View source for William Herschel

{{short description|German-born British astronomer and composer (1738–1822)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = William Herschel
| honorific_suffix  = {{postnominals|country=GBR|KH|FRS}}
| image             = William Herschel01.jpg
| caption           = Portrait by [[Lemuel Francis Abbott]], 1785
| birth_name        = Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel
| birth_date        = {{birth date|df=yes|1738|11|15}}
| birth_place       = [[Hanover]], [[Electorate of Hanover]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
| death_date        = {{death date and age|df=yes|1822|8|25|1738|11|15}}
| death_place       = [[Slough]], England
| resting_place     = [[Church of St Laurence, Upton-cum-Chalvey|St Laurence's Church, Slough]]
| nationality       = [[Electorate of Hanover|Hanoverian]]<br />British (after 1793)<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hoskin|first=Michael|date=June 2013|title=The Herschel knighthoods under scrutiny|journal=Astronomy & Geophysics|volume=54|issue=3|pages=3.23–3.24|doi=10.1093/astrogeo/att080|doi-access=free}}</ref>
| relatives         = [[Caroline Herschel]] (sister)
| alma_mater        =
| doctoral_advisor  = 
| doctoral_students = 
| known_for         = {{ubl|Discovery of [[Uranus]]|Discovery of [[infrared radiation]]|Deep space surveys|First [[President of the Royal Astronomical Society]]}}
| signature         = William Herschel Signature.svg
| footnotes         = 
| spouse            = Mary Baldwin Herschel
| children          = [[John Herschel]] (son)
| field             = [[Astronomy]] and [[music]]
| work_institutions = 
| prizes            = [[Copley Medal]] (1781) 
}}

'''Frederick William Herschel'''<ref name="Hoskin">{{cite book|editor-last1=Hoskin|editor-first1=Michael|title=Caroline Herschel's autobiographies|date=2003|publisher=Science History Publ.|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0905193069|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=William Herschel {{!}} Biography, Education, Telescopes, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Herschel|access-date=15 September 2021|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> {{postnominals|country=GBR|sep=,|KH|FRS}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɜr|ʃ|əl}} {{respell|HUR|shəl}};<ref>{{cite book|title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary|year=2000|last=Wells|first=J. C.|publisher=Pearson Longman|page=358|isbn=978-0-582-36467-7|url=https://archive.org/details/longman-pronunciation-dictionary/page/358}}</ref> {{langx|de|Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel}} {{IPA|de|ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈhɛʁʃl̩|}}; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-British [[astronomer]] and [[composer]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Herschel | title=Sir William Herschel &#124; British-German astronomer| date=21 August 2023}}</ref> He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer [[Caroline Herschel]]. Born in the [[Electorate of Hanover]], he followed his father into the military band of Hanover, before immigrating to Britain in 1757 at the age of 19.

Taking an interest in astronomy in 1766, Herschel constructed his first large telescope in 1774, after which he spent nine years carrying out sky surveys to investigate double stars. Herschel published catalogues of [[nebula]]e in 1802 (2,500 objects) and in 1820 (5,000 objects). The resolving power of the Herschel telescopes revealed that many objects called nebulae in the [[Messier object|Messier catalogue]] were actually clusters of stars. On 13 March 1781 while making observations he made note of a new object in the constellation of Gemini. This would, after several weeks of verification and consultation with other astronomers, be confirmed to be a new planet, eventually given the name of [[Uranus]]. This was the first planet to be discovered since antiquity, and Herschel became famous overnight. As a result of this discovery, [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]] appointed him Court Astronomer. He was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] and grants were provided for the construction of new telescopes.

Herschel pioneered the use of [[Astronomical spectroscopy|astronomical spectrophotometry]], using prisms and temperature measuring equipment to measure the wavelength distribution of stellar spectra. In the course of these investigations, Herschel discovered [[Infrared|infrared radiation]].<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Herschel discovers infrared light |url=http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/classroom_activities/herschel_bio.html |website=Cool Cosmos |access-date=6 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225094516/http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/classroom_activities/herschel_bio.html |archive-date=25 February 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
Other work included an improved determination of the rotation period of [[Mars]],<ref name="Copus"/> the discovery that the Martian polar caps vary seasonally, the discovery of [[Titania (moon)|Titania]] and [[Oberon (moon)|Oberon]] (moons of Uranus) and [[Enceladus]] and [[Mimas (moon)|Mimas]] (moons of [[Saturn]]). Herschel was made a Knight of the [[Royal Guelphic Order]] in 1816. He was the first [[President of the Royal Astronomical Society]] when it was founded in 1820. He died in August 1822, and his work was continued by his only son, [[John Herschel]].

