Who was Caroline Herschel? A soprano and an astronomer, Herschel’s sister who discovered Uranus
The name was Herschel in the history of astronomy: after all, William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus and Saturn’s moons. But there is one, or rather a Herschel is less known: Caroline, whom Google pays Wednesday homage, with a doodle – the commemorative image that replaces the familiar company logo at the top search engine page
Caroline Herschel was the first woman to be honored by the Royal Astronomical Society in 1828 -.. and it would take more than 150 years until another woman to receive the same award
the astronomer was born 266 years in Hanover, the eighth child of a family of rural Germany – Prussia height. When he was 22 he moved to Bath in England, close to the brother William, taking the opportunity to escape the prospect of a parents’ house in closed life – according to reports at the time, was a small woman, marked by typhus and disfigured by smallpox, which the mother had struggled to keep at home, almost as created.
in England found that the older brother had been in love with astronomy, an interest that eventually share, ending up become his assistant.
In his observations, Caroline Herschel discovered seven comets. In recognition of his work King George II began paying him a salary, making her the first woman to be paid for their contribution to science.
The Cambridge professor Michael Hoskin, author of several books on William Herschel, even consider that the astronomer would not have such a brilliant place in the history of science without the help of her sister. It was not easy, however, out of his brother’s shadow, as many of their findings were eventually published by him, only with the initials CH to give account of their participation, Hoskin said.
Still , enjoyed some success: he was a member of the Irish Science Royal Academy and received the gold medal of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. The lunar crater C. Herschel was named in his honor.
No comments:
Post a Comment