William Herschel

Uncommon card · No. 78574

Frederick William Herschel ( HUR-shəl; German: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel [ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈhɛʁʃl̩]; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822), generally known as William Herschel, was a German–British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline Herschel. Born in the Electorate of Hanover, he followed his father into the military band of Hanover, before emigrating to Britain in 1757 at the age of 19. Taking an interest in astronomy in 1766, Herschel constructed his first large telescope in 1774, after which he spent nine years carrying out sky surveys to investigate double stars. Herschel published catalogues of nebulae in 1802 (2,500 objects) and in 1820 (5,000 objects). The resolving power of the Herschel telescopes revealed that many objects called nebulae in the Messier catalogue were actually clusters of stars. On 13 March 1781 while making observations he made note of a new object in the constellation of Gemini. This would...

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