In Our Time

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In Our Time: William and Caroline Herschel

11/11/2021

William and Caroline Herschel

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, William and Caroline Herschel

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the siblings at the forefront of 18th-century astronomy

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the pioneering brother and sister who, between them, discovered Uranus, comets, double stars and infrared light at the end of the 18th century.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss William Herschel (1738 – 1822) and his sister Caroline Herschel (1750 – 1848) who were born in Hanover and made their reputation in Britain. William was one of the most eminent astronomers in British history. Although he started life as a musician, as a young man he became interested in studying the night sky. With an extraordinary talent, he constructed telescopes that were able to see further and more clearly than any others at the time. He is most celebrated today for discovering the planet Uranus and detecting what came to be known as infrared radiation. Caroline also became a distinguished astronomer, discovering several comets and collaborating with her brother.

With

Monica Grady
Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open University

Carolin Crawford
Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge and an Emeritus Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge

And

Jim Bennett
Keeper Emeritus at the Science Museum in London.

Studio producer: John Goudie

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