Annie Jump Cannon

Annie Jump Cannon

Annie Jump Cannon is a known astronomer that was responsible for classifying thousands of stars. She actually was the astronomer that started to classify stars solely on their temperatures. Even from young age many knew that indeed, Annie would make an impact in this world. Born on December 11, 1863, Ms. Cannon was a successful student, predominantly in Math at her elementary school in Dover, Delaware. This excellence propelled her into getting admitted into the Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Many people admire her great accomplishments, not just because of her genius but also because of her setback. This setback was losing her hearing when she was 18 years old, from Scarlet Fever. Her deafness was an obstacle she had to overcome, but with her positive mindset, Annie bolstered past it. Amazingly four years later, Annie Cannon received a degree in Physics. With her outstanding achievements, Annie actually became jaded with life. She looked into possible habits and chose photography, where she traveled to many places with her camera. Life down spiraled when her mother, in 1894, passed away. This hit her hard because, Annie’s mother had been the spark of her success. When Annie was very young, Annie’s mother Mary, taught her all the constellations myriads of different facts and studies on the night sky. Therefor this interest dates back to her childhood. Bored and depressed, Annie chose to continue life and soon after, found a job opening. This job was not any job, but it involved her strengths. Sarah Francs hired her as her assistant. Since it was at a college, Janie learned new things including spectroscopy and subjects involving her interests. Her life from there continued in an encouraging way.

As far as intellectual success went, Annie Jump was the definition of it. To begin, Annie became part of a group, associated with Harvard, that was responsible for the classification of nearly every star in the night sky. This group, Pickering’s Women also managed to classify stars based on spectra. Disputes within the group erupted. Annie compromised and viewed the stars by listing them in in spectral classes that were based upon absorption lines. The Oh Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me or O,B,A,F,G,K,M. For this achievement, Annie earned the Henry Draper Medal in 1931. 40 years were spent with discovering, writing, and showing her knowledge. Annie was responsible for the classification of 300 not discovered and 400,000 Draper Classifications. Yes, Annie Cannon was responsible for a new understanding of stars in a way. Her peers would describe her as amazing, extraordinary, and a true astronomy Wiz. Unfortunately, she died on April 13 1941. Annie has been truly an influential force in the understanding of stars and astronomy itself.