In 1887, Edward Charles Pickering had found the first spectroscopic binary or double star, ζ1 Ursae Majoris (Mizar A). Maury was asked to determine its orbit, which she did using periodic doubling of some of the lines in its spectrum. Then, in 1889, Maury discovered a second spectroscopic binary, Beta Aurigae, and calculated its orbital period. Learning of this work from a copy of the Annual Report of the Henry Draper Memorial, eminent astronomer John Herschel recognized the importance of her achievements by writing to Pickering, the observatory's director. Herschel asked Pickering "to convey to Miss Maury my congratulations on having connected her name with one of the most notable advances in physical astronomy ever made.”