman who knocked down every wall put before her to get the answers she desired about the cosmos." - Science News

"Tells the story of a brilliant and altogether remarkable astronomer who is not nearly as famous as she should be. This clear and articulate book may go some way to rectify that situation…We owe a great deal to pioneers such as Cecilia Payne-Gaposhkin, who should be better known and whose achievements should be much more widely celebrated." - Nature Astronomy

"A rich and illuminating biography of a scientist whose contributions have been underappreciated for too long." - New Scientist

"Payne comes across as a fascinating woman, navigating the various gender-based obstacles in her way to build a life and career in a new subject (astrophysics) in a new country…An entertaining, engaging, and informative read." - BBC Sky at Night

"Welcome not just because it puts the record straight for a wider audience but also because it is the proverbial good read, setting Payne’s achievements in the context of her times." - Literary Review

"Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin is one of the most important scientists that you’ve never heard of…Moore pays tribute to a tenacious scientist whose many firsts helped break new ground—and whose spirit of discovery changed our understanding of the universe." - A Mighty Girl

"Illuminates the amazing life and work of astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin…Moore captures a fascinating period of change in science, when physics was in flux and astrophysics was brand-new, and in the world as a whole, as new opportunities opened up for women. This is a fascinating look at a pioneer in science." - Publishers Weekly

"A fine biography of perhaps the greatest astronomer of the past century that no one has heard of…Readers will gnash their teeth as Moore recounts the discrimination she endured…An outstanding life of an impressive scientist." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Moore charts Payne-Gaposchkin’s scientific life from grade school standout to world-class astronomer." - Science

"An engaging, enlightening biography about a key figure in astrophysics in the 20th century." - Space Review

"Recounts the remarkable story of this unusually gifted scientist." - Book Post

"Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin was one of the world’s first astrochemists. This book tells of her striking scientific insights, her frustrations as a female scientist and how she rose to become the first female professor at Harvard University…Very readable and well organized, giving remarkable insights into its paradoxical subject who was both shy but determined…A worthy tribute to a truly remarkable woman." - Chemistry World

"Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin is one of the most important scientists that you've never heard of…In this extensively researched biography, Donovan Moore pays tribute to a tenacious scientist whose many firsts helped break new ground—and whose spirit of discovery changed our understanding of the universe." - A Mighty Girl

"Extremely well-researched, detailed and engaging, with a perfect mix of history, anecdotes and scientific explanations, Moore brings to life the bright light that was Payne-Gaposchkin." - Physics World