# Talk: Re-envisioning Her Stars ![Freehily Maureen Beattie as Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin in The Lightest Element photo by Mark Douet](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2024-10/Freehily%20Maureen%20Beattie%20as%20Cecilia%20Payne-Gaposchkin%20in%20The%20Lightest%20Element%20Mark%20Douet.jpeg?itok=r6peDQhn) #### calendar\_today Date and Time **October 18, 2024** 06:30PM - 07:30PM BST #### pin\_drop Location **Royal Observatory Greenwich | London, UK** [Peter Harrison Planetarium Blackheath Avenue London SE10 8XJ United Kingdom ]() [ Get Your Tickets and Support the Royal Observatory Greenwich arrow\_circle\_right ](https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/royal-observatory/re-envisioning-her-stars-pioneering-women-astronomers-contemporary-art) Women have been central to astronomical discoveries, but their work has often been underrecognized. How can we make these stories more widely known and accessible to an eager public? Join us at Royal Observatory Greenwich for an inspiring panel discussion exploring the hidden stories of pioneering women in astronomy. The panel features three contemporary artists whose work responds to the legacies of the Women Astronomical Computers at the Harvard College Observatory. These Harvard pioneers – including Williamina Paton Fleming, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, and Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin – made groundbreaking discoveries space discoveries, including celestial objects, foundational laws, and the composition of stars. All three artists will share their work and insights on creating new works from a historical collection to bring these histories alive. **Stella Feehily** is the playwright of Hampstead Theatre’s current production, [*The Lightest Element*](https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/2024/the-lightest-element/). **Aura Satz** is a London-based artist, filmmaker, and documentarian who created the installation artwork “[Her Luminous Distance](https://library.cfa.harvard.edu/plate-stacks/exhibitions/her-luminous-distance).” **Anna Von Mertens** is an artist and author of the recently published book, [*Attention Is Discovery: The Life and Legacy of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt*](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262049382/attention-is-discovery/). This event offers a unique blend of history, art, and science, shedding light on the essential roles women have played in advancing our understanding of the cosmos. The event is co-organized by the Royal Observatory Greenwich and the [Harvard Plate Stacks](https://library.cfa.harvard.edu/plate-stacks), part of the [Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian](https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/). The evening's discussion will be moderated by **Thom Burns,** Curator of the Harvard Plate Stacks. **Please note** that this show involves flashing lights. ## Meet the Panel [### Elijah Berk-Silverman ](/people/elijah-berk-silverman)Curatorial Assistant Elijah Berk-Silverman is a Curatorial Assistant with the Harvard Plate Stacks, where he is a part of the team that works on the preservation and digitization of 19th and 20th-century astronomical glass plate photographs. He works on collections management... ![Man in black jacket standing in front of cabinet of plates](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Elijah%20Burke-Silverman%209-30%20Headshots-140.jpg?itok=FcWlwLeD) [### Victoria Burge ](/people/victoria-burge-1)Artist Victoria Burge is an artist who creates small-scale sculpture and works on paper from New York. Burge is a recipient of a studio apprenticeship at The Fabric Workshop and Museum (2017), a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant (2018), and fellowships awarded by... person [### Thom Burns ](/people/thom-burns)Curator of the Harvard Plate Stacks Thom Burns is the Curator of the Harvard Plate Stacks, the historical astronomical photographic collection at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. His professional and academic career focuses on connecting and creating synergy among... ![Man in red blazer stands in front of telescope](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Thom%209-30%20Headshots-60.jpg?h=54ff697f&itok=XLYckoNq) [### Cady Coleman ](/people/cady-coleman)Astronaut, US Air Force Colonel, Chemist, and Engineer Astronaut, US Air Force Colonel, Chemist, and Engineer ![Portrait of astronaut Cady Coleman in front of a US flag in a spacesuit.](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/Cady%2BPortrait%2Bjsc2010e185684%2BCROP%2B300dpi.jpg?itok=OhyUlnQJ) [### Stella Feehily ](/people/stella-feehily)Playwright, Screenwriter, and Actor Stella Feehily is the playwright of Hampstead Theatre’s current production, The Lightest Element (Sept. 5, 2024-Oct. 12, 2024). This biographical play about the life and career of Dr. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin is centered around 1958, when she was... ![Stella Feehily](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2024-10/Stella%20Feehily%20%281%29.jpg?h=167ae270&itok=tLzM3feC) [### Lisa Hees Bravata ](/people/lisa-hees-bravata)Archivist & Assistant Curator Lisa Hees Bravata is the Archivist and Assistant Curator of the Harvard Plate Stacks. Lisa catalogs, describes, and preserves the historic artifacts in the Plate Stacks collection to make them more accessible to all. Her archival work emphasizes bringing... ![Women in white shirt and tan sweater stands in front of telescope](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Lisa%20Bravata%209-30%20Headshots-44.jpg?itok=FuixnZ8f) [### Deidre Hunter ](/people/deidre-hunter)Astronomer, Lowell Observatory Astronomer at Lowell Observatory, and historic collaborator of Vera Rubin ![Portrait of Deidre Hunter in front of a green background. She wears glasses and has short brown hair. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/dhunter.jpg?itok=NXeSGY61) [### Samantha Joyce ](/people/samantha-joyce)Curatorial Assistant Samantha M. Joyce is a Curatorial Assistant at the Harvard Plate Stacks, where she contributes to research, exhibition planning, and collection care. She was part of the team that completed the 20-year-long DASCH project and has supported major programs... ![Women in black shirt with red hair standing at a desk with astronomical glass plates.](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Samantha%209-30%20Headshots-15.jpg?itok=21KPJ4FP) [### Dominika Król ](/people/dominika-krol)Postdoctoral Researcher in the High Energy Astrophysics Division at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian Postdoctoral Researcher in the High Energy Astrophysics Division at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian ![Portrait of a woman looking straight ahead with brown hair and a blue stripped shirt](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/Screenshot%202025-06-22%20at%204.31.47%E2%80%AFPM.png?h=77d69287&itok=N0iGBdsA) [### Kayleigh MacDonald ](/people/kayleigh-macdonald)Curatorial Assistant of Astronomical Photographs Kayleigh MacDonald is a Curatorial Assistant with the Harvard Plate Stacks, where she assists in the digitization and preservation of 19th-century glass plate photographs. Her role combines high-level archival handling, metadata organization, and imaging... ![Women standing in front of telescope wearing a vest and jeans](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Kayleigh%209-30%20Headshots-98.jpg?itok=ztDENDS7) [### Priyamvada Natarajan ](/people/priyamvada-natarajan) Fruton Professor in Astronomy & Physics at Yale Astrophysicist and the inaugural Joseph S. and Sophia S. Fruton Professor in Astronomy & Physics at Yale ![Portrait of a woman looking at the camera dressed in grey with long dark brown hair.](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/Priyamvada-Natarajan-779ee89fc514ec9c.jpeg?itok=agrxLL1U) [### Meta Partenheimer ](/people/meta-partenheimer)Curatorial Assistant Meta Partenheimer is a Curatorial Assistant at the Harvard College Observatory’s Astronomical Photographic Glass Plate Collection at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. In her role, Meta supports projects related to the history of... ![Woman in dark green shirt smiling in front of cabinets](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-10/Meta%209-30%20Headshots-129.jpeg?h=bdc785e2&itok=rxBBGF6n) arrow\_back arrow\_forward Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#) Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://platestacks.cfa.harvard.edu/node/1785016/event-feed.ics) Copy link link