List of women astronomers



The following is a list of astronomers, astrophysicists and other notable women who have made contributions to the field of astronomy.

A

 * Madge Adam (1912–2001), English solar astronomer
 * Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), English space scientist
 * Conny Aerts (born 1966), Belgian astrophysicist specializing in asteroseismology
 * Aglaonike (c. 1st or 2nd Century BCE), ancient Greek astronomer and thaumaturge
 * María Luisa Aguilar Hurtado (1938–2015), Peruvian astronomer
 * Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs (1912–1954), German variable star astronomer
 * Elizabeth Alexander (1908–1958), English geologist and physicist
 * Leah Allen (1884–1973), American astronomer and educator
 * Adelaide Ames (1900 - 1932), American astronomer
 * Anja Cetti Andersen (born 1965), Danish astronomer focused on cosmic dust
 * Necia H. Apfel (born 1930), American astronomer and educator
 * Alice Archenhold (1874–1943), German astronomer
 * Anne Archibald, Canadian astronomer and educator

B

 * Neta Bahcall (born 1942), Israeli astrophysicist and cosmologist specializing in dark matter
 * Odette Bancilhon (1908–1998), French astronomer
 * Beatriz Barbuy (Born 1950), Brazilian strophysicist
 * Amy Barger (born 1971), American galactic astronomer
 * Nadine G. Barlow, American planetary scientist
 * Amy Barr, American planetary geophysicist
 * Maria A. Barucci, Italian astronomer
 * Sarbani Basu, Indian-American astronomer working in solar and stellar astrophysics
 * Natalie Batalha (born 1966), American astronomer
 * Stefi Baum (born 1958), American astronomer and educator
 * Reta Beebe (born 1936), American planetary scientist
 * Emilia Pisani Belserene (1922-2012), American astronomer
 * Jocelyn Bell Burnell (born 1943), Irish radio astronomer
 * Mary Adela Blagg (1858–1944), English selenologist
 * Erika Böhm-Vitense (1923–2017), German-born American stellar astronomer
 * Priscilla Fairfield Bok (1896–1975), American astronomer of galactic astronomy
 * Tabetha S. Boyajian (born c. 1980), American stellar and exoplanetary astronomer
 * Sophia Brahe (c. 1559 to 1643), Danish noble woman
 * Ingeborg Brun (1872–1929), Danish amateur astronomer
 * Margaret Burbidge (1919–2020), British-American observational astronomer and astrophysicist
 * Marta Burgay (born 1976), Italian radio astronomer
 * Mary E. Byrd (1849–1934), American educator and cometary observer

C

 * Annie Jump Cannon (1863−1941), American astronomer who cataloged stellar spectra
 * Robin M. Canup (born 1968), American planetary scientist
 * Nicole Capitaine (born 1948), French astronomer specializing in astrometry
 * C. Marcella Carollo, Italian astronomer studying galaxy formation and evolution
 * Catherine Cesarsky (born 1943), Argentinian–French astrophysicist
 * Merieme Chadid (born 1969), Moroccan-French astronomer
 * Kyongae Chang (born 1946), South Korean astrophysicist and instructor
 * Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen (1751–1827), German noble and patron of astronomy
 * Jun Chen, Chinese–American astronomer
 * Lyudmila Chernykh (1935–2017), Russian astronomer
 * Jessie Christiansen, Australian astrophysicist
 * Agnes Mary Clerke (1842–1907), Irish astronomer and author
 * Judith Gamora Cohen (born 1946), American astronomer researching galactic astronomy
 * Françoise Combes (born 1952), French astrophysicist and educator
 * Lynn Cominsky (born 1953), American astrophysicist and educator
 * Janine Connes (born c. 1934), French astronomer
 * France A. Córdova (born 1947), American astrophysicist and administrator
 * Heather Couper (1949–2020), English astronomer, broadcaster and science populariser
 * Athena Coustenis, Greek planetary scientist
 * Carolin Crawford, English astrophysicist and educator
 * Lucy D’Escoffier Crespo da Silva (1978–2000), Brazilian astronomy student
 * Maria Cunitz (1610–1664), Silesian astronomer and author

