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Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond: The Life of Astronomer Vera Rubin
How Vera Rubin convinced the scientific community that dark matter might exist, persevering despite early dismissals of her work.
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 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. Some observatories in midcentury America restricted women from using their large telescopes; Rubin was unable to collect her own data until a decade after she had earned her PhD. Still, she continued her groundbreaking work, driving a scientific revolution. She received the National Medal of Science in 1993, but never the Nobel Prize—perhaps overlooked because of her gender. She’s 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.
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 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. Some observatories in midcentury America restricted women from using their large telescopes; Rubin was unable to collect her own data until a decade after she had earned her PhD. Still, she continued her groundbreaking work, driving a scientific revolution. She received the National Medal of Science in 1993, but never the Nobel Prize—perhaps overlooked because of her gender. She’s 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.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published August 17, 2021
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190 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 4, 2022
Great read! Most astronomy books and biographies I’ve read have been too technical and kind of discouraged me from reading further on the subject. This book was totally different. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the author’s writing style, but she did such a great job explaining the complexities of the subject and delving into some of the personal details of Vera Rubin’s life that it hardly mattered. (I will say that the version I read could do with a copy-edit, though.) Thanks for encouraging me to start reading more about dark matter!
October 5, 2025
This past June (2025) the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) came online. The observatory is located in the Coquimbo Region of Chile and is expected to catalog more than five million asteroids and image approximately 20 billion galaxies, 17 billion stars, and six million small Solar System bodies.
I has read quite a bit about astronomy and cosmology but I am embarrassed to say that I had not be aware of Vera Rubin. While biographies are not my favorite genre, I decided that this book would give me a good overview of who she was and what discoveries she had made. I was not disappointed.
A woman in a male dominated field, Vera did not shy away from conflict. She managed to pursue her ambition to become a “real astronomer.” Along the way she came up with a number of controversial theories, then did the grueling work to backup her ideas, and fought to get her peers to accept her conclusions. Rubin was a pioneer in discoveries about galactic rotation rates as well as work regarding dark matter.
Ashley Yeager has done a great job of providing you background into both the person and the scientist. She has included enough information, and extensive footnotes, to give you a working knowledge about many astronomical concepts. Her writing is excellent and she includes pieces of interviews with Rubin’s peers to fill in more about how important her work was to the field.
A little aside, one of the few other biographies I have read was Maria Mitchell: The Soul of an Astronomer by Beatrice Gormley. Maria Mitchell was the first professional female astronomer in the United States who, in 1847, discovered a comet that was later known as "Miss Mitchell's Comet.” Mitchell was one of Rubin’s heroes and part of the reason she chose to become an astronomer.
If you are looking for a lot of hard science, this book is not for you. However, if you are looking for the story of a fascinating woman, a mini-course in dark matter and galactic rotation, and a lot about how sexist the field of astronomy is you will be delighted with Bright Galaxies.
I has read quite a bit about astronomy and cosmology but I am embarrassed to say that I had not be aware of Vera Rubin. While biographies are not my favorite genre, I decided that this book would give me a good overview of who she was and what discoveries she had made. I was not disappointed.
A woman in a male dominated field, Vera did not shy away from conflict. She managed to pursue her ambition to become a “real astronomer.” Along the way she came up with a number of controversial theories, then did the grueling work to backup her ideas, and fought to get her peers to accept her conclusions. Rubin was a pioneer in discoveries about galactic rotation rates as well as work regarding dark matter.
Ashley Yeager has done a great job of providing you background into both the person and the scientist. She has included enough information, and extensive footnotes, to give you a working knowledge about many astronomical concepts. Her writing is excellent and she includes pieces of interviews with Rubin’s peers to fill in more about how important her work was to the field.
A little aside, one of the few other biographies I have read was Maria Mitchell: The Soul of an Astronomer by Beatrice Gormley. Maria Mitchell was the first professional female astronomer in the United States who, in 1847, discovered a comet that was later known as "Miss Mitchell's Comet.” Mitchell was one of Rubin’s heroes and part of the reason she chose to become an astronomer.
If you are looking for a lot of hard science, this book is not for you. However, if you are looking for the story of a fascinating woman, a mini-course in dark matter and galactic rotation, and a lot about how sexist the field of astronomy is you will be delighted with Bright Galaxies.
January 4, 2022
Quite interesting! I’m often leery of popular astronomy books, because I know the science well enough that there’s nothing new or interesting. That was definitely not the case in this book. The focus was on Rubin’s life and work, and there were details without getting bogged down. I found it really interesting to see how much sexism and discouragement Rubin faced, and yet she persevered and became an amazing successful astronomer. I certainly would not be able to keep going in the face of half as many obstacles as she faced.
September 23, 2021
A very good biography of Vera Rubin, one of the first female astronomers. Born in 1928, Rubin got to experience all of the misogyny of her generation of scientists. She persevered and was one of the key people who collected the data needed to understand that dark matter was required to explain how our galaxies were acting. The author does a very good job of covering both the science and her challenges as a woman in the field.
July 29, 2024
I didn't have a lot of the knowledge that might have helped me understand this book but I learned a ton.
June 22, 2025
“Just right,” said Goldilocks
A perfect blend of the scientific and the personal. Also a great way to meet an enduring mystery and the indefatigable person who did the most to draw science into its pursuit.
A perfect blend of the scientific and the personal. Also a great way to meet an enduring mystery and the indefatigable person who did the most to draw science into its pursuit.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews