WWhitin Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Wellesley College. Built in 1900, with additions in 1906, 1967, and 2010–11, it is located in Wellesley, Massachusetts and named after Wellesley College trustee Mrs. John Crane Whitin of Whitinsville, who donated the funds for the observatory. Astronomer Sarah Frances Whiting was the first director of the new Wellesley College Astronomy Department.
WAnnie Jump Cannon was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C. Pickering, she is credited with the creation of the Harvard Classification Scheme, which was the first serious attempt to organize and classify stars based on their temperatures and spectral types. She was nearly deaf throughout her career. She was a suffragist and a member of the National Women's Party.
WEllen Amanda Hayes was an American mathematician and astronomer. She was a controversial figure, not only because of being a female college professor, but also for embracing many radical causes.
WMartha Patricia Haynes is an American astronomer who specializes in radio astronomy and extragalactic astronomy. She is the Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. She has been on a number of high-level committees within the US and International Astronomical Community, including Advisory Committee for the Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences of the National Academies (2003–2008) and Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Review. She was a Vice-President of the Executive Committee of the International Astronomical Union from 2006–2012, and has been on the Board of Trustees of Associated Universities Inc since 1994.
WMargaret Lindsay, Lady Huggins , born Margaret Lindsay Murray, was an Irish-English scientific investigator and astronomer. With her husband William Huggins she was a pioneer in the field of spectroscopy and co-wrote the Atlas of Representative Stellar Spectra (1899).
WPamela Anne Melroy is a retired United States Air Force officer and a former NASA astronaut. She served as pilot on Space Shuttle missions STS-92 and STS-112 and commanded mission STS-120 before leaving the agency in August 2009. After serving as Deputy Program Manager, Space Exploration Initiatives with Lockheed Martin, Melroy joined the Federal Aviation Administration in 2011, where she was a senior technical advisor and director of field operations for the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation.
WSarah Frances Whiting was an American physicist and astronomer. She was essential to the founding of the Whitin Observatory at Wellesley College, and was the instructor to several astronomers, including Annie Jump Cannon.