D

 * Rosina Dafter (1875–1959), Australian astronomer
 * Ruth Agnes Daly, American astrophysicist
 * Laura Danly (born 1958), American astronomer and educator
 * Doris Daou (born 1964), Lebanese-Canada astronomer and educator
 * Marie-Jeanne de Lalande (1768–1832), French astronomer and mathematician
 * Audrey C. Delsanti (born 1976), French astrobiologist
 * Elsa van Dien, Dutch astronomer
 * Harriet Dinerstein, American astronomer
 * Ewine van Dishoeck (born 1955), Dutch astrochemist
 * Anlaug Amanda Djupvik, Norwegian stellar astronomer
 * Megan Donahue, American astronomer and instructor
 * Vibert Douglas (1894–1988), Canadian astrophysicist
 * Jeanne Dumée (1660–1706), French astronomer and author
 * Jo Dunkley (1979/1980), British cosmologist
 * Andrea Dupree, American astrophysicist

E

 * Maria Clara Eimmart (1676-1707), German astronomer, engraver, and designer
 * Sara Ellison, Canadian astronomer and instructor studying extragalactic astronomy
 * Rebecca Elson (1960–1999), Canadian–American astronomer and writer

F

 * Sandra Faber (born 1944), American astrophysicist and instructor studying galactic evolution
 * Fira Fatmasiefa, (born 2000) Indonesian-American astrophysicist (UC Berkeley/Boston University)
 * Annette Ferguson, Scottish observational astrophysicist
 * Laura Ferrarese, Italian astronomer studying supermassive black holes
 * Debra Fischer, American astronomer investigating exoplanets
 * Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion (1877–1962), French astronomer
 * Williamina Fleming (1857–1911), Scottish astronomer
 * Anna Frebel (born 1980), German astronomer
 * Wendy Freedman (born 1957), Canadian-American observational cosmologist
 * Katherine Freese, German theoretical astrophysicist
 * Caroline Furness (1869–1936), American astronomer and teacher

G

 * Catharine Garmany (born 1946), American astronomer and educator
 * Pamela L. Gay (born 1973), American astronomer, educator, and writer
 * Vera Fedorovna Gaze (1899–1954), Russian astronomer who studied emission nebula and minor planets
 * Margaret Geller (born 1947), American astrophysicist studying extragalactic astronomy
 * Andrea M. Ghez (born 1965), American astronomer, teacher, and Nobel prize winner
 * Agnes Giberne (1845–1939), English novelist and scientific writer
 * Nüzhet Gökdoğan (1910–2003), Turkish astronomer, mathematician and academic
 * Merle Gold (1921-2017), American astrophysicist
 * Andreja Gomboc (born 1969), Slovenian astrophysicist
 * Alyssa A. Goodman (born 1962), American astrophysicist
 * Eva Grebel, German astronomer studying stellar populations and galaxy formation
 * Lucie Green (born c. 1975), English science communicator and solar researcher
 * Jenny Greene (born 1978), American astrophysicist and teacher studying supermassive black holes and galaxies
 * Ruth Grützbauch (born 1978), Austrian astronomer

