Herschel family

Herschel family
Family of British astronomers.

The German-born William Herschel (1738–1822) immigrated to England in 1757 and initially supported himself through music. In order to study distant celestial objects, he ground his own mirrors, producing the best telescopes of the day. His discovery of Uranus catapulted him to fame at age 43. He hypothesized that nebulae (those objects now known to be galaxies) are composed of stars and developed a theory of stellar evolution. He also discovered infrared radiation. He was knighted in 1816. His sister, Caroline Lucretia Herschel (1750–1848), contributed to her brother's researches, carrying out many of the necessary calculations. She also detected by telescope three nebulae and eight comets. In 1787 the king gave her an annual pension in recognition of her work. She continued to work for decades after William's death. William's son John (1792–1871) studied mathematics at the University of Cambridge and from 1816 assisted his father. He later undertook a journey to the Southern Hemisphere to survey its skies; he returned in 1838, having recorded the locations of 68,948 stars. Also an accomplished chemist, he invented (independently of William Henry Fox Talbot) the process of photography on sensitized paper. He was knighted in 1831. His sons Alexander Stewart (1836–1907) and John (1837–1921) also became astronomers.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Herschel Girls School — Infobox School2 name = Herschel Girls School motto = Ad Dei Gloriam (Latin: To the Glory of God ) established = 1922 type = Private, Single sex, Day Boarding locale = Suburban grades = 0 12 head name = Headmaster head = Mr Bruce Probin head name2 …   Wikipedia

  • family — /fam euh lee, fam lee/, n., pl. families, adj. n. 1. parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not. 2. the children of one person or one couple collectively: We want a large family. 3. the spouse and children …   Universalium

  • Herschel Grynszpan — Herschel Feibel Grynszpan (sometimes spelled in the German form Grünspan, as Grunspahn, or in English as Greenspan) (born March 28 1921, died between 1943 and 1945), political assassin and victim of the Holocaust.Early yearsHe was born in Hanover …   Wikipedia

  • Herschel Island — is an island in the Beaufort Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean), which lies 5 km (3.1 miles) off the coast of Yukon, Canada, of which it is administratively a part. It is Yukon s northernmost point. Early history The earliest evidence of human… …   Wikipedia

  • Herschel Savage — (2010) Herschel Savage (* 25. November 1952 in New York City, USA; eigentlich Harvey Cowen) ist ein US amerikanischer Pornodarsteller. Seit seinen Anfängen in den frühen 1970er Jahren spielte Herschel Savage in hunderten von Pornofilmen mit. 1978 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Herschel Lynn Greer — (1906–1976, born in Dickson County, Tennessee), was a prominent businessman and the first president of Vols Inc., an ownership group organized in 1959 for the purpose of keeping the Nashville Vols minor league baseball franchise in city… …   Wikipedia

  • Herschel Bernardi — (30 October 1923 New York City 9 May 1986 Los Angeles, California) was an American film, Broadway and television actor.He is best known for his starring roles on Broadway including Fiddler on the Roof , (as Tevye) Zorba and Bajour , but he also… …   Wikipedia

  • Herschel Lewis Austin — (22 March 1911 ndash; 8 April 1974) was a British politician who served as a Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1945 1950. Austin was born in Plymouth, England on 14 April 1911. The son of Polish immigrants, the family anglicised …   Wikipedia

  • Herschel Burke Gilbert — (April 20, 1918 June 8, 2003) was a prolific composer of television and film theme songs, including the musical scores of Chuck Connors The Rifleman , Dick Powell s Zane Grey Theater ,Robert Taylor s The Detectives , Gene Barry s Burke s Law ,… …   Wikipedia

  • Family Business (TV series) — Family Business (referred to as Porn: A Family Business in the UK) was an American reality TV series produced for the cable network Showtime. Based in Los Angeles, the series focused on the pornography industry and the life of Adam Glasser, a 40… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”