a was offered a job as a librarian of Nantucket's Atheneum Library. This job was perfect for her, because she was earning a good salary and had time to study and read books. Her father also was “hired as cashier of the Pacific Bank.” (p.54) With his new job came the living quarters attached to the bank. Mr. Mitchell built an observatory on the roof and installed a brand-new four-inch telescope. He used it to do star observations for the United States Coast Guard and Maria helped her father with the measurements. One night in the Autumn of 1847, Maria looked at the sky through the telescope and saw a star five degrees above the North Star where there had been no star before. She had “memorized the sky and was sure of her observation.” (Gromley p.55) This was the great discovery that her constant vigilance brought into the open, as she saw a comet of unknown origin. It occurred to her that this might be a comet. Maria recorded the presumed comet's coordinates. The next night the star moved again. This time she was sure it was a comet. Her father wrote to Professor William Bond at the Harvard University observatory about Maria's discovery. Professor Bond submitted Maria's name to the king of Denmark who had offered a gold medal to a person who discovers a comet seen only through a telescope. Another person, “Father Francesco de Vico of Rome discovered the same comet two days later” (Mitchell p.105) than Maria Mitchell and the decision was made to award him the prize before news of Maria's earlier discovery arrived in Europe. After some negotiations Maria Mitchell was awarded the medal for this discovery a year later. The comet was named "Miss Mitchell's Comet." She continued working as a librarian, but now she was also receiving letters of congratulations from scientists and tourists were coming to take a look at the woman astronomer. In 1848 the American Academy of Arts and Sciences voted her the first ...
