HERSCHEL WAS ONE OF GREATEST ASTRONOMERS OF ALL TIME

Wanganui Chronicle, 8 October 1946, Page 7

HERSCHEL WAS ONE OF GREATEST ASTRONOMERS OF ALL TIME

(By

y Sky Pilot).

Without, the slightest doubt, Sir Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was one of the greatest astronomers of all times. Many there have been whose marvellous enthusiasm for stellar study has absorbed the best of their ability and time but none more than this great student of the heavens. Outstanding as a scientist, keen as an observer, thoughtful as a philosopher, his inspiration and findings led many a fainter heart and many a brilliant thinker to follow in his train. Though a German, he has brought untold honour and glory to the land of his adoption because of his successes. Almost in a leap he sprang from obscurity into fame from the music room, the tr.eai.re, and the Church into the Royal Society and the sphere of the great. BORN IN HANOVER. The fourth of 10 children of Isaac Herschel and his wife, Frederick William was born in Hanover on November 15, 1738. His father, a man of wide culture and a musical genius, was also keenly interested in the heavens, often taking his children out into the street for observation of fascinating celestial objects. Like Wordsworth, Frederick William, was devoted to his sister, Caroline, who proved to be a life-long friend and helper in his work and who shared his greatness. There was keen interest in astronomy at the time and the British Government offered a great reward to the person who furnished the best means of finding the longitude of a ship's position at sea. William Herschel, surrounded by famous living astronomers, developed a particular flare for the stars.

He lived during some of Europe’s stormy days, for the French king planned an invasion of England and a flotilla of flat-bottomed boats was reported to be assembled at Dunkirk to transport troops across the channel. Hanoverian aid was sent and Isaac Herschel and his two sons were in the regiment that went to England's aid. After nine months the regiment returned to Hanover, but the disaster at Hastenbach in 1757 led William Herschel to leave the army and set out for England again. There he worked as a music teacher and was organist of the Octagon Chapel at Bath. Music, however, was not his way to fame but the stars which he loved. Influenced by Ferguson’s work on astronomy he entered in his diary: "I resolved to take nothing on trust but to see with my own eyes all that other men had seen before.”

Having constructed for himself in 1773 a telescope from some object glasses fitted into a paste-board tube, and observed Jupiter, he decided, because of the weakness of the refractor type of telescope owing to chromatic aberration to turn his attention to the reflector with its mirror. By 1774 his mirror and first telescope complete, he began his researches and for the next eight years was both musician and astronomer. "To my sorrow,” writes his sister Caroline, ”1 saw almost every room turned into a workshop. A cabinetmaker was making a tube and stands of all kinds in the drawing room. Alexander (his brother) was turning patterns, grinding glasses and turning eyepieces in a bedroom.” At the same time his musical interests found expression in the composition of glees, catches, anthems, and the holding of rehearsals. When polishing mirrors at which he would work sometimes for 16 hours his sister usually read to him.

During this time he carefully observed the moon, Jupiter, and Mars, being the first to notice the white polar caps on Mars. He was much impressed with the moon’s surface, particularly with the dark shadows and the volcanoes. He believed it was a habitation of life. It was not long before all London was talking about him.

FIRST REVIEWED HEAVENS IN 1776.

In 1776 he made his first review of the heavens and contributed dur-

ing the next two years several papers to the Royal Society, which revealed that at the time he was giving very serious study to the length of day on the earth, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter by a consideration of the rotation of spots. In 1779, while making a second review of the heavens, he made the discovery which made him great for all time. On Tuesday, March 13, 1781, his time was spent working out the d.stance of stars and while rummaging among them between 10 and 11 p.m. he observed a star which appeared larger than those about it near H Geminorum. Its uncommon magnitude led him to compare it with H Geminorum and another and led him to suspect it to be a comet, notice of which he gave to the Astronomer Royal. The object clearly showed a disc and motion. Strange to say although famous astronomers such as Flamsteed, Mayer, and Bradled had noticed it, they had failed to differentiate it from a star either in motion or appearance. “Call it accident or chance, the fact remains that this novice looking out for what he could find in the heavens and with instruments improved by himself, discovered an unknown planet and extended the boundaries of the solar system by twice the distance that had been recorded for thousands of years. Such accidents bring fame and are called luck only by the envious."

Naturally terrific interest was aroused since this was the first planetary discovery within the memory of man. The other planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn had been known from prehistoric times. No wonder that in a bound Herschel sprang from obscurity to fame. His finding gave a great spur to astronomy and incidentally led Piazza of Palermo to discover the first, asteroid on January 1, 1900. Rewards soon came Herschel’s way. The Royal Society of London awarded him the Copley Medal in NovemI ber, 1781, and he was in December of ' that year elected a Fellow. Granted an audience with King George 111 in May, 1782, he received a pension, was appointed King’s Astronomer, and granted the privilege of living at Windsor near to the Royal Palace. He gave up his musical to devote his time to observation and the making of telescopes from which he made a fortune. His home in Slough was destined to become one of the “shrines" of astronomical science. Here he and his sister, Caroline, worked for many years from twilight to dawn often sweeping for clusters, nebulae, and counting the stars, viewing the moon and the planets, and he was also a constant contributor to the Royal Society with his papers.

WAS DENIED WISH TO NAME PLANET.

Herschel dearly wished to name the planet Georgium Sidus after his king, George 111, but scientific men all over Europe would not hear ot it. For a time the star was called the George Star, but Bode’s suggestion of Uranus was followed. Lalande would have liked it to be named Herschel after its discoverer but that was not to be. The fact that the King recognised him so lavishly and was a purchaser of his telescopes was a great honour, the honour due to a great scientist, which commended him to the nation and to the world.

The planet Uranus is 1800 million miles from the sun and has such al large orbit that although it moves with a speed of four and one-thinj miles a second it takes 84 years tp complete its orbit around the sun. Itfe diametei' is about 32,000 miles, four times that of the earth and its volume 66 times that of the earth. Tf|c planet has four small satellites seer, only through the largest of telescopes. Uranus is enveloped in an atmosphere similar to that of Ju pilfer and Saturn. Sunlight is so weak on th.s planet that its surface temperature is less than -300 degrees F.