Description

The investigation of the structure of the universe may be said to commence with the work of William Herschel(1738-1822). By profession a musician, Herschel came to England from Hanover at the age of nineteen to improve his fortunes. He earned his living by playing the organ and
teaching music, and in 1766 was appointed organist of the Octagon Chapel, Bath. But all his spare time was occupied with the study of optics and astronomy, in which he became more and more interested. Merely to learn about
astronomy from books was not sufficient for his eager,inquiring mind. He longed to study the heavens through a telescope with his own eyes, Being unable to afford to buy a telescope, he decided to attempt to make one for himself.Starting in a modest way, Herschel proceeded to larger and larger telescopes. It was not long before he became better at making telescopes than anyone had been before
and, what is more, he showed extraordinary skill in using
them. To quote his own words: “Seeing is in some respects an art, which must be learnt.” It was the excellent optical
quality of his telescopes, combined with his keenness of vision, that enabled him to make the discovery that brought him fame. On March 13th, 1781, he noticed what he described in his journal as a “curious either nebulous star or perhaps a comet,” an object showing a small round disk, differing in appearance from the point-like image of a star. This object proved to be a new planet, now known
as Uranus; it was the first planet ever to have been discovered by man, for the other planets known at that time are easily visible to the naked eye and had been known from remote antiquity.