The Glass Universe

E639469

nonfiction book

The Glass Universe is a nonfiction book by Dava Sobel that chronicles the pioneering work of the women “computers” at the Harvard College Observatory who transformed astronomy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
The Glass Universe canonical	2
How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars	1
The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T7050547 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: The Glass Universe
Context triple: [Dava Sobel, notableWork, The Glass Universe]

A. The Lives of the Stars
"The Lives of the Stars" is an episode of the science documentary series *Cosmos: A Personal Voyage* that explores the birth, evolution, and death of stars and their role in shaping the universe.
B. The Lives of the Planets
"The Lives of the Planets" is an episode of Carl Sagan’s landmark science documentary series *Cosmos: A Personal Voyage* that explores the origins, evolution, and diverse characteristics of the planets in our solar system.
C. The Astronomer
"The Astronomer" is a 17th-century painting by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer depicting a scholar studying the heavens in a meticulously rendered interior scene.
D. La révolution astronomique
La révolution astronomique is a seminal historical study by Alexandre Koyré that analyzes the profound conceptual and philosophical transformations brought about by the Scientific Revolution in astronomy.
E. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry is a popular science book by Neil deGrasse Tyson that offers a concise, accessible overview of key concepts in modern astrophysics and cosmology for general readers.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: The Glass Universe
Target entity description: The Glass Universe is a nonfiction book by Dava Sobel that chronicles the pioneering work of the women “computers” at the Harvard College Observatory who transformed astronomy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

A. The Lives of the Stars
"The Lives of the Stars" is an episode of the science documentary series *Cosmos: A Personal Voyage* that explores the birth, evolution, and death of stars and their role in shaping the universe.
B. The Lives of the Planets
"The Lives of the Planets" is an episode of Carl Sagan’s landmark science documentary series *Cosmos: A Personal Voyage* that explores the origins, evolution, and diverse characteristics of the planets in our solar system.
C. The Astronomer
"The Astronomer" is a 17th-century painting by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer depicting a scholar studying the heavens in a meticulously rendered interior scene.
D. La révolution astronomique
La révolution astronomique is a seminal historical study by Alexandre Koyré that analyzes the profound conceptual and philosophical transformations brought about by the Scientific Revolution in astronomy.
E. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry is a popular science book by Neil deGrasse Tyson that offers a concise, accessible overview of key concepts in modern astrophysics and cosmology for general readers.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (45)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	nonfiction book ⓘ
author	Dava Sobel ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
depicts	pioneering work of women at Harvard College Observatory ⓘ
describes	classification of stars ⓘ development of stellar spectroscopy ⓘ use of photographic glass plates in astronomy ⓘ
featuresPerson	Annie Jump Cannon ⓘ Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin ⓘ Edward Charles Pickering ⓘ Henrietta Swan Leavitt ⓘ Williamina Fleming ⓘ
focusesOn	early 20th century astronomy ⓘ late 19th century astronomy ⓘ
genre	history of science ⓘ popular science ⓘ
hasFormat	audiobook ⓘ ebook ⓘ hardcover ⓘ paperback ⓘ
hasTitle	The Glass Universe ⓘ
intendedAudience	general readers ⓘ readers interested in science history ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
mainSubject	Harvard College Observatory ⓘ history of astronomy ⓘ women computers in astronomy ⓘ
partOf	Dava Sobel bibliography ⓘ
publicationDate	2016 ⓘ
publisher	Penguin Random House ⓘ Viking ⓘ
relatedWork	Galileo's Daughter ⓘ Longitude ⓘ
setInLocation	Cambridge, Massachusetts ⓘ Harvard College Observatory ⓘ
subjectArea	astronomy ⓘ history of technology ⓘ women's history ⓘ
subtitle	How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars ⓘ linked to: The Glass Universe
timePeriodCovered	early 1900s ⓘ late 1800s ⓘ
topic	gender and scientific labor ⓘ history of Harvard College Observatory photographic plate collection ⓘ women in science ⓘ
writtenBy	Dava Sobel ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Dava Sobel → notableWork → The Glass Universe ⓘ

Dava Sobel → subjectOf → The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars ⓘ

linked to: The Glass Universe

The Glass Universe → hasTitle → The Glass Universe ⓘ

The Glass Universe → subtitle → How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars ⓘ