She wrote Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time in 1995.

The story was made into a television movie, of the same name by Charles Sturridge and Granada Film in 1999, and was shown in the United States by A&E.

Her book Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love was a finalist for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.

[2] She holds honorary doctor of letters degrees from the University of Bath and Middlebury College, Vermont, both awarded in 2002.

Asteroid 30935 Davasobel, discovered by Carolyn S. Shoemaker and David H. Levy was named after her for her literary work in physics.