Uranus and Herschel
Observing >
There was a day not that long ago when the only objects in the sky were the Sun, the Moon, the planets from Mercury to Saturn, and the stars. That was it. Those were all the animals in the celestial zoo.
Where were Uranus, Neptune, tiny Pluto and all those freakish things we have been learning about here over the years – galaxies, pulsars, quasars?
Their existence, in the eyes of humankind, was not known until the advent of a tiny tool we call the telescope, a tool that allowed us to spot these anomalies heretofore undetected by mere naked eye observation.
It was 227 years ago this week that the famed astronomer William Herschel, using a homemade telescope, doubled the distance to the borders of our solar system, extending it outward over another billion kilometers beyond Saturn. It was he who discovered Uranus, the seventh planet.
Usually I tell you where in the sky you can find the featured object. Sadly, Uranus at the moment is on the opposite side of the sun. That means it is now up only during the day, right next to our blazing star. To avoid a lawsuit I would recommend not looking for it. The resulting blindness would prevent you from finding it later this year when it claims the night skies once more.
As to its discoverer: William Frederick Herschel was born in Germany but in his teens took up residence in England. He, like many well-off gentlemen of his time, had a penchant for dabbling into the different disciplines. He was, for example, an accomplished musician. It was that an art that led him into the land of mathematics.
It was through math that he discovered the amazing world of astronomy. During this time, in his mid-thirties now, Herschel began constructing his first telescopes. He would end up making over 400 in his busy life.
When he was 43 years old, living in Bath, England, he discovered with his own telescope what he thought at first was a comet, but which shortly thereafter was shown to be a seventh planet, the first planet discovered since man was put here.
It had actually been seen before by other astronomers but was mistaken for a star. Herschel noticed in a series of observations that it moved just slightly, hence the initial thought that it might be a comet. But it turned out to be a far more distant heavenly body, a new planet.
Being a loyal Brit now, he named his newfound planet after his king, George III. Yes, the same George who gave the colonies in America so much grief.
Now, let's see how that new planet line-up might sound if the name had stuck: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, George. Hmmmm...
It was proposed by another astronomer that the planet should be named Herschel in his honor. Ahem. Thankfully, wiser, more traditional, minds prevailed, and the planet was named for the Greek god of the sky, Ouranos. Despite being more traditional, even that name broke ranks with the other planet names, being a Greek deity rather than a Roman one.
By the way, astronomers prefer to pronounce the planet's name with emphasis on the first syllable, not the second. It is not only preferred but can keep giggling to a minimum when you pronounce it in front of high schoolers. Trust me.
Herschel went on to do a lot more work in his life. He showed that gravity worked outside our solar system by keeping binary stars together. He built all those scopes, of course, some monstrous. He did some amazing studies with the Sun. And he would discover new moons around Saturn and George... uh... Uranus.
And he left behind a legacy, as his son John carried on the family tradition and became a famous astronomer himself.
But there was at least one more planet to be discovered! Alas, that’s a story for another day.
Until next time, clear skies!
Posted by Mark Ritter at 2008.03. 9 02:42 PM | Comments (0)
