The Herschels

[glenc]

An old book
The Herschels and Modern Astronomy by Agnes Clarke, 1895

https://ia800208.us.archive.org/17/items/cu31924012300681/cu31924012300681.pdf

Attached is John Herschel's description of the 1837 outburst of Eta Carinae on page 168.
It was as bright as alpha Centauri then and later as bright as Canopus for 7 years!

[glenc]

An amusing incident is attached

[glenc]

Lacaille and James Dunlop discovered the best clusters and galaxies in the southern sky. Dunlop also mapped the LMC and SMC. John Herschel did not have virgin skies as claimed in the attached document. (page 160)

[Startrek]

Glen,
Interesting book and articles
I would have thought the skies anywhere in the world during the mid 19th century would be “virgin skies”
Thanks for posting
It seems that Dunlop was not exactly held in high esteem by his fellow astronomers of the time.
On a side note , my wife and I just returned home after being abroad for 2 months ( UK and Malta )
Visited the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London which was fascinating
Some photos attached

Cheers
Martin

[anj026]

If I ever get back to the UK then I would like to visit Bath and the Herschel museum.

https://herschelmuseum.org.uk/

[glenc]

Thanks Martin for the photos and Andy for the link

[pmrid]

Hi Glen. I found a 1901 edition in the Project Gutenberg site as well - a free downnload.

[alan meehan]

They are great books to read thanks Glenc,I have one in my collection.

[glenc]

These 15 people (attached) discovered more bright NGC and IC objects than anyone else.
Galaxies fainter than magnitude 13 are not included.

The 4 foremost visual discoverers of NGC and IC objects were
William Herschel mainly from Slough near London
John Herschel from Slough and Capetown
James Dunlop from Parramatta, NSW and
Lewis Swift from Rochester NY and from just north of Los Angeles.

The attached data is from Wolfgang Steinicke
http://www.klima-luft.de/steinicke/ngcic/ngcic_e.htm

The names highlighted in yellow are southern observers.
The largest numbers in each column are also highlighted.

[EpickCrom]

Very interesting stuff Glen, thank you for posting :thumbsup:

[glenc]

I like this 8 min video about William Herschel discovering Uranus.
https://youtu.be/OI9FUri3FOM

[astroron]

Great Video Glen, thanks for posting/:thumbsup:

[anthony.tony]

Hello got this book from Cullanes Bookshop canowindra..in Poor condition. Tony.

[glenc]

Here is John Herschel's Cape Catalogue. (452 pages)
It was made with an 18.5" reflector from 1834-1837.
https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/resultsastronom00hers

The attached file gives John Herschel's number, the NGC and Messier numbers and the type of object.
The data is from Dr Wolfgang Steinicke

[Zubenel]

Thanks for the share Glen .The video explaining Herschel's discovery gives one the gravitas of this extraordinary time in astronomical history. I think we should bring bask his "beard" description of comets:D
I am now wondering what the difference in personalities were between William and his son John were. I am sure John would have yearned to emulate his father in finding another planet. This brings me to NGC2867 . An image of which I took from the Cambroon Observatory property and entitled Herschel's Folley. What I can't work out is why John thought he had found a planet when NGC2867 was so far from the ecliptic???

[glenc]

Wes
John Herschel observed the PN NGC 2867 8 times.
Attached are his last 4 descriptions of his #3163.
As you know he uses the word planet twice.

[seeker372011]

About a dozen years ago my wife and I visited Bath. We had a heck of a time finding the Herschel Museum but eventually did. We were the only ones there.

Guess Bath’s other attractions greatly overshadow a museum dedicated to an Astronomer who wanted to name a newly discovered planet George.

There is a dress belonging to Caroline on display on a dummy. She was tiny. !

Worth a visit anyway though the staff there seemed to know little about astronomy

[Zubenel]

Apologies as the link to my image was not included!
https://astrob.in/8q0a92/0/

[Camelopardalis]

Years ago I visited the museum in Bath. It’s their old house.

I don’t want to spoil the story, but Caroline was the keener astronomer :)

[anj026]

This is another interesting museum in the UK that looks to be worth a visit.

https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-whipple-collections/astronomy/two-telescopes

[alan meehan]

thanks Andy very interesting read on some wonderful telescopes ,i would love to visit the Whipple museum,as well as the Herschel museum myself one day