==Early life and musical activities==
Herschel was born in the [[Electorate of Hanover]] in Germany, then part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], one of ten children of Isaak Herschel and his wife, Anna Ilse Moritzen, of German Lutheran ancestry. His ancestors came from [[Pirna]], in [[Saxony]]. Theories that they were Protestants from [[Bohemia]] have been questioned by Hamel as the surname Herschel already occurred a century earlier in the very same area in which the family lived.

Herschel's father was an [[oboe|oboist]] in the Hanover Military Band. In 1755 the Hanoverian Guards regiment, in whose band Wilhelm and his brother Jakob were engaged as oboists, was ordered to England. At the time the crowns of [[kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and [[Electorate of Hanover|Hanover]] were [[personal union|united]] under [[George II of Great Britain|King George II]]. As the threat of war with France loomed, the Hanoverian Guards were recalled from England to defend Hanover.

After they were defeated at the [[Battle of Hastenbeck]], Herschel's father Isaak sent his two sons to seek refuge in England in late 1757. Although his older brother Jakob had received his dismissal from the Hanoverian Guards, Wilhelm was accused of desertion<ref name="deserter">{{cite journal |last=Hoskin |first=M. |journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy |title=Was William Herschel a deserter? |bibcode=2004JHA....35..356H |volume=35, Part 3 |issue=120 |pages=356–358 |date=2004|doi=10.1177/002182860403500307 |s2cid=117464495 }}</ref> (for which he was pardoned by [[George III]] in 1782).<ref>{{Gutenberg book|bullet=none|last=Clerke|first=Agnes M.|author-link=Agnes Mary Clerke|name=A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century|place=London (republished eText) |publisher=Adam and Charles Black|date=1908|edition=4th|page=18|no=28247}}</ref> Wilhelm, nineteen years old at this time, was a quick student of the English language. In England, he anglicised his name to Frederick William Herschel.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wall |first1=Wilson |title=A History of Optical Telescopes in Astronomy |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |page=158}}</ref>

[[File:William Herschel - Symphony No. 15 - British Library Add MS 49626 f25r.jpg|thumb|right|Original manuscript of Symphony No. 15 in E-flat major (1762)]]
[[File:William Herschel Museum - IOP plaque.jpg|thumb|Plaque at the [[Herschel Museum of Astronomy]], which was the family home at 19 New King Street, Bath]]
In addition to the oboe, he played the violin and [[harpsichord]] and later the [[organ (music)|organ]].{{sfn |Holmes |2008 |p=67}} He composed numerous musical works, including 24 [[Symphony|symphonies]] and many concertos, as well as some church music.<ref name="Griffiths">{{cite web |last1=Griffiths |first1=Martin |title=Music(ian) of the spheres William Herschel and the astronomical revolution |date= 18 October 2009 |url=https://www.lablit.com/article/550 |website=LabLit |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref> Six of his symphonies were recorded in April 2002 by the [[London Mozart Players]], conducted by [[Matthias Bamert]] (Chandos 10048).<ref>{{cite web |title=Chan 10048 William Herschel (1738–1822) |url=https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2010048 |website=Chandos |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref>

