Credit: © The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.9810
    Looking for a special gift? Buy a print of this image.

    Structure of the Milky Way galaxy

    Date
    1785
    Creator
    William Herschel (1738 - 1822, German-British) , Astronomer
    Object type
    Archive reference number
    Material
    Dimensions
    height (drawing): 321mm
    width (drawing): 179mm
    Subject
    Content object
    space
       > star
    Description
    Plate 8 figure 4 from the paper “On the construction of the heavens”, by William Herschel, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol.75 (1785), pp.213-266.

    Illustration of a section through the galaxy, leading Herschel to the conclusion that “our nebula...is of the third form; that is: A very extensive, branching, compound Congeries of many millions of stars.”

    Inscribed in pencil verso with publication details. Not signed. Watermarked “CP”.
    Associated place
    <The World>
       > Europe
          > United Kingdom
    Powered by CollectionsIndex+/CollectionsOnline