John Herschel

Sir John Frederick William Herschel (7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English mathematician and astronomer. He was the son of astronomer William Herschel. source: http://www. ... source: http://www. ... A statue of an armoured knight of the Middle Ages For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ... Jump to: navigation, search March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (67th in Leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK... A mathematician is a person whose area of study and research is mathematics. ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics. ... Sir Wilhelm Friedrich Herschel (Hanover, November 15, 1738 – August 25, 1822 Slough, then in Buckinghamshire now in Berkshire) was a German-born British astronomer and composer who became famous for discovering the planet Uranus, and made many other astronomical discoveries. ...

John Herschel originated the use of the Julian day system in astronomy and made several important contributions to the improvement of photographic processes (Cyanotype). He coined the terms "photography", "negative", and "positive", and discovered sodium thiosulphate as a fixer of silver halides. Jump to: navigation, search The Julian day or Julian day number (JDN) is the number of days that have elapsed since 12 noon Greenwich Mean Time (UT or TT) on Monday, January 1, 4713 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar . ... This page list various photographic processes. ... Jump to: navigation, search Cyanotype is an old monochrome photographic printing process which gives a cyan-blue print. ... Sodium thiosulfate pentahydrate Sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) is a colorless crystalline compound that is more familiar as the pentahydrate, Na2S2O3 · 5H2O, an efflorescent, monoclinic crystalline substance also called sodium hyposulfite or “hypo. ... A halide is a binary compound, of which one part is a halogen atom and the other part is an element or radical that is less electronegative than the halogen, to make a fluoride, chloride, bromide, iodide, or astatide compound. ...

Early life and work on astronomy

Herschel was born at Slough, Buckinghamshire, and studied at Eton College and St John's College, Cambridge. He graduated as senior wrangler in 1813. It was during his time as an undergraduate that he became friends with Charles Babbage and George Peacock. He took up astronomy in 1816, building a reflecting telescope with a mirror 18 inches in diameter and with a 20 foot focal length. Between 1821 and 1823 he re-examined, with James South, the double stars catalogued by his father. For this work he was presented in 1826 with the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (which he would win again in 1836); and with the Lalande Medal of the French Institute in 1825; while the Royal Society had in 1821 bestowed upon him the Copley Medal for his mathematical contributions to their Transactions. He was knighted in 1831. Slough (pronounced ) is a town and unitary authority in the county of Berkshire in the south of England. ... Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a county in South East England. ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (that is, an independent, fee-charging secondary school) for boys. ... Jump to: navigation, search Full name The College of Saint John the Evangelist of the University of Cambridge Motto - Named after The Hospital of Saint John the Evangelist, Cambridge, named after John the Evangelist Previous names - Established 1511 Sister College Balliol College Master Prof. ... hello This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Jump to: navigation, search Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (December 26, 1791 – October 18, 1871) was an English mathematician, analytical philosopher and (proto-) computer scientist who originated the idea of a programmable computer. ... George Peacock George Peacock (April 9, 1791 - November 8, 1858) was an English mathematician. ... 1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Sir James South (October 1785 – October 19, 1867) was a British astronomer. ... 1826 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Gold Medal is the highest award of the Royal Astronomical Society. ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Institut de France (French Institute) is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is probably the Académie française. ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is claimed to be the oldest learned society still in existence. ... 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Copley Medal is a scientific award for work in any field of science, the highest award granted by the Royal Society of London. ... 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Visit to South Africa

In 1833 Herschel travelled to South Africa in order to catalogue the stars of the southern skies. Amongst his other observations during this time was that of the return of Comet Halley. Intrigued by the ideas of gradual formation of landscapes set out in Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology, he wrote to Lyell commenting and urging a search for natural laws underlying the "mystery of mysteries" of how species formed, prefacing his words with the couplet: 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Comet Halley as taken with the Halley Multicolor Camera on the ESA Giotto mission. ... Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell (November 14, 1797 – February 22, 1875), British lawyer, geologist, and popularizer of uniformitarianism. ...

He that on such quest would go must know not fear or failing

To coward soul or faithless heart the search were unavailing.

Taking a gradualist view of development, he commented

"Time! Time! Time! — we must not impugn the Scripture Chronology, but we must interpret it in accordance with whatever shall appear on fair enquiry to be the truth for there cannot be two truths. And really there is scope enough: for the lives of the Patriarchs may as reasonably be extended to 5000 or 50000 years apiece as the days of Creation to as many thousand millions of years."

