USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -On October 1, 1847, at age 29, Maria Mitchell discovered the comet that would be named “Miss Mitchell’s Comet, ” using a two-inch telescope. She was awarded a gold medal from King Frederick VI of Denmark and became the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1848.

Detailed explanation-2: -On October 1, 1847 she discovered what became known as Miss Mitchell’s Comet (Comet 1847 VI; now known as C/1847 T1). She received an award from King Frederick VI of Denmark as the first person to discover the comet, which brought her worldwide fame as the America’s first professional astronomer who was a woman.

Detailed explanation-3: -Mitchell pioneered in the daily photography of sunspots; she was the first to find that they were whirling vertical cavities rather than clouds, as had been earlier believed. She also studied comets, nebulae, double stars, solar eclipses, and the satellites of Saturn and Jupiter.

Detailed explanation-4: -King Frederick VI of Denmark had offered a prize for the discovery of each new comet. Every chance she got, even if the family had company, if the night was clear, Mitchell would go to the roof of the house to “sweep the heavens, ” using the family’s 2-inch reflecting telescope.