Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond

The Life of Astronomer Vera Rubin

By: Ashley Jean Yeager

Narrated by: Wendy Tremont King

We now know that the universe is mostly dark, made up of particles and forces that are undetectable even by our most powerful telescopes. The discovery of the possible existence of dark matter and dark energy signaled a Copernican-like revolution in astronomy: not only are we not the center of the universe, neither is the stuff of which we're made. Astronomer Vera Rubin (1928-2016) played a pivotal role in this discovery. By showing that some astronomical objects seem to defy gravity's grip, Rubin helped convince the scientific community of the possibility of dark matter. In Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond, Ashley Jean Yeager tells the story of Rubin's life and work, recounting her persistence despite early dismissals of her work and widespread sexism in science.

Yeager describes Rubin's childhood fascination with stars, her education at Vassar and Cornell, and her marriage to a fellow scientist. At first, Rubin wasn't taken seriously; she was a rarity, a woman in science, and her findings seemed almost incredible. Still, she continued her groundbreaking work, driving a scientific revolution. She received the National Medal of Science in 1993, and has since been memorialized with a ridge on Mars, an asteroid, a galaxy, and most recently, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory—the first national observatory named after a woman.

©2021 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P)2022 Tantor

Under-appreciated, incredible woman. Okay writing. Barely tolerable performance.

A pioneer in a field dominated by men, Vera Rubin convinced the reluctant critics to reimagine the universe. I was inspired by this incredible figure, and wanted to know more about her. Unfortunately, there aren’t nearly enough biographies about Vera Rubin, and I chose what appeared to be the best option. The writing is a little superficial, but it got the job done—I at least know a little more about Rubin now than I did before. I hope one day that a thorough historian and biographer will give her the proper treatment she deserves. My strongest criticism is reserved for the narrator, who paused at unnatural points in the middle of sentences and had very distracting intonation that made the sentences difficult to follow. I even considered not listening to the audio version altogether, but was barely able to tolerate it at 1.75x speed, where the pauses weren’t as noticeable. Someone please redo the narration.