William and Caroline Herschel, German Astronomers

Frederick William Herschel (1738-1822) was a German-Anglo astronomer, technical expert, and composer. William's background in music spurred him to study mathematics and astronomy. He was the first astronomer to study binary stars and, while searching for comets in 1781, he discovered Uranus, the first new planet to be discovered since ancient times. He also discovered two satellites of Uranus (Titania and Oberon, 1787), and two of Saturn (Mimas and Enceladus, 1789-90). King George III appointed William his Astronomer Royal in 1787. Caroline Lucretia Herschel (1750-1848) was a German-British astronomer, the sister of astronomer Sir Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel with whom she worked throughout both of their careers. At the age of ten, Caroline was struck with typhus, which stunted her growth and she never grew past four foot three.Her most significant contribution to astronomy was the discovery of several comets and in particular the periodic comet 35P/Herschel-Rigollet, which bears her name.

1750 • ALEMAN • ALEMANA • ALEMANES • ARTE • ASTRONOMIA • ASTRONOMO • BLANCO Y NEGRO • BRITANICO • CIENCIA • DIBUJO • EUROPEA • EUROPEAS • EUROPEO • EUROPEOS • FAMOSA • FAMOSO • FAMOSOS • FIGURA • GENTE • GRABADO • HERMANA • HERMANAS • HERMANO Y HERMANA • HERMANO • HERSCHEL • HISTORIA • HISTORICO • HOMBRE • HOMBRES • ILUSTRACION • IMPORTANTE • MASCULINO • MUJER • OBRA DE ARTE • PERSONA • PERSONALIDAD • PERSONALIDADES • RELACION HERMANA-HERMANA • RETRATO DE HOMBRE • SIGLO XIX • SIR