He was head of the [[Militia and Volunteers of County Durham|Durham Militia]] band from 1760 to 1761.<ref>{{cite web |date=24 May 2017 |title=Seagull city: Sunderland's literary and cultural heritage |url=https://wp.sunderland.ac.uk/seagullcity/sir-william-herschel/ |website=Seagull city}}</ref> Herschel moved to [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]] in 1761; [[Charles Avison]] engaged him as the first violin and soloist for his Newcastle orchestra, where he played for one season. In "Sunderland in the County of Durh: apprill {{sic}} 20th 1761" he wrote his Symphony No. 8 in C Minor. He visited the home of [[Milbanke baronets|Sir Ralph Milbanke]] at Halnaby Hall near [[Darlington]] in 1760,<ref name="Lubbock">{{cite book |last=Lubbock |first=Constance Ann |title=The Herschel Chronicle: The Life-story of William Herschel and His Sister, Caroline Herschel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hcc5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1 |date=1933 |publisher=CUP Archive |pages=1–}}</ref>{{rp|14}} where he wrote two symphonies, as well as giving performances himself.
After Newcastle, he moved to Leeds and [[Halifax, West Yorkshire|Halifax]] where he was the first organist at St John the Baptist church (now [[Halifax Minster]]).<ref name="Barentine">{{cite book |first=John C. |last=Barentine |title=The Lost Constellations: A History of Obsolete, Extinct, or Forgotten Star Lore |publisher=Springer |year=2015 |page=410 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_7NCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA410|isbn=978-3319227955 }}</ref>{{rp|411}}

In 1766, Herschel became organist of the [[Octagon Chapel, Bath]], a fashionable chapel in a well-known spa, in which city he was also Director of Public Concerts.<ref name="Cowgill">{{cite book |editor-last1=Cowgill |editor-first1=Rachel |editor-last2=Holman |editor-first2=Peter |title=Music in the British Provinces, 1690–1914 |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |location=London and New York |isbn=978-1351557313 |pages=100–111 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tTkrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA100 |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref> He was appointed as the organist in 1766 and gave his introductory concert on 1 January 1767. As the organ was still incomplete, he showed off his versatility by performing his own compositions including a [[violin concerto]], an [[oboe concerto]], and a [[harpsichord]] [[sonata]].<ref name="Duckles">{{cite journal |last1=Duckles |first1=V. |title=Sir William Herschel as a Composer |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific |date=1962 |volume=74 |issue=436 |pages=55–59 |bibcode=1962PASP...74...55D |doi=10.1086/127756 |doi-access=free }}</ref> On 4 October 1767, he performed on the organ for the official opening of the Octagon Chapel.<ref name="Macpherson">{{cite book |last1=Macpherson |first1=Hector Copland |title=Herschel |date=1919 |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; Macmillan |location=London & New York |page=13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sWEtAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA13 |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref>

His sister [[Caroline Herschel|Caroline]] arrived in England on 24 August 1772 to live with William in New King Street, Bath.<ref name="Hoskin"/>{{rp|1–25}} The house they shared is now the location of the [[Herschel Museum of Astronomy]].<ref name="Museum">{{cite web |title=Welcome to Herschel Museum of Astronomy |url=http://herschelmuseum.org.uk/ |website=Herschel Museum of Astronomy |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref> Herschel's brothers Dietrich (1755–1827), Alexander (1745–1821) and Jakob (1734–1792) also appeared as musicians of Bath.<ref name="Alexander">{{citation | title=Alexander Herschel: The forgotten partner| last1=Hoskin | first1=M.| journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy|volume=35 | number=4 | pages=387–420 | year=1980 | bibcode=1980JHA....11..153H | postscript=. | doi=10.1177/002182868001100301| s2cid=115478560 }}</ref> In 1780, Herschel was appointed director of the Bath orchestra, with his sister often appearing as soprano soloist.<ref name="Schaarwächter">{{cite book |last1=Schaarwächter |first1=Jürgen |title=Two Centuries of British Symphonism: From the beginnings to 1945 |date=2015 |publisher=Verlag |location=Olms |isbn=978-3487152288 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIvoCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="Winter burn" />

==Astronomy==
[[File:HerschelTelescope.jpg|upright=0.9|thumb|Replica in the [[William Herschel Museum]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], of a telescope similar to that with which Herschel discovered [[Uranus]]]]

Herschel's reading in [[natural philosophy]] during the 1770s not only indicates his personal interests, but also suggests an intention to be upwardly mobile, both socially and professionally. He was well-positioned to engage with eighteenth-century "philosophical gentlemen" or [[philomath]]s, of wide-ranging logical and practical tastes.<ref name="Winter burn">{{cite journal |last1=Winterburn |first1=E. |title=Philomaths, Herschel, and the myth of the self-taught man |journal=Notes and Records |date=25 June 2014 |volume=68 |issue=3 |pages=207–225 |doi=10.1098/rsnr.2014.0027 |pmid=25254276 |pmc=4123665 }}</ref>

