Known as the “census taker of the sky,” Annie Jump Cannon was a brilliant astronomer that revolutionized the way scientists classify stars. Not only did she develop the important Harvard spectral system, she also classified about 350,000 stars manually.

What were Annie Jump Cannon discoveries?

Annie Jump Cannon was a female astronomer best known for coming up with the current system of stellar classification. Her system — ranking stars as O, B, A, F, G, K or M, with O being the hottest stars and M the coolest (the sun is a G star) — is still used today. She also created a saying — Oh!

What degrees did Annie Jump Cannon get?

Cannon received honorary degrees from the University of Delaware, Oglethorpe University and Mount Holyoke College. She was the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford in 1925. She received the Henry Draper Gold Metal of the National Academy of Sciences.