The Georgian Star: How William and Caroline Herschel Revolutionized Our Understanding of the Cosmos

by Michael Lemonick

Overview

“A bright, shiny gift to popular-science collections.”—Booklist

Trained as a musician, amateur scientist William Herschel found international fame after discovering the planet Uranus in 1781. Though he is still best known for this finding, his partnership with his sister Caroline yielded other groundbreaking work that affects how we see the world today. The Herschels made comprehensive surveys of the night sky, carefully categorizing every visible object in the void. Caroline wrote an influential catalogue of nebulae, and William discovered infrared radiation. Veteran science writer Michael D. Lemonick guides readers through the depths of the solar system and into his subjects’ private lives: William developed bizarre theories about inhabitants of the sun; he procured an unheard-of salary for Caroline from King George III even as he hassled over the funding for an enormous, forty-foot telescope; and the siblings feuded over William’s marriage but eventually reconciled.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393337099
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	12/14/2009
Series:	Great Discoveries
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	204
Sales rank:	997,146
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

A former senior science writer at Time, Michael Lemonick is the author of several books, including Echo of the Big Bang. He teaches at Princeton, Columbia, and Johns Hopkins Universities, and lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

If Simon Schaffer's mention of William Herschel intrigued you, try this dual biography of William and his sister Caroline, the first paid women scientist. William left the uncertain life of a musician for the lesser-paid but slightly grander job as astronomer to King George. Having already found Uranus (the feat that led to his courtly position), he went on to figure out infrared radiation as well as to speculate upon the time delay of starlight as it travels across the universe. Equally importantly, he trained his sister Caroline, and she went on to have a career of her own, receiving a salary from the king and finding comets and stars. Lemonick shares with Bryson an expansive joy in his subject and a deft hand at making his characters come to life. Pair it with Richard Holmes's The Age of Wonder for more on the pair's findings and their exploring era. Neal Wyatt, "RA Crossroads", Booksmack!, 12/2/10

Library Journal - Booksmack!