America's first woman astronomer was born in 1818 on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Patiently observing the skies with her father as early as age twelve, Maria eventually discovers a telescopic comet. For this 1847 feat, she is awarded a Gold Medal by the King of Denmark. Other honors and world fame follow. When Vassar College opens in 1865, Maria is there as its first Professor of Astronomy. She remains to serve under three Vassar presidents. A passionate seeker of truth and wisdom, Maria Mitchell's keen views are revealed in her journals. Her growth as an advocate for women's rights is dramatically portrayed. At eighteen she is hired as the first librarian for the Nantucket Atheneum, where she educates herself studying the books she orders. Twenty years later, we see her, now internationally renowned, a welcome guest in salons of the world's leading scientists and literary figures. Maria's tales of daring travel by bumpy stagecoach, Russian droskys, Mississippi River boats and Atlantic side-wheelers are here, as are her perceptive accounts of the celebrities of her day. Journeying westward alone, escorting a Chicago debutante on her Grand Tour, taking a teenage nephew to Russia (complete with daunting, sometimes comical adventures) all come to life. She organizes Vassar students to observe meteors and undertake eclipse expeditions. In her journals we see Maria Mitchell grow under the tutelage of her father in a warm and active family.