H

 * Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and first female director of Trieste's Observatory
 * Erika Hamden, American astrophysicist and instructor
 * Heidi Hammel (born 1960), American planetary scientist
 * Fiona A. Harrison, American astrophysicist
 * Marjorie Hall Harrison (1918–1986), English-born American astronomer
 * Lisa Harvey-Smith (born 1979), British-Australian astrophysicist
 * Margaret Harwood (1885–1979), American astronomer
 * Martha P. Haynes (born 1951), American astronomer specialized in radio astronomy and extragalactic astronomy
 * Martha Locke Hazen (1931-2006), American astronomer
 * E. Ruth Hedeman (1910–2006), American solar astronomer
 * Mary Lea Heger (1897–1983), American astronomer who studied the interstellar medium
 * Charlene Heisler (1961-1999), Canadian astronomer
 * Eleanor F. Helin (1932–2009), American astronomer who studied near–Earth asteroids
 * Amina Helmi, Argentine astronomer
 * Amanda Hendrix (born 1968), American planetary scientist
 * Caroline Herschel (1750–1848), German astronomer
 * Elisabeth Hevelius (1647–1693), Polish astronomer
 * Jacqueline Hewitt (born 1958), American astrophysicist
 * Catherine Heymans, British astrophysicist and instructor
 * Renée Hložek, South African cosmologist
 * Dorrit Hoffleit (1907–2007), American astronomer
 * Helen Sawyer Hogg (1905–1993), American-Canadian astronomer
 * Ann Hornschemeier, American astronomer studying X-ray astronomy
 * Joan Horvath, American aeronautical engineer and writer
 * Nancy Houk, American astronomer
 * Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld (1921–2015), Dutch astronomer studying minor planets
 * Margaret Lindsay Huggins (1848–1915), Irish-English scientific investigator and astronomer
 * Carolyn Hurless (1934-1987), American astronomer and an American Association of Variable Star Observers merit award winner.
 * Hypatia (c. 350–370 to 415), Hellenistic Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician

I

 * Violeta G. Ivanova, Bulgarian astronomer
 * Al-ʻIjliyyah (c. 10th-century), Arab maker of astrolabes

J

 * Odette Jasse (1899–1949), French astronomer at Marseille Observatory.
 * Louise Freeland Jenkins (1888–1970), American astronomer of stellar astronomy
 * Carole Jordan (born 1941), English physicist, astrophysicist, astronomer and academic

K

 * Vicky Kalogera, Greek astrophysicist
 * Lyudmila Karachkina (born 1948), Russian astronomer studying astrometry and minor planets
 * Victoria Kaspi (born 1967), American-Canadian astrophysicist and instructor
 * Lisa Kewley (born 1974), Australian astronomer studying galactic evolution
 * Pamela M. Kilmartin, New Zealand astronomer searching for comets and minor planets
 * Maria Margarethe Kirch (1670–1720), German astronomer and calendar maker
 * Margaret G. Kivelson (born 1928), American planetary scientist
 * Dorothea Klumpke (1861–1942), American astronomer
 * Gillian R. Knapp, American astronomer
 * Kirsten Kraiberg Knudsen, Danish astronomer studying galaxies
 * Heather A. Knutson, American astronomer studying exoplanets
 * Gloria Koenigsberger, Mexican astrophysicist and instructor
 * Bärbel Koribalski, German astrophysicist studying galaxy formation and evolution
 * Lenka Kotková (born 1973), Czech astronomer
 * Chryssa Kouveliotou, Greek astrophysicist and instructor
 * Reiki Kushida, Japanese amateur astronomer

L

 * Elizabeth Lada, American astronomer and instructor
 * Eleanor Annie Lamson (1875-1932), American astronomer
 * Marguerite Laugier, French astronomer who discovered minor planets
 * Gemma Lavender (born 1986), British astronomer, author and journalist
 * Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868–1921), American astronomer who observed variable stars
 * Nicole-Reine Lepaute (1723–1788), French astronomer and mathematician
 * Isabel Martin Lewis (1881–1966), American astronomer and author
 * Nikole Lewis, American astrophysicist
 * Helen Lines (died 2001), American amateur astronomer
 * Sarah Lee Lippincott (1920–2019), American astronomer and instructor who focused on astrometry
 * Jane Luu (born 1963), Vietnamese–American astronomer and defense systems engineer

