William Herschel

Sir Wilhelm Friedrich Herschel (Hanover, November 15 1738 – August 25 1822 Slough, then in Buckinghamshire now in Berkshire) was a German-born British astronomer and composer who became famous for discovering the planet Uranus, and made many other astronomical discoveries.

Other astronomical work

In his later career, Herschel discovered two satellites of Saturn, Mimas and Enceladus; as well as two satellites of Uranus, Titania and Oberon. He did not give these satellites their names; rather, they were named by his son John in 1847 and 1852, respectively, well after his death.

Related Topics:
Mimas - Enceladus - Titania - Oberon - John - 1847 - 1852

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He also worked on creating an extensive catalog of nebulas. He also continued to work on double stars, and was the first to discover that most double stars are not mere optical doubles as had been supposed previously, but are true binary stars.

Related Topics:
Nebula - Double star - Optical double - Binary star

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He also discovered infrared radiation (ca. 1800).

Related Topics:
Infrared radiation - 1800

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From studying the proper motion of stars, he was the first to realize that the solar system is moving through space, and he determined the approximate direction of that movement. He also studied the structure of the Milky Way and concluded that it was in the shape of a disk.

Related Topics:
Proper motion - Solar system - Milky Way

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He also coined the word "asteroid", meaning star-like (from the Greek asteroeides, aster "star" + -eidos "form, shape"), in 1802 (shortly after Olbers discovered the second minor planet, 2 Pallas, in late March of the same year), to describe the star-like appearance of the small moons of the giant planets and of the minor planets; the planets all show discs, by comparison.

Related Topics:
Asteroid - Greek - 1802 - Olbers - 2 Pallas - Late March - Giant planets

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Despite his numerous important scientific discoveries, Herschel was not averse to wild speculation. In particular, he believed every planet was inhabited, even the Sun: he believed that the Sun had a cool, solid surface protected from its hot atmosphere by an opaque layer of cloud, and that a race of beings adapted to their strange environment lived there.

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