“She was a mentor to Vera Rubin, {{w|Vassar College|Vassar}} class of 1948, who became an eminent astronomer and made critical discoveries about dark matter. Rubin said of her professor, “She was a very thorough teacher, demanding high quality in return.” With her students, Makemson computed the orbits of twelve {{w|minor planet}}s, and named one “{{w|Maria Mitchell}}” and another “Vassar.””