Yet, as Sobel shows, they clearly liked and admired Pickering and Shapley, who encouraged their work and facilitated their professional progress.

That means our cosmic neighborhood is home to another giant structure, slightly further away than the Shapley Supercluster—previously thought to be the local giant.

Shapley had found a stellar standard candle, a star noticeable because of its variability, but which had always the same average intrinsic brightness.