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I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

- Nancy Roman
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Nancy Roman
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Most kids at 10 or 11 love science, but I never outgrew it.

I had left teaching, which I enjoyed, because I realized I couldn't get tenure at a research university.

I had never used the prefix 'Dr.' with my name, but when I started with NASA, I had to. Otherwise, I could not get past the secretaries.

Certainly by the time I was in seventh grade, I knew I had to have a long education if I wanted to become an astronomer, but I figured I'd try it, and if I didn't get far enough, I could always end up teaching in high school or math or physics.

I was scheduled to graduate from high school in 1943, but I was in a course that was supposed to give us four years of high school plus a year of college in our four years. So by the end of my junior year, I would have had enough credits to graduate from high school.

One of the primary ways that astronomers study stars is to spread their light out into a rainbow, which we call a spectrum, and from that rainbow, we can learn something about what the stars are composed of and how hot they are, how bright they are, and how they're moving, at least how they're moving toward or away from us.

I was born in Nashville, Tenn., but I have lived in a number of places. In 1937, I moved to Baltimore, Md., where I attended junior high and high school. I lived there for five years before leaving for college.

The first year I was at NASA, I was only responsible for optical and ultraviolet astronomy. Frankly, there wasn't much else.

My career was quite unusual, so my main advice to someone interested in a career similar to my own is to remain open to change and new opportunities. I like to tell students that the jobs I took after my Ph.D. were not in existence only a few years before.

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I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.

I wondered had I really oversold the Hubble. I have to admit that, since, I have been convinced that I didn't.