Following the true story of Henrietta Leavitt and her team at Harvard Observatory, Silent Sky reveals the astonishing discoveries Leavitt made while battling for recognition in a man’s world of early 20th century astronomy.
The play opens with a discussion between sisters Henrietta and Margaret. Excitedly, Henrietta reveals to her sister a job offer she has received from Harvard, as they are in need of mathematicians at the observatory. Henrietta believes that this could be an opportunity to obtain “her best life” and is determined to have her fundamental questions of human knowledge answered: “Who are we, why are we, where are we?”
The year is 1900, and Henrietta begins to work as a “human computer” for Dr. Edward Pickering, mapping the stars. Eager to use Harvard’s telescope and filled with a passion for astronomy, Henrietta soon finds that she will not be able to participate in any astronomical discovery and will receive no scientific credit. Although she is only allowed to log the stars photographed only by her male coworkers, Henrietta refuses to be dissuaded.
Soon, Henrietta begins recording the changes in Cepheid stars, a discovery that greatly impacted the field of astronomy. Although Leavitt’s work ethic is admirable, her relationships begin to deteriorate. Her sister Maragaret, love interest and Dr. Pickering’s apprentice, Peter Shaw, and colleagues Annie Cannon and Williamina Fleming are soon placed on the back burner as Leavitt focuses on this great discovery, explaining that “the point is, work is my life.”
Henrietta’s scientific discovery is vast and important, becoming “the first person to measure the universe,” but it isn’t the only discovery she makes. She comes to a personal realization: that to be truly alive she doesn’t need to know all the answers, but that “we need to be known.” Henrietta realizes that being a small part of something bigger is what makes life worth living in the end, insisting that “there is much more beyond ourselves.”
