Lassell, William

Lassell, William

▪ British astronomer
born June 18, 1799, Bolton, Lancashire, Eng.
died Oct. 5, 1880, Maidenhead, Berkshire

      amateur English astronomer who discovered Ariel and Umbriel, satellites of Uranus; and Triton, a satellite of Neptune. He also discovered a satellite of Saturn, Hyperion (also discovered independently by William Bond (Bond, William Cranch) and George Bond).

      Lassell started a brewery business about 1825, after a seven-year apprenticeship. He became interested in astronomy and, in 1844, began construction of a 24-inch reflecting telescope, using a machine of his own design for polishing the mirror. With this telescope, the first of its size to be set in an equatorial mounting, he discovered Triton on Oct. 10, 1846, only 17 days after Neptune itself had been discovered. In 1848 he discovered Hyperion (on the night that the Bonds made the same discovery). Two years later Lassell made his first sighting of the dark inner ring of Saturn (called the crepe ring); he spent the entire night verifying the discovery only to find in his morning newspaper an article announcing Bond's discovery of the same phenomenon.

      Lassell discovered Ariel and Umbriel in 1851–52 while at Malta, and there in 1861 he erected a 48-inch reflector, which he used to observe and catalog hundreds of new nebulae. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1849 and was president of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1870 to 1872.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lassell , William — (1799–1880) British astronomer Lassell, who was born at Bolton in Lancashire, was a brewer by profession who became interested in astronomy. He built an observatory for himself at Starfield near Liverpool and developed an interest in techniques… …   Scientists

  • Lassell, William — ► (1799 1880) Astrónomo británico. Construyó un telescopio y pudo comprobar la existencia del planeta Neptuno …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • LASSELL, WILLIAM —    astronomer, born at Bolton, discovered the satellite of Neptune, and the eighth satellite of Saturn, in an observatory of his own, with instruments of his own construction (1799 1880) …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Lassell — Lassell, William …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • William Lassell — William Lassell. William Lassell (* 18. Juni 1799 in Bolton, Lancashire; † 5. Oktober 1880 in Maidenhead, Berkshire) war ein britischer Astronom. Dank eines erfolgreichen Bierbraugeschäfts konnte er seinem Interesse an der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Lassell — William Lassell. William Lassell (18 de junio de 1799 5 de octubre de 1880) fue un astrónomo inglés. De profesión cervecero en la ciudad de Liverpool, se interesó por la Astronomía como pasatiempo; leyendo los trabajos de William Herschel tuvo la …   Wikipedia Español

  • William Lassell — (18 juin 1799 – 5 octobre 1880) est un astronome britannique, né à Bolton dans le Lancashire. Il fit fortune en tant que brasseur de bière, ce qui lui permit de se livrer à la passion qu était pour lui l as …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Lassell — Lassell, William, früher Astronom in Starfield bei Liverpool, seit 1851 Professor der Astronomie in Liverpool; er entdeckte mit seinem zwanzigsüßigen Spiegelteleskop von 24 Zoll Öffnung mehrere Saturnringe u. Saturnmonde …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Lassell — Lassell, William, Astronom, geb. 18. Juni 1799 zu Bolton in Lancashire, gest. 4. Okt. 1880 in Maidenhead, ursprünglich Brauer, wandte er sich um 1820 der Astronomie zu und erbaute zwei Reflektoren von je 7 Zoll Öffnung, später noch einen größern… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Lassell — Dieser Artikel oder Abschnitt ist nicht hinreichend mit Belegen (Literatur, Webseiten oder Einzelnachweisen) versehen. Die fraglichen Angaben werden daher möglicherweise demnächst gelöscht. Hilf Wikipedia, indem du die Angaben recherchierst und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

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