The Herschels: Astronomy’s Greatest Team
What is a nebula and what is a galaxy? By definition A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases and a galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter. One brother and sister team of astronomers named William and Caroline Herschel discovered three nebulas. Their discoveries are listed on “The New General Catalog”, which lists deep-sky objects.
William and Caroline Herschel were born in Germany and lived with their parents and their eight siblings, Caroline was a sickly child who had little education and William was a talented musician who went to play in England. When he went to England, he brought along his sister Caroline who he taught to sing. After a while William took an interest in astronomy. He began to make discoveries which his sister recorded. William soon became a full-fledged astronomy who was paid by the king. He ended up being nicknamed “the kings astronomer”.
William Herschel was most famous for discovering the planet Uranus but he also discovered three galaxies and a few moons. Caroline Herschel’s most famous discovery was the comet Rigolet which will return in 2092. You might be able to see it! Caroline discovered eight comets in all along with an open cluster known on the NGC (new general catalog) as NGC 2360.The Herschel’s influenced many future astronomers such as John Herschel the son of William. Caroline paved a way for future female astronomers who called her the “first lady” of astronomy.
Astronomers of the future can learn a tremendous amount from the Herschel’s about hard work, organization, and dedication. William Herschel said “the phenomena of nature, especially those that fall under the inspection of the astronomer, are to be viewed, not only with the usual attention to facts as they occur, but with the eye of reason and experience”. Caroline supported William and he supported her therefore they were able to discover many great things.
