Caroline Herschel: star of stars
Being the brother of one of the most famous astronomers in history would certainly give you a head start in any career! But it was a lot harder for women 250 years ago to get any head start, so Caroline Herschel certainly deserves all the credit she gets.
Born in Hanover, Germany in 1750, she moved to Bath, England to be with her brother William, who was a music teacher. William devoted his spare time to astronomy and although Caroline was an accomplished singer, she gladly co-operated with him in his research. When he was made astronomer to George III in 1782, she moved with him and became his assistant – working through calculations, maps and scribbles to write up his observations.
She also dabbled in astronomy herself, and her spare time was spent gazing at the stars through a small telescope. Durng her time as assistant to her brother, she found three remarkable nebulae, eight comets (including the first comet to be discovered by a woman, in 1786),
When George III started paying her a small annual salary for her work in 1787, she became the first woman officially recognised for a scientific position – some achievement at the time.
After the death of her brother, she returned to Germany where she finished off work that had been started by William, cataloguing some 2500 nebulae.
In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society awarded her their Gold Medal, which no other woman would be given until Vera Rubin in 1996, nearly 170 years later.
In her honour, the asteroid 28-Lucretia was named after her, Lucretia being her second name, along with the C. Herschel crater in the Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon.
Have you got an unsung hero/heroine you want to share with us? Drop us a line and let us know at contributions@null-hypothesis.com Born in Hanover, Germany in 1750, she moved to Bath, England to be with her brother William, who was a music teacher. William devoted his spare time to astronomy and although Caroline was an accomplished singer, she gladly co-operated with him in his research. When he was made astronomer to George III in 1782, she moved with him and became his assistant – working through calculations, maps and scribbles to write up his observations.
She also dabbled in astronomy herself, and her spare time was spent gazing at the stars through a small telescope. Durng her time as assistant to her brother, she found three remarkable nebulae, eight comets (including the first comet to be discovered by a woman, in 1786),
When George III started paying her a small annual salary for her work in 1787, she became the first woman officially recognised for a scientific position – some achievement at the time.
After the death of her brother, she returned to Germany where she finished off work that had been started by William, cataloguing some 2500 nebulae.
In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society awarded her their Gold Medal, which no other woman would be given until Vera Rubin in 1996, nearly 170 years later.
In her honour, the asteroid 28-Lucretia was named after her, Lucretia being her second name, along with the C. Herschel crater in the Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon.
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