Herschel

[ hur-shuhl ]

noun

1. Sir John Frederick William, 1792–1871, English astronomer.
2. his father Sir William Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, 1738–1822, English astronomer, born in Germany.
3. Also Hershel. a male given name.

Herschel

/ ˈhɜːʃəl /

noun

1. HerschelCaroline Lucretia17501848FBritishGermanSCIENCE: astronomer Caroline Lucretia. 1750–1848, British astronomer, born in Germany, noted for her catalogue of nebulae and star clusters: sister of Sir William Herschel
2. HerschelSir John Frederick William17921871MBritishSCIENCE: astronomer Sir John Frederick William. 1792–1871, British astronomer. He discovered and catalogued over 525 nebulae and star clusters
3. HerschelSir (Frederick) William17381822MBritishGermanSCIENCE: astronomer his father, Sir ( Frederick ) William, original name Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel. 1738–1822, British astronomer, born in Germany. He constructed a reflecting telescope, which led to his discovery of the planet Uranus (1781), two of its satellites, and two of the satellites of Saturn. He also discovered the motions of binary stars

Herschel

/ hûr′shəl /

1. Family of British astronomers led by Sir William Herschel (1738–1822), who discovered Uranus (1781) and cataloged more than 800 binary stars and 2,500 nebulae. His sister Caroline Herschel (1750–1848) discovered eight comets and several nebulae and star clusters, and published at least two astronomical catalogs which are still currently used. His son Sir John Frederick William Herschel (1792–1871) discovered 525 nebulae and pioneered celestial photography.

Biography

Brother and sister William Herschel and Caroline Herschel began their professional careers as musicians. Born in Germany, they moved to England, where Caroline became a soprano soloist in performances conducted by her brother. William's background in music spurred him to study mathematics and astronomy, which he then taught his sister, and they each went on to produce a string of important scientific discoveries. William was the first astronomer to study binary stars and, while searching for comets in 1781, he discovered Uranus, the first new planet to be discovered since ancient times. He also discovered two satellites of Uranus (Titania and Oberon, 1787), and two of Saturn (Mimas and Enceladus, 1789–90). Caroline observed her first comet in 1786 and eventually discovered seven others, as well as nebulae and star clusters. King George III appointed William his Astronomer Royal in 1787, and Caroline was made assistant astronomer. After William's death, Caroline returned to Germany and published a catalog of 2,500 nebulae, for which the (British) Royal Astronomical Society awarded her its gold medal in 1828.

Example Sentences

The Herschel backpack is loaded with storage space, featuring multiple compartments, a headphone port, and a phone pouch.

From Popular-Science

That's not so bad when it was a friendly giant beast named Manny or Herschel the giant spider.

From Ars Technica

In effect, Herschel had doubled the size of the entire known universe.

From Nautilus

In the decades after Herschel’s discovery, observations of Uranus indicated that it was deviating from its expected orbit around the sun.

From Nautilus

Uranus orbits the sun at twice the distance of Saturn, so Herschel’s discovery instantly doubled the size of the known solar system.

From Nautilus

Even now, at fifty-one, Herschel Walker is one of the most impressive athletes in the world.

From The Daily Beast

Babbage, Herschel, Whewell, and Jones set out on massive projects to collect and make sense of vast data sets.

From The Daily Beast

Herschel is of opinion, that luminous clouds float in the inflamed atmosphere of this luminary, as clouds of vapour float in ours.

From Project Gutenberg

The general direction of this motion of the solar system has been known since the time of Sir William Herschel.

From Project Gutenberg

Herschel calculated the mountains on the moon to be half a mile high, Ferguson said they were fifteen miles high.

From Project Gutenberg

Soon afterward he wrote a long letter to Herschel V. Johnson, who, like himself, had been an enemy of secession in 1861.

From Project Gutenberg

Young Herschel had already learned to speak English, just as he had learned French.

From Project Gutenberg