Vera Rubin was the first woman allowed to use the telescopes at the Palomar
Observatory in California, and a pioneer of the idea that the Universe is
dominated by dark matter. Her warm personality and gifts as a teacher come
across delightfully in Bright Galaxies, Dark Matters (Oxford University Press,
£22.95, ISBN 1 568 96231 4), a highly enjoyable collection of her
writings.
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