The document was circulated, and Charles Babbage incorporated extracts in his Ninth Bridgewater Treatise which postulated laws set up by a divine programmer. When HMS Beagle called at Cape Town, captain Robert FitzRoy and the young naturalist Charles Darwin visited the eminent Herschel on 3 June 1836. Later on, Darwin would be influenced by Herschel's writings in developing his theory on The Origin of Species. Jump to: navigation, search Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (December 26, 1791 – October 18, 1871) was an English mathematician, analytical philosopher and (proto-) computer scientist who originated the idea of a programmable computer. ... HMS Beagle (centre) from an 1841 watercolour by Owen Stanley HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10 gun brig of the Royal Navy, named after the Beagle breed of dog. ... HMS Beagle, from an 1841 watercolour by Owen Stanley The Voyage of the Beagle is a title commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin published in 1839 as his Journal and Remarks, which brought him considerable fame and respect. ... City motto: Spes Bona (Latin: Good Hope) Province Western Cape Mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... Robert FitzRoy Vice Admiral Robert FitzRoy (July 5, 1805 - April 30, 1865) achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle and as a pioneering meteorologist who invented weather forecasts, also proving an able surveyor and hydrographer as well as Governor of New Zealand. ... Jump to: navigation, search In his lifetime Charles Darwin gained international fame as a pre-eminent scientist. ... Jump to: navigation, search June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The title page of the 1859 edition of On the Origin of Species. ...

He returned to England in 1838 and published Results of Astronomical Observations made at the Cape of Good Hope in 1847. In this publication he proposed the names still used today for the seven then-known satellites of Saturn: Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus.[1] In the same year Herschel received his second Copley Medal from the Royal Society for this work. A few years later, in 1852, he proposed the names still used today for the four then-known satellites of Uranus: Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. Jump to: navigation, search 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 140 kPa Hydrogen >93% Helium >5% Methane 0. ... Mimas (mye-mus) is a moon of Saturn that was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. ... [4]; [5] Atmospheric characteristics Pressure trace, signficant spatial variability [6] Water Vapor 65% [7] Hydrogen 20% [8] Other CO2, CO, N2 [9] Enceladus (en-sel-a-dus, Greek Εγκέλαδος) is a moon of Saturn discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. ... Atmosphere none Tethys (tee-this or teth-is, Greek Τηθύς) is a moon of Saturn that was discovered by Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1684. ... Atmosphere none Dione (dye-oe-nee, Greek Διώνη) is a moon of Saturn discovered by Giovanni Cassini in 1684. ... Atmosphere none Rhea (ree-a, Greek ‘Ρέα) is the second largest moon of Saturn and was discovered in 1672 by Giovanni Domenico Cassini. ... Titan (tye-tun, Greek Τιτάνας) is the largest moon of Saturn and the second largest moon in the solar system[1], after Jupiters moon Ganymede. ... Iapetus (eye-ap-i-tus, Greek Ιαπετός) (British spelling: Japetus) is the third-largest moon of Saturn (see: Saturns natural satellites), discovered by Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1671. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 120 kPa Hydrogen 83% Helium 15% Methane 1. ... Atmospheric pressure 0 kPa Ariel (air-ee-ul) is a moon of Uranus discovered on 1851-10-24 by William Lassell. ... Atmospheric pressure 0 kPa Umbriel (um-bree-ul) is a moon of Uranus discovered on 1851-10-24 by William Lassell. ... Atmospheric pressure   Titania (ti-taan-ya) is the largest moon of Uranus. ... Atmospheric pressure 0 kPa Oberon (oe-bur-on) is the outermost of the major moons of the planet Uranus. ...

Herschel's other works included Outlines of Astronomy (1849); General Catalogue of 10,300 Multiple and Double Stars, (published posthumously); Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects; and General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters. At his death he was given a national funeral and buried in Westminster Abbey. 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters was published in 1864 by John Herschel. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Abbeys western facade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

In 1835, the New York Sun newspaper wrote a series of satiric articles that came to be known as the Great Moon Hoax, with statements falsely attributed to John Herschel about his supposed discoveries of animals living on the Moon, including batlike winged humanoids. 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The original New York Sun began publication September 3, 1833, as a morning newspaper, and an evening edition began in 1887. ... The Great Moon Hoax was a series of six articles that appeared in the New York Sun beginning on August 25, 1835 about the supposed discovery of life on the Moon. ... Jump to: navigation, search Crust composition Oxygen 43% Silicon 21% Aluminium 10% Calcium 9% Iron 9% Magnesium 5% Titanium 2% Nickel 0. ...

He had three sons: one of whom, Alexander Stewart Herschel, was also an astronomer. He also had nine daughters. Alexander Stewart Herschel (February 5, 1836 – June 18, 1907) was a British astronomer. ...

External links

• http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Herschel.html
• Biography: JRASC 74 (1980) 203