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What Is This? Maria Mitchells
IN THIS ISSUE
Gold Medal Black-Eyed Susans
July 28, 2016 | Filed under: Nantucket History & People and tagged with: Gold Medal, history,
Still Exceeding
maria mitchell
Expectations
~ by Katherine Brooks with MMA Curator & Deputy Director Jascin Whirligigs Antiques
Leonardo Finger ~
Snippets

Four More Chances to

See TWN Play

Heads: the King of Denmark.
Camp Scholarship in

Memory of Son

Tails: the goddess Urania. Yesterdays Island

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A blazing and fiery comet flashes upon us it is not strange

that a slight shudder comes to even an intelligent observer. Annual Harvest Fair at

For how much do we know of them? Maria Mitchell the Old Mill

A True Nantucket
This coin is actually too big to flip; it is a solid gold medal presented to
Tragedy
Maria Mitchell in 1848 for her discovery of Mitchells Comet in 1847. One
side of the medal presents a portrait of the King of Denmark while the Nantuckets Guided

reverse depicts the Goddess of Urania, muse of astronomy. Urania has a Walkabout Exploring
globe in her left hand and a stylus in her right. Above her are the words Nantucket
(in Latin) Not in vain do we watch the setting and rising of the stars,
The Judge
while above her are the words Cometa Visus 1st Oct. 1847, and the
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outer edge of the medal is engraved with Marias name.
Yesterdays
At 10:30 p.m. on October 1, 1847 from the roof of Nantuckets Pacific Island/Todays
National Bank, Maria Mitchell spotted a comet (a frozen mass made of
Nantucket Page by
rock and ice that orbits the Sun). Located in the sky at five degrees above
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Polaris, this comet made her famous. For a five-day period after the
initial sighting, she observed the comets motion, only relaying the data to Limerick Challenge
her father, William Mitchell.

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Maria was at first hesitant about sharing her discovery wanting to be DEPARTMENT
tolerably sure that it was indeed a comet. Her father finally encouraged Exploring Nantucket
her to let him share the information with the Boston Harvard
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Observatory. Newspapers were soon spreading the word about Miss
Mitchells Comet. Margaret Moore Booker explains in her biography of Featured Entrepreneur

Maria Mitchell, Among the Stars, the importance of spotting a telescopic Featured Restaurants
comet: The discovery of a telescopic comet was considered more
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important than a comet that could be seen by the naked eye because it
allowed the astronomer to see a new comet appear earlier in the sky on Island Cooking

its way towards the sun. And that importance was not lost on people in Island Science
positions of power around the world.
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The King of Denmark, Frederic VI, decreed that anyone who discovered a
telescopic comet was to be awarded a gold medal. Between Marias Entertaining

original hesitancy toward sharing her discovery and cross-continental Nantucket Essays
communication, the gold medal was first presented to Father Francesco
Nantucket Events
de Vico, the director of the Observatory at the Collegio Romano, instead of
Maria. Father Francesco de Vico was awarded the gold medal after he Nantucket History &

spotted and reported the comet on October 3, 1847. But after months of People
debate and support on behalf of Maria Mitchell from many well-known Nantucket Style
astronomers in the United States, the committee finally decided to award
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the gold medal to Maria, who had spotted the comet on October 1.

Maria Mitchell was the first professional female astronomer in the United LIKE US ON
States, the first woman to receive the gold medal from the King of FACEBOOK

Denmark, the first American to receive the medal, and the first woman to
be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. At twelve years ARTICLES BY DATE

old, Maria assisted her father, William, by counting the seconds of a solar FROM 2012
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eclipse from their sitting room on Vestal Street. Maria had always had a
2012
curiosity and aptitude for learning and astronomy.
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Maria believed in learning-by-doing. She was well read and taught herself
ARTICLES 2007-
celestial mechanicsa study that allows astronomers to calculate the
2011
motion of objects in spacehigher mathematics, Latin, German, and in
2007-2011 Featured
later life, Greek! Marias love for books, discovery, and astronomy helped
her discover the comet that made her famous; she was even hired by the Articles

U.S. Nautical Almanac to compute the ephemeris of Venus, which was 2007-2011 Island
used as a pseudo star for navigational purposes by sailors at sea. Science
Despite her new found attention and fame from her discovery of the
2007-2011 Nantucket
comet, Maria remained the librarian of Nantuckets Atheneum and
continued her personal studies and astronomical observations. Essays

2007-2011 Nantucket
The prized medal itself is only brought out to the public once a year
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August 1st marks the celebration of Marias birthday and the Maria
2010 Nantucket Island
Mitchell Association celebrates with a birthday party along lower Vestal
Street which this year includes period music, live falconry demonstrations, Memories

astronomy activities, and, of course, the annual opportunity to view Archived Nantucket
Marias gold medal.
Articles 2007 2011

If you too are intrigued with astronomy and natural science as Maria was,
or about the history surrounding the Mitchells, stop by the Maria Mitchell
Association for a tour, or celebrate with the MMA staff and interns on
August 1 from 1 to 4 pm for Maria Mitchells 198th Birthday Party on
Vestal Street, just a few steps from the Civil War Monument on Main. This
free event is open to all ages.

The MMA was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Maria Mitchell
and to promote her belief in learning-by-doing. An astronomer and
natural scientist, as well as an educator, Maria Mitchell shot to worldwide
fame when she discovered a comet in 1847. For her discovery, she was
awarded a gold medal from the King of Denmark the first American and
first woman to receive the honor. She served as the Professor of
Astronomy and Mathematics at Vassar College from 1865 until 1888.
Today, the MMA operates two observatories, a natural science museum,
 an aquarium, and the birthplace of Maria Mitchell. The MMA conducts
scientific research, leads classes and workshops for people of all ages
year-round, and welcomes thousands of visitors to its museums and
observatories. For details, visit mariamitchell.org.

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