William Herschel: 1738-1822
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Sir William Herschel was a German-born British astronomer who made many important contributions to astronomy
Originally named
Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, he was born in Hannover, Germany. At the
age of 19 he went to England, working as a music teacher and
organist but devoting all his spare time to astronomy and
mathematics.
Unable to procure adequate instruments, he
constructed and constantly improved his own telescopes. In 1774,
with the aid of his sister Caroline (also an astronomer), he began a
comprehensive and systematic survey of the heavens. In 1781 he
discovered a new planet, which he named Georgium Sidus in honor of
George III, king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
but which is now universally called
Uranus.
A year later he was appointed private
astronomer to the king, a position that enabled him to devote all
his time to his astronomic pursuits. He erected a telescope at
Slough with a 48-in (1.22-m) mirror and a focal length of 40 ft
(12.2 m). Using this, he discovered two satellites of Uranus and the
sixth and seventh satellites of
Saturn.
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He studied the rotation period of many planets
and the motion of double stars, and also cataloged more than 800
double stars (see
Star). He studied nebulas, contributing new information on
their constitution and increasing the number of observed nebulas
from about 100 to 2500. Herschel was the first to propose that these
nebulas were composed of stars. He was elected to the Royal Society
in 1781 and knighted in 1816. He is considered the founder of
sidereal astronomy. |
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