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Sir William Herschel (November 15, 1738 – August 25, 1822) was an astronomer and composer who became famous for discovering the planet Uranus, and made many other astronomical discoveries.
Biography
Herschel was born as Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in Hanover,
Germany, one of ten children (of which four died very young). He changed his name after moving to England at age nineteen to pursue
a career as a musician. At the time, the crowns of England and Hanover were united under George II, and he had learned English when he had been sent to England a year earlier as a
musician in the Hanoverian Guards regiment.
He became a successful music teacher and bandleader, played the organ and the oboe, and composed numerous musical works, most
of which are largely forgotten today. He became Director of Public Concerts in Bath. His
sister Caroline also came to England and lived with him.
His interest in astronomy grew stronger after 1773, and he built some telescopes and
made the acquaintance of Nevil Maskelyne. He observed the Moon, measuring the heights of lunar mountains, and also worked on a catalog of double stars.
The turning point in his life was March 13, 1781, while residing at 19 New King Street, Bath, when he discovered Uranus.
This made him famous and enabled him to turn to astronomy full-time; naming the new planet Georgium Sidus in honour of
King George III also brought him
favour (the name didn't stick). That same year, Herschel was awarded the Copley
Medal and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1782, he was appointed "The King’s Astronomer" and he and his sister subsequently moved to
Datchet in Buckinghamshire (but now in Berkshire) on August 1, 1782. He also continued his work as a
telescope maker, selling a number of them to other astronomers.
In 1783 he gave Caroline a telescope and she began to make astronomical discoveries in
her own right, particularly comets. Caroline also served as his full-time assistant,
taking notes while he observed at the telescope.
In June 1785, due to damp conditions, he and
Caroline moved to Clay Hall in Old
Windsor, and on April 3, 1786, they moved
to their now famous residence, Windsor Road, in Slough. On May 7, 1788, he married the widow Mary Pitt (née Baldwin) at St Laurence's Church, Upton, near Slough. His sister Caroline then moved to
separate lodgings, but continued to work as his assistant.
On August 28, 1789, he erected his
renowned 40ft (focal length), 48 in aperture, telescope, discovering a new
moon of Saturn on the very first night's observation, and a
second moon within the first month of observation. The house, now called Observatory House, is no longer standing. The 40ft
telescope proved very cumbersome, however, and most of his observations were done with a smaller telescope of 20ft focal
length.
William and Mary had one child, John, born at Observatory House on
March 7, 1792. In 1816, William was knighted "Sir William Herschel" by the Prince Regent. He helped to found the Royal Astronomical Society.
On August 25, 1822, Herschel died at
Observatory House and is buried at nearby St Laurence's Church, Upton.
His son, John Herschel, also
became an astronomer. One of his brothers, Alexander, also moved permanently to England, but was not a scientist.
Other astronomical work
In his later career, Herschel discovered two satellites of Saturn, Mimas and Enceladus; as well as two
satellites of Uranus, Titania and Oberon. He also worked on creating an extensive catalog of nebulas. He also continued to work on double stars, and was the first to discover that most double stars are not mere optical doubles as had been supposed previously, but are true binary stars.
He also discovered infrared radiation (c.1800).
From studying the proper motion of stars, he was the first to realize
that the solar system is moving through space, and he determined the
approximate direction of that movement. He also studied the structure of the Milky
Way and concluded that it was in the shape of a disk.
He also coined the word "asteroid".
William Herschel and Infrared Radiation
Herschel discovered infrared radiation by passing sunlight through a prism and
holding a thermometer just beyond the red
end of the visible spectrum. The thermometer indicated a temperature increase and this led to Herschel's conclusion that there must be an
invisible form of energy.
Named After Herschel
- Herschel
crater on Mars.
- The enormous Herschel
crater on Mimas.
- The William Herschel Telescope on La Palma.
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