M

 * Amy Mainzer (born 1974), American astronomer specializing in astrophysical instrumentation and infrared astronomy
 * Esmeralda Mallada (born 1937), Uruguayan astronomer and instructor
 * Rachel Mandelbaum, American astronomer
 * Karen Masters (born 1979), American astrophysicist studying galaxy formation and evolution
 * Janet Akyüz Mattei (1943–2004), Turkish-American astronomer studying variable stars
 * Annie Russell Maunder (1868–1947), Irish-British astronomer
 * Antonia Maury (1866–1952), American astronomer studying stellar astronomy
 * Claire Ellen Max (born 1946), American astronomer and instructor
 * Margaret Mayall (1902–1995), American astronomer studying variable stars
 * Jaylee Burley Mead (1929–2012), American astronomer
 * Karen Jean Meech (born 1959), American planetary scientist
 * Maria Mitchell (1818–1889), American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator
 * Linda A. Morabito (born 1953), American planetary scientist
 * Jean Mueller (born 1950), American astronomer
 * Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil, Turkish astrophysicist

N

 * Sultana N. Nahar, Bangladeshi-American physicist studying atomic processes in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas
 * Joan Najita, American astronomer researching the formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems
 * Yaël Nazé, Belgian astrophysicist studying massive stars and their environmental interaction
 * Heidi Jo Newberg, American astrophysicist studying the Milky Way structure

O

 * Carolina Ödman-Govender, (1974–2022), Swiss astrophysicist and lecturer
 * Sally Oey, American astronomer researching massive stars
 * Kathleen Ollerenshaw, (1912–2014), English mathematician, politician, and amateur astronomer
 * C. Michelle Olmstead, American astronomer and computer scientist who has discovered minor planets
 * Liisi Oterma (1915–2001), Finnish astronomer
 * Mazlan Othman, Malaysian astrophysicist
 * Feryal Özel (born 1975), Turkish astrophysicist studying stellar remnants

P

 * Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900–1979), British-born American astrophysicist and instructor
 * Ruby Payne-Scott (1912–1981), Australian radio astronomer
 * Louise du Pierry (1746–1807), French astronomer and instructor
 * Carle Pieters (born 1943), American planetary scientist
 * Thushara Pillai, (born 1980), Indian astrophysicist and astronomer
 * Paris Pişmiş (1911–1999), Armenian-Mexican astronomer
 * Elena V. Pitjeva, Russian astronomer studying solar system dynamics and celestial mechanics
 * Carolyn Porco (born 1953), American planetary scientist
 * Helen Dodson Prince (1905–2002), American astronomer and instructor
 * Mary Proctor (1862–1957), American popularizer of astronomy

Q

 * Elisa Quintana, American planetary scientist

R

 * Hilkka Rantaseppä-Helenius, Finnish astronomer who studied minor planets
 * Katharine Reeves, American solar astronomer
 * Emily Rice, American astronomer researching sub-stellar objects including brown dwarfs
 * Christina Richey, American planetary scientist and astrophysicist
 * Julia Riley, English radio astronomer
 * Constance M. Rockosi, American galactic astronomer
 * Elizabeth Roemer (1929–2016), American astronomer who studied minor planets
 * Nancy Roman (1925–2018), American stellar astronomer
 * Marta Graciela Rovira, Argentinian astrophysicist
 * Vera Rubin (1928–2016), American astronomer researching extragalactic astronomy
 * María Teresa Ruiz, Chilean astronomer

