Account of a comet
Date
1781
Creator
William Herschel (1738 - 1822, German-British) , Astronomer
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Dimensions
height (drawing): 107mm
width (drawing): 109mm
width (drawing): 109mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Chart showing the parallax to determine the position of a comet.
Figure 9 from the paper Account of a comet by William Herschel, 1781. Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, volume 71, 492-501, 1781.
Accompanying inscription ‘The effect of parallax is of a different nature and will explain all these irregularities, but first, it will not be amiss to observe that, in some situations of the comet and star all the effect of parallax will be only sensible in their distance, and in other situations it will intirely fall upon the angle of position.’
William Herschel was the first to discover an entirely new planet, Uranus, using a telescope. He initially believed that the object was a comet but further evidence convinced him that this must be a planetary body. The discovery was truly sensational and made Herschel internationally famous. He named the new world Georgium Sidus, after his patron King George III.
William Herschel (1738-1822) was a British astronomer, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1781.
Figure 9 from the paper Account of a comet by William Herschel, 1781. Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, volume 71, 492-501, 1781.
Accompanying inscription ‘The effect of parallax is of a different nature and will explain all these irregularities, but first, it will not be amiss to observe that, in some situations of the comet and star all the effect of parallax will be only sensible in their distance, and in other situations it will intirely fall upon the angle of position.’
William Herschel was the first to discover an entirely new planet, Uranus, using a telescope. He initially believed that the object was a comet but further evidence convinced him that this must be a planetary body. The discovery was truly sensational and made Herschel internationally famous. He named the new world Georgium Sidus, after his patron King George III.
William Herschel (1738-1822) was a British astronomer, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1781.
Associated place