William Herschel was considered to be the most popular astronomer of the 18th century. Sir Frederick William Herschel had the credit of making innumerable discoveries. He was the first person who defined the form of the galaxy or the Milky Way.
Early Life of William Herschel
William Herschelwas born on 15th November 1738 in Hanover, Germany. He fled to England in 1757 and started his professional life as a bandleader and music teacher. In his pastime, Herschel used to study astronomy. He had rented a small telescope, as he did not have enough money to buy a larger one. He was not satisfied by the small one and eventually succeeded in making a big telescope.
Works of William Herschel
On 13th March 1781, Herschel first pointed out planet Uranus. After the discovery of Uranus, he was elected to the Royal Society on 7th December in the same year. He was also gifted with a yearly grant by England's King George III. The discovery enabled him to concentrate on astronomy leaving his musical career.
In 1782, William Herschel was chosen as "The King's Astronomer". He continued working as telescope maker. William's sister Caroline assisted him in his astronomical works. Herschel had made more than 400 telescopes in his career.
In 1783, the great astronomer published his observations that led to the discovery of the Solar Motion. William Herschel was the person who led to
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the explanation that the solar system is moving amid the neighboring stars in the direction of the star Lambda Herculis. The term Solar Apex was introduced by him to define this direction. In 1789, he finished building his largest telescope, which had 1.2 meter aperture.
William Herschel also worked on creating wide-ranging catalogue of nebulae. He discovered that most of the double stars are true binary stars. This discovery was first proof of the fact that Newton's laws of gravitation were also application outside the solar system. The word "asteroid" was coined by this astronomer. Infrared radiation was also discovered by William Herschel.
Personal life of William Herschel
William was married to Mary and they had a son named John. John Hercshel also became a famous astronomer. The great scientist and astronomer died on 25th August, 1822 in England. Herschel Museum of Astronomy is an independent museum that has been dedicated to the astronomer and his sister. The museum is located close to William Herschel's earlier residence in Bath, England.
Other Discoveries of William Herschel
1787: Titania (the largest moon of Uranus) and Oberon (outermost of the major moons of Uranus) (11th January)
1789: Enceladus (sixth largest moon of Saturn) and Mimas (first moon of Saturn) (28th August and 17th September respectively)
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