— Photography by Terry Mann —
— Photography by Terry Mann —
I went up front , they made me go back and get my driver ’ s license to prove I was who I said I was ,” she reflects . “ That was a few years back . I am glad to say that I have never had to deal with being treated like that since .” Over the years , Mann has seen some shifts in the astronomy community , “ I know the astronomy classes used to be more men than women . Now the balance seems to be changing ,” she writes . “ Women are out there and involved in many areas of astronomy . As far as being treated equally , I ’ m sure you can find good and bad .” Mann strongly believes that if what you are doing is something that you really want to do , you will find a way . When asked about the women in astronomy who have influenced her , Mann produces a long list of women who have done just that . “ Annie Jump Cannon , Henrietta Swan Leavitt , Vera Rubin , Jocelyn Bell Burnell , Sandra Faber , Carolyn Shoemaker — my list could go on and on ,” she writes . “ There are so many women that have done amazing things . So many times they were in the background doing incredible things without any recognition . They are all an inspiration to me .”
Sky ’ s Up
Above , the Milky Way arches over City of Rocks State Park in New Mexico . “ I spent two nights camping at this amazing park . I could have easily spent a week there investigating the rocks . I was there during monsoon season . It rained during the day and luckily , it cleared at night .” Left , the Milky Way glows through openings of the Double Arch in Arches National Park . “ This was the first time I hiked up a wall to catch the view ! There were some outcropped rocks but it was the first night I had to master setting up my tripod and changing lenses while wedging myself against the wall of Double Arch . We did some light painting to help show the beauty of the rock walls .”
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