Cecilia Payne Proved What Stars Are Made Of — Her Advisor Published It Himself

Added: 2026-06-04

[00:00:00]Henry Norris Russell told the grad student her discovery was impossible.

[00:00:04]Then he published it himself. In 1925, Cecilia Payne's thesis proved that stars are made almost entirely of hydrogen.

[00:00:12]Russell, the most powerful astronomer in America, called her result clearly impossible.

[00:00:18]She backed down.

[00:00:20]Four years later, Russell published a paper reaching the exact same conclusion. The field credited him. Her thesis was later called the most brilliant [music] PhD thesis ever written in astronomy. Uh she proved what stars are made of. He proved what academia is made of.