Because of my interest in Astronomy, I have picked "Astronomy: Discovery of Uranus by William Herschel in 1781". It was very educational for me to see, how the process of science worked in this particular case, and why it is so important for observations shared and discoveries to be replicated by others. I have based my observations on the work by Simon Schaffer, St. John 's College, Cambridge called "URANUS and the establishment of Herschel 's astronomy". Below is a breakdown of the assignment questions: What was the motivation that led to this discovery? William Herschel was only an amateur astronomer and at that time having a royal patronage was everything. This discovery would provide an annual pension of 200 pounds from the Royal Society, support for further investigations of sidereal heavens that Herschel worked on and a position in a professional astronomers ' community. What questions were asked? - One of the main questions that other scientists were asking, was related to inconsistencies of Herschel 's discovery. He first claimed that he discovered a comet, but shared observations raised concern due to the comet having no 'beard or tail ', which most of the comets do. In one of the notes to Herschel, one of his colleagues Charles Messier stated: "I am amazed with this …show more content…
Conclusion: Even though his work was highly criticized, Herschel was later admitted to the Royal Society and received a status of astronomer along with position and annual pension. I 've learned on the example of this discovery that it is very important to share your observations with the community of other scientists, in order to verify the evidence and replicate the results. If Herschel didn 't share his observations and his work, most likely, would have been rejected in the end and discovery of the planet Uranus delayed. Only through the effort of many different scientists this discovery was possible, even though only an amateur astronomer started it all by simple
Jacob Kaeser Ms.Etsell Writing 8/10 3/7/23 Caroline Herschel lived a great life where she overcame roadblocks and achieved great feats. There are 3 reasons for why she is like that. The three reasons are, she has received great awards, and she has made great contributions to the astronomy community. My first reason for Caroline Herschel overcoming great roadblocks and achieving great feats is all the accomplishments and awards she has received. Caroline was the first ever woman to discover a comet.
Miranda is most likely the most interesting of Uranus’ eleven moons. Miranda looks almost as if pieces of a jigsaw has been placed together and resulted in this moon. Miranda is known for its unique characteristics and notable features such as chevron, layer cakes and race tracks. Some of the conditions of this moon are not appropriate to sustain life. We believe no life can exist on Miranda because it has no water, has very few nutrients and unreasonable temperatures which is illustrated in this moon having ice, rock material and temperatures that are too cold for life.
There were many questions asked, such as is it large enough, is it circular, what is its orbit, and other things.
In fact, he and his sister, Carolyn, spent a great amount of time mapping the entire night sky. On March 13, 1781, Herschel observed a moving object and believed it was a comet. He discussed his findings with his peers within the science community and through
In this one sees how Francis became upset when his own scientific ideas had been copied without being given the proper credit. Scientific credit should have been given to Francis, but rather were plagiarized by Sir Lawrence to make his ideas seem more complex and complete. If an individual is to use scientific ideas already created, it is important that one puts their own thoughts into the work to benefit both the original scientist but also the individual adding to the ideas and
There one notice was that the comet had no tail or beard and that it was larger in body then comets. Herschel continued to study what was still yet to be known as Uranus well into April. No one still believed that his new powerful telescope was able to read the measurements correctly. However one man by the name of Nevil Maskelyne was convinced it was either a comet or a new plant. Because of Herschel’s findings people started to ask questions.
So, he set out to build his own. After multiple failed attempts and several successes, he finally completed construction of optics of “superb quality.” The telescope, which included the magnifying power of 6,450x, was found to be “far superior even to those used at the Greenwich Observatory.” In 1781, after completing several mappings of the night sky, Hershel (et al) observed an object that was not a star. It turned out to be the discovery of the planet Uranus.
While the goal of most astronomers was to chart the positions of planets and stars in the sky using mathematics, Herschel, however, was interested in the evolution of stars, and not their positions. When he discovered Uranus in 1781, he thought it was merely a comet. He contacted other astronomers about the new discovery. A month later astronomer Nevil Maskelyne suggested that
Astronomy: Discovery of Uranus by William Herschel in 1781 Before the discovery of Uranus by William Herschel the world knew about the five existing planets that were able to be observed by the naked eye. These planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The earth was not considered in these planets because earth was previously thought to be the center of the universe where all celestial bodies revolved around it. William Herschel began at a young age to ponder the heavens and what was out there, he used small telescopes but was soon frustrated because of their lack of power to see much further than the naked eye. Herschel was motivated to build larger telescopic tools to look deeper into the cosmos.
Hershel soon felt that telescopes were not strong enough, so he decided to make his own. In 1773 he built the strongest telescope known at that time. He found, with his telescope, an object which appeared to a comet, because it moved. Hershel reported his finding, but professional astronomers did not have the equipment he did, and did not see it at first. In the summer of 1781, Russian astronomer,
For centuries, astronomers in nearly every culture had broadly recognized Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, as they were visible to the naked eye. As telescopes were developed, the study of astrology expanded and the desire to observe and discover was intensified. Amidst this new wave of development and excitement, William Herschel, was born in Germany. After moving to England and initiating a career as an organist, his love of books stimulated a significant interest in the heavens and magnificent wonders therein.
The instructor was wrong in correcting the following answers: 1. William Herschel theory of life on the sun was motivated by which one of the following? The student answered, “By his observations of sunspots.” The instructor has crossed it as wrong.
If they hadn’t observed it too maybe the discovery would’ve been way later. I also learned that John Flamsteed also spotted Uranus six times. He thought
I thought it was really interesting is that he wasn’t even looking for the planet when he discovered it. He was looking for something called a double star, and he was trying to document all the double stars he could. It is interesting that most of the major discoveries
In their words, it was “mov[ing] in a relatively circular orbit, not the parabolic or elliptical orbits characteristics of comets.” Before Herschel’s discovery the solar system only consisted of five planets. This was a first in 225 years. Uranus is “1.78 billion miles from the Sun, tracing a path about 19 times farther from the Sun than Earth follows.” With this discovery astronomers