William Herschel
Sir Wilhelm Friedrich Herschel, FRS (November 15 1738 – August 25 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer who became famous for discovering the planet Uranus. He also discovered infrared radiation and made many other astronomical discoveries.
William Herschel was a luky man he seen into space more than anyone else in the hole WORLD
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 did not give these satellites their names; rather, they were named by his son John in 1847 and 1852, respectively, well after his death.
He worked on creating an extensive catalog of nebulae. He 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, thus providing the first proof that Newton's laws of gravitation apply outside the solar system.
He also discovered infrared radiation (ca. 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", meaning star-like (from the Greek asteroeides, aster "star" + -eidos "form, shape"), in 1802 (shortly after Olbers discovered the second minor planet, 2 Pallas, in late March of the same year), to describe the star-like appearance of the small moons of the giant planets and of the minor planets; the planets all show discs, by comparison.
Despite his numerous important scientific discoveries, Herschel was not averse to wild speculation. In particular, he believed every planet was inhabited, even the Sun: he believed that the Sun had a cool, solid surface protected from its hot atmosphere by an opaque layer of cloud, and that a race of beings adapted to their strange environment lived there.
Discovery of 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 light.
Named after Herschel
- Mu Cephei, one of the largest known stars in the universe, is also known as Herschel's Garnet Star
- Herschel, a small crater on the Moon.
- Herschel, a large impact basin on Mars.
- The enormous Herschel crater on Saturn's moon Mimas.
- The William Herschel Telescope on La Palma.
- The Herschel Space Observatory, currently under development by the European Space Agency. It will be the largest space telescope of its kind.
- Herschel Grammar School, Slough
- The Herschel Building at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle, UK
- William Herschel Museum
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