Written in the stars

“Though her epoch-making discoveries are yet to come, she is now to be found on starry nights among the moths and dust at Newnham observatory, showing the wonders of the Heavens to all who come.”  

Betty Grearson-Leaf (NC 1919) writing of her school and College friend Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (NC 1919) in Thersites, the Newnham College magazine in 1923.

On Saturday 10th May it will be 125 years since the birth of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and this year it will also be 100 years since her groundbreaking thesis in which she was the first to explain the composition of stars; Otto Struve described it as "the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy."

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin broke barriers to become a trailblazer in astronomy: she was the first to determine the chemical makeup of stars, the first woman promoted to full Professor at Harvard in 1956, and the first to lead a department there. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and her discoveries, have inspired generations of astronomers since. She was, astronomer Dorrit Hoffleit, recalled “the most brilliant, and at the same time, the person most discriminated-against, at Harvard College Observatory”. 

Anniversary events Friday 5, Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 December 2025

We are planning to celebrate the anniversary of Dr Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and her extraordinary achievements with a weekend of events from 5-7 December in partnership with the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. The weekend will be open to alumnae and the public and will include: stargazing and lectures at The Institute of Astronomy, exclusive tours of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, a celebratory College dinner, as well as talks and events at Newnham including Lord Martin Rees - Astronomer Royal and 60th President of the Royal Society, Dr Ricarda Beckmann on Black Hole research and Professor Nikku Madhusudhan on his recent groundbreaking research indicating indicating biological activity outside the solar system, among other speakers to be announced in due course. 

Booking will be open at the end of May via this website.