A01=Michael Hoskin
Alexander Aubert
Andromeda Galaxy
Astronomer
Astronomer Royal
Astronomical object
Astronomy
Author_Michael Hoskin
Baronet
Blenheim Palace
Brightness
Caroline Herschel
Category=DNBT
Category=PDX
Category=PG
Charles Blagden
Clockwork universe
Coachman
Comet
Cosimo de' Medici
Datchet
Double star
Edmond Halley
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Eton College
Eyepiece
Focal length
Governess
Gravity
Harpsichord
His Family
Horace Walpole
Huygens (spacecraft)
James South
John Flamsteed
John Herschel
Leviathan of Parsonstown
Maskelyne (crater)
Mathematician
Mechanics
Messier (crater)
Month
Moons of Uranus
Mrs.
Nebula
New General Catalogue
Newtonian telescope
Observatory
Old Windsor
Optician
Oratorio
Organist
Orion Nebula
Orion's Sword
Physicist
Planet
Planetary nebula
Planetary system
Pole star
Proper motion
Refracting telescope
Resentment
Right ascension
Saturn
Sidereal time
Singing
Solar apex
Star cluster
Star count
Star system
Telescope
Thermometer
Tomb
Uranus
William Herschel
Year
Product details
- ISBN 9780691148335
- Weight: 567g
- Dimensions: 152 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 30 Jan 2011
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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Discoverers of the Universe tells the gripping story of William Herschel, the brilliant, fiercely ambitious, emotionally complex musician and composer who became court astronomer to Britain's King George III, and of William's sister, Caroline, who assisted him in his observations of the night sky and became an accomplished astronomer in her own right. Together, they transformed our view of the universe from the unchanging, mechanical creation of Newton's clockmaker god to the ever-evolving, incredibly dynamic cosmos that it truly is. William was in his forties when his amateur observations using a homemade telescope led to his discovery of Uranus, and an invitation to King George's court. He coined the term "asteroid," discovered infrared radiation, was the first to realize that our solar system is moving through space, discovered 2,500 nebulae that form the basis of the catalog astronomers use today, and was unrivalled as a telescope builder. Caroline shared William's passion for astronomy, recording his observations during night watches and organizing his papers for publication.
She was the first salaried woman astronomer in history, a pioneer who herself discovered nine comets and became a role model for women in the sciences. Written by the world's premier expert on the Herschels, Discoverers of the Universe traces William and Caroline's many extraordinary contributions to astronomy, shedding new light on their productive but complicated relationship, and setting their scientific achievements in the context of their personal struggles, larger-than-life ambitions, bitter disappointments, and astonishing triumphs.
Michael Hoskin is fellow of Churchill College at the University of Cambridge, where he lectured in the history of astronomy from 1959 until his retirement in 1988, and founding editor of the "Journal for the History of Astronomy". His books include "The Herschel Partnership as Viewed by Caroline" and "The Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy".