S

 * Penny Sackett (born 1956), American-born Australian astronomer, educator, and manager
 * Rita M. Sambruna, Italian-American astrophysicist studying supermassive black holes and jets
 * Anneila Sargent (born 1942), Scottish–American astronomer specialized in star formation
 * Ann Savage (1946–2017), British astronomer
 * Caterina Scarpellini (1808–1873), Italian astronomer and meteorologist
 * Sara Seager (born 1971), Canadian-American astronomer and planetary scientist
 * Waltraut Seitter (1930–2007), German astronomer and instructor
 * Muriel Mussells Seyfert (1909–1997), American astronomer
 * Pelageya Shajn (1894–1956), Russian astronomer searching for minor planets
 * Aomawa Shields, American astrophysicist and professor researching exoplanets
 * Carolyn S. Shoemaker (born 1929), American astronomer
 * Amy Simon, American planetary scientist
 * Charlotte Moore Sitterly (1898–1990), American astronomer who studied stellar physics
 * Tamara Mikhaylovna Smirnova (1935–2001), Russian astronomer who searched for minor planets and comets
 * Alicia M. Soderberg (born 1977), American astrophysicist and instructor focused on supernovae
 * Mary Somerville (1780–1872), Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath
 * Linda Spilker, American planetary scientist
 * Denise Stephens, American astronomer and instructor
 * Sarah Stewart-Mukhopadhyay, American planetary scientist
 * Annapurni Subramaniam, director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics
 * Karlina Leksono Supelli (born 1958), Indonesian philosopher and astronomer
 * Jean Swank, American astrophysicist studying compact objects
 * Henrietta Hill Swope (1902–1980), American astronomer who studied variable stars
 * Nadezhda Sytinskaya (1906-1974), Soviet astronomer and planetary scientist
 * Paula Szkody (born 1948), American astronomer and instructor specialized in cataclysmic variable stars

T

 * Jill Tarter (born 1944), American astronomer focused on SETI
 * Florence Taylor Hildred (1865–1932), English astronomer and pastor
 * Alenush Terian (1921–2011), Iranian-Armenian astronomer
 * Michelle Thaller (born 1969), American astronomer and educator
 * Jana Tichá (born 1965), Czech astronomer searching for minor planets
 * Beatrice Tinsley (1941–1981), British-born New Zealand astronomer studying galactic evolution
 * Maura Tombelli (born 1952), Italian amateur astronomer
 * Christy A. Tremonti, American astronomer
 * Virginia Louise Trimble (born 1943), American astronomer
 * Lidiya Tseraskaya (1855–1931), Russian astronomer
 * Margaret Turnbull (born 1975), American astronomer and astrobiologist

U

 * Anne Barbara Underhill (1920–2003), Canadian astrophysicist who studied massive stars
 * Meg Urry, American astrophysicist studying supermassive black holes and galaxies

V

 * Bobbie Vaile (1959–1996), Australian astrophysicist and lecturer
 * Zdeňka Vávrová (born 1945), Czech astronomer
 * Faith Vilas, American planetary scientist
 * Julie Vinter Hansen (1890–1960), Danish astronomer
 * Emma Vyssotsky (1894–1975), American astronomer who studied astrometry

W

 * Lucianne Walkowicz (born 1979), American astronomer
 * Wang Zhenyi (1768–1797), Chinese astronomer, mathematician, and poet
 * Kim Weaver (born 1964), American astrophysicist and instructor focused on X-ray astronomy
 * Alycia J. Weinberger, American astronomer studying planetary formation
 * Mareta West (1915–1998), American astrogeologist
 * Sarah Frances Whiting (1847–1927), American physicist, astronomer, and instructor
 * Mary Watson Whitney (1847–1921), American astronomer and teacher
 * Belinda Wilkes, English astrophysicist
 * Beth Willman, American cosmologist
 * Lee Anne Willson (born 1947), American astronomer
 * Anna Winlock (1857–1904), American astronomer
 * Jennifer Wiseman, American astrophysicist
 * Rosemary Wyse (born 1957), Scottish astrophysicist and instructor
 * Frances Woodworth Wright (1897–1989), American astronomer and educator
 * Gillian Wright, Scottish astronomer
 * Barbara A. Williams, American radio astronomer

Y

 * Ye Shuhua (born 1927), Chinese astronomer and instructor
 * Anne Sewell Young (1871–1961), American astronomer who studied variable stars
 * Judith Young (1952–2014), American physicist, astronomer, and educator
 * Louise Gray Young (1935-2018), American astronomer and researcher

Z

 * Magdalena Zeger (around 1491–1568), calendar maker, astronomer, first women to publish idependtly in the field of astronomy
 * Lyudmila Zhuravlyova (born 1946), Russian-Ukrainian astronomer who discovered minor planets
 * Maria Zuber (born 1958), American planetary scientist