Helen Sawyer Hogg: A Lifetime of Stargazing

Alice Kidd is an editor with The New Catalyst editorial collective in
Lillooet, B.C.

Hogg spent her life looking at, writing about, and talking about stars.
Although always fascinated by the stars after an early sighting of
Halley’s comet, it wasn’t until she witnessed a total solar eclipse
in 1925 that she took up astronomy as a profession. Typically for women
in science, Helen was unable to find work once she graduated. There were
few jobs in astronomy and they were usually given to men. Like many
women in science, Helen at first worked voluntarily in her husband’s
lab just to continue her research.

In Toronto, at the U. of T. and the Dunlap Observatory, Frank and Helen
worked closely together for 16 years, teaching, researching, and
writing. After Frank’s unexpected death in 1951, Helen continued their
joint work and took over his weekly article in the Toronto Star. Much of
Helen’s work was in teaching others—not only students but also the
general public.

The book left me wondering: What does a scientist/astronomer do? What
are the long hours for? What are globular clusters? I would have
appreciated a description of the nature of the work and the subject
matter. I fear that this book would not be as exciting a story for
children without this material. Helen Hogg contributed greatly to our
understanding of astronomy. Unfortunately little of wonder is
communicated by this book.