A Comet is Discovered
Maria loved to make scientific observations.
In 1702, Maria M. Winkelmann Kirch became the first woman to ever discover a comet. She made history, and probably helped people think more of women. Here's the description her husband Gottfried Kirch wrote about the event in 1710 -
" Early in the morning the sky was clear and starry. Some
nights before I had observed a variable star, and my wife wanted to find and
see it for herself. In so doing she found a comet in the sky. At which time she
woke me and I found that it was indeed a comet ... I was surprised that I had
not seen it the night before. "
However, this is not the entire story of the discovery. When it was discovered, Gottfried claimed he had made the discovery. Nobody will every know why he claimed this. It could've been for a number of reasons. It could've been to avoid embarrassment, or to simply just have the glory for himself. However, Gottfried had discovered a number of comets himself, so it is probably most likely that he claimed this to avoid embarrassment. But, it also could've been because of Maria's preference to publish her work in German. This would not allow her to publish it in Germany's only science journal at the time, Acta Eruditorum. Acta Eruditorum was composed in Latin.
Comets are usually named after the person who discovered them, so this particular comet was named after Gottfried Kirch instead of Maria M. Winkelmann Kirch, since he claimed credit.
" Early in the morning the sky was clear and starry. Some
nights before I had observed a variable star, and my wife wanted to find and
see it for herself. In so doing she found a comet in the sky. At which time she
woke me and I found that it was indeed a comet ... I was surprised that I had
not seen it the night before. "
However, this is not the entire story of the discovery. When it was discovered, Gottfried claimed he had made the discovery. Nobody will every know why he claimed this. It could've been for a number of reasons. It could've been to avoid embarrassment, or to simply just have the glory for himself. However, Gottfried had discovered a number of comets himself, so it is probably most likely that he claimed this to avoid embarrassment. But, it also could've been because of Maria's preference to publish her work in German. This would not allow her to publish it in Germany's only science journal at the time, Acta Eruditorum. Acta Eruditorum was composed in Latin.
Comets are usually named after the person who discovered them, so this particular comet was named after Gottfried Kirch instead of Maria M. Winkelmann Kirch, since he claimed credit.