Herschel's intellectual curiosity and interest in music eventually led him to astronomy, making his first recorded observation in 1766.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cunningham |first1=Clifford J. |title=The Scientific Legacy of William Herschel |publisher=Springer |page=241}}</ref> After reading [[Robert Smith (mathematician)|Robert Smith]]'s ''Harmonics, or the Philosophy of Musical Sounds'' (1749), he took up Smith's ''A Compleat System of Opticks'' (1738), which described techniques of telescope construction.<ref name="EB">{{cite web |title=Sir William Herschel British-German astronomer |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Herschel |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref> He also read [[James Ferguson (Scottish astronomer)|James Ferguson]]'s ''Astronomy explained upon Sir Isaac Newton's principles and made easy to those who have not studied mathematics'' (1756) and [[William Emerson (mathematician)|William Emerson]]'s ''The elements of trigonometry'' (1749), ''The elements of optics'' (1768) and ''The principles of mechanics'' (1754).<ref name="Winter burn" />

[[File:William Herschel's Mirror-polisher.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Herschel's mirror polisher, on display in the [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum]], London]]
Herschel took lessons from a local mirror-builder and having obtained both tools and a level of expertise, started building his own [[reflecting telescope]]s. He would spend up to 16 hours a day grinding and polishing the [[speculum metal]] [[primary mirror]]s. He relied on the assistance of other family members, particularly his sister Caroline and his brother Alexander, a skilled mechanical craftsperson.<ref name="Winter burn" />

He "began to look at the planets and the stars"<ref name="Levy">{{cite book|last=Levy|first=David H.|title=The Quest for Comets An Explosive Trail of Beauty and Danger|date=1994|publisher=Springer US|location=Boston|isbn=978-1489959980|page=38|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6F_5BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38|access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref> in May 1773 and on 1 March 1774 began an astronomical journal by noting his observations of Saturn's rings and the [[Great Orion Nebula]] (M42).<ref name="Winter burn" />
The English [[Astronomer Royal]] [[Nevil Maskelyne]] visited the Herschels while they were at [[Walcot, Bath|Walcot]] (which they left on 29 September 1777).<ref name="construction">{{cite book |last1=Hoskin |first1=Michael |title=The construction of the heavens : the cosmology of William Herschel |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1107018389 |page=77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4b88e-qKYC&pg=PA77 |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref>
By 1779, Herschel had also made the acquaintance of Sir [[William Watson (scientist)|William Watson]], who invited him to join the Bath Philosophical Society.<ref name="Winter burn" /> Herschel became an active member, and through Watson would greatly enlarge his circle of contacts.<ref name="EB"/><ref name="Ring">{{cite journal |last1=Ring |first1=Francis |title=The Bath Philosophical Society and its influence on William Herschel's career |journal=Culture and Cosmos |date=2012 |volume=16 |pages=45–42 |doi=10.46472/CC.01216.0211 |url=https://www.cultureandcosmos.org/pdfs/16/Ring_INSAPVII_William_Herschel.pdf |access-date=4 June 2018|doi-access=free }}</ref> A few years later, in 1785, Herschel was elected an international member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] in Philadelphia.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=william+herschel&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=14 December 2020|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

