Margaretha Kirch

In 1716, Kirch's brother accepted a permanent position in astronomy at the Academy of Sciences in Berlin and the Berlin Observatory.^[2] Kirch, her mother, and her sister worked with him at the Observatory of Berlin. Kirch and her sister Christine worked as assistants and made the astronomical observations and calculations for planetary ephemeris.^[2]

After the Great Comet C/1743 X1 had passed the sun, Margaretha observed and drew a streaky splitting of the comet's tail on March 5, which was only observed on the following four days by Joseph-Nicolas Delisle and Gottfried Heinsius in Saint Petersburg, as well as the well-known astronomer Jean-Philippe de Chéseaux in Lausanne. In particular, her observation of March 7th is also recorded in an engraving.^[3]

Like her mother and her sister, Kirch did not receive official recognition of their professional work at the observatory.^[2]

• M. Ogilvie, J. Harvey, eds., The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science – Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century: Volume 1 A-K. Routledge, New York and London 2000, ISBN 0-415-92039-6, pp. 1774–1775.
• R. Wielen, Thomas Hockey (Ed.): Bibliographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, 2007, ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0, p. 638.
• Seargent, D. A. J. (2009). The Greatest Comets in History: Broom Stars and Celestial Scimitars. New York: Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-09512-7.