Maud Worcester Makemson

American Astronomer Maud Worcester Makemson in her office in Vassar College Observatory around 1950.
Credit: Vassar Encyclopedia

Maud Worcester Makemson was born in New Hampshire in September 1891 and studied classics in college, eventually mastering Latin, Greek, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese (wow!). In 1911, Makemson moved with her family to California, and this is where she met and married Thomas Emmet Makemson. She had three children with him, but they ended up divorcing in 1919.

Makemson moved to Phoenix, Arizona where she worked as a journalist for the Arizona Gazette, while also writing two original plays which were later published. It was during her time in Arizona where her passion for astronomy developed. On May 14th and 15th in 1921, a spectacular auroral display occurred - it was visible all the way down to Arizona! Makemson witnessed this incredible event and was immediately intrigued by newspaper reports noting that the display coincided with the appearance of large sunspots. Thereafter, Makemson devoted much time to learning as much as she could about astronomy.

In September of 1921, she resigned her newspaper job and moved with her children back to California where she taught grade school. At the same time, Makemson was taking correspondence courses in trigonometry and astronomy from the University of California. In a summer session at the university in 1923, she studied analytic geometry, essay writing, and journalism, and a  class visit to Mt. Wilson Observatory convinced her to enroll full-time at the University of California at Berkeley. Makemson received her BA in 1925 at the age of 34 and went on to earn her MA (1927) and PhD (1930) in astronomy - her work focused on celestial mechanics.

After graduating, she spent a year at the University of California as an astronomy instructor and spent another year at Rollins College in Florida teaching mathematics and astronomy. In 1932, Makemson became an assistant professor of astronomy and navigation at Vassar College in New York. After the passing of Caroline Furness in 1936, Makemson became the fourth director of Vassar College Observatory (early readers to this blog will remember Caroline Furness from this post). She would later become chair of the astronomy department in 1941 and a full professor in 1944.

American Astronomer Maud Worcester Makemson
Credit: Vassar Encyclopedia

During this time, Makemson was also using her knack for languages to pursue what would later be called archaeoastronomy (the study of prehistoric cultures' astronomical knowledge). During the summer of 1935, she had gone to Honolulu, Hawaii to study Polynesian astronomy. As a result, in 1941, she published a book called The Morning Star Rises: An Account of Polynesian Astronomy which is based on the writings of missionaries, anthropologists, Polynesian historians, and her own research (which used her knowledge of Polynesian languages to verify translations of ancient texts).

While at Vassar College, Makemson worked in practical celestial mechanics, calculating the orbits of comets, asteroids, and double stars, as well as teaching astronomy, the history of astronomy, and meteorology. She also introduced the night sky to thousands of school children, high school students, and scout troops who viewed the celestial wonders through the observatory's magnificent telescopes.

While Director of Vassar College Observatory, Makemson welcomed local school groups.
Credit: Vassar Encyclopedia

After retiring from Vassar College in 1957, Makemson moved back to California where she entered yet another career, this time that of space technology (I don't think she realized the definition of "retirement"). From 1959 to 1964, she was a research astronomer and lecturer at the University of California at Los Angeles, and in 1960, was co-author with Robert M. Baker of Introduction to Astrodynamics.

Makemson later moved into space research with the Applied Research Laboratories of General Dynamics at Forth Worth, Texas, where she became a consultant to NASA's lunar exploration program. As a consultant, Makemson was key in solving a critical problem for the Apollo astronauts. As she put it in "Determination of Selenographic Positions," published in the international journal, The Moon, in 1971:

"In 1964-1965 when I developed an approximate method for determining selenographic [moon-mapped] latitude and longitude from star altitudes observed from the Moon's surface, the practical need of such a method seemed most remote. Now in 1970, a method for finding accurate position on the lunar surface is no longer an academic problem, but an essential factor in every selenodetic survey....
The imperceptibly revolving lunar star-sphere provides an ever available reference system, never obscured by atmospheric disturbances or diffused sunlight. The Apollo astronauts, however, reported that as they stood on the Moon's illuminated surface, they were unable to see the stars, except with some optical aid. Their eyes, adjusted to the brilliant reflections and sharp contrasts, were insensitive to the paler light of innumerable stars."

Makemson's method for determining selenographic coordinates evolved into a way for astronauts to determine their positions on the Moon when they were unable to use radio or radar. The coordinates of three or more stars could be entered into a computer, and a program would convert geocentric (Earth-centered) coordinates into a selenocentric (Moon-based) map.