===Double stars===
Herschel's early observational work soon focused on the search for pairs of stars that were very close together visually. Astronomers of the era expected that changes over time in the apparent separation and relative location of these stars would provide evidence for both the [[proper motion]] of stars and, by means of [[parallax]] shifts in their separation, for the distance of stars from the Earth. The latter was a method first suggested by [[Galileo Galilei]].<ref name="Aitken">{{cite book|last=Aitken|first=Robert Grant|title=The Binary Stars|date=1935|publisher=McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.|location=New York and London|isbn=978-1117504094 |pages=4–9|url=https://archive.org/stream/binarystars00aitk#page/4/mode/2up}}</ref>
From the back garden of his house in New King Street, Bath, and using a {{convert|6.2|in|mm|adj=mid|aperture}}, {{convert|7|ft|m|adj=mid|-focal-length}} (f/13) [[Newtonian telescope]] "with a most capital [[Speculum metal|speculum]]" of his own manufacture,<ref>{{harvnb|Mullaney|2007|p=10}}</ref> in October 1779, Herschel began a systematic search for such stars among "every star in the Heavens",<ref name="Aitken"/>{{rp|5}} with new discoveries listed through 1792. He soon discovered many more [[binary star|binary]] and [[multiple star]]s than expected, and compiled them with careful measurements of their relative positions in two catalogues presented to the [[Royal Society]] in London in 1782 (269 double or multiple systems)<ref name="Herschel1782">{{cite journal|last1=Herschel|first1=Mr. |last2=Watson |first2=Dr. |title=Catalogue of Double Stars. By Mr. Herschel, F.R.S. Communicated by Dr. Watson, Jun |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |date=1 January 1782 |volume=72 |pages=112–162 |doi=10.1098/rstl.1782.0014 |bibcode=1782RSPT...72..112H |quote=Read January 10, 1782|doi-access=free}}</ref> and 1784 (434 systems).<ref name="Herschel1784">{{cite journal |last1=Herschel |first1=W. |title=Catalogue of Double Stars. By William Herschel, Esq. F.R.S |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |date=1 January 1785 |volume=75 |quote=Read December 8, 1784 |pages=40–126 |doi=10.1098/rstl.1785.0006 |bibcode=1785RSPT...75...40H |s2cid=186209747}}</ref> A third catalogue of discoveries made after 1783 was published in 1821 (145 systems).<ref name="Herschel1821">{{cite journal |last1=Herschel |first1=W. |title=On the places of 145 new Double Stars |journal=Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=1821 |volume=1 |page=166 |quote=Read June 8, 1821|bibcode=1822MmRAS...1..166H }}</ref><ref name="MacEvoy">{{cite web |last1=MacEvoy |first1=Bruce |title=The William Herschel Double Star Catalogs Restored |url=https://www.handprint.com/ASTRO/herschel.html |website=Astronomical Files from Black Oak Observatory |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref>

The Rev. [[John Michell]] of [[Thornhill, West Yorkshire|Thornhill]] published work in 1767 on the distribution of double stars,<ref name="Heintz">{{cite book |last1=Heintz |first1=Wulff D. |title=Double stars |date=1978 |publisher=Reidel |location=Dordrecht |isbn=978-9027708854 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6-PqCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref> and in 1783 on "dark stars", that may have influenced Herschel.<ref name="Schaffer">{{cite journal |last1=Schaffer |first1=Simon |title=John Mitchell and Black Holes |journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy |date=1979 |volume=10 |pages=42–43 |url=http://adsbit.harvard.edu//full/1979JHA....10...42S/0000042.000.html |access-date=4 June 2018|bibcode=1979JHA....10...42S |doi=10.1177/002182867901000104 |s2cid=123958527 }}</ref> After Michell's death in 1793, Herschel bought a ten-foot-long, 30-inch reflecting telescope from Michell's [[estate (law)|estate]].<ref name="Geikie">{{cite book |last1=Geikie |first1=Archibald |title=Memoir of John Michell |date=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1107623781 |pages=12–18, 95–96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-VFkAgAAQBAJ |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref>

In 1797, Herschel measured many of the systems again, and discovered changes in their relative positions that could not be attributed to the parallax caused by the Earth's orbit. He waited until 1802 (in ''Catalogue of 500 new Nebulae, nebulous Stars, planetary Nebulae, and Clusters of Stars; with Remarks on the Construction of the Heavens'') to announce the hypothesis that the two stars were "binary sidereal systems" orbiting under mutual [[gravity|gravitational attraction]], a hypothesis he confirmed in 1803 in his ''Account of the Changes that have happened, during the last Twenty-five Years, in the relative Situation of Double-stars; with an Investigation of the Cause to which they are owing''.<ref name="Aitken"/>{{rp|8–9}} In all, Herschel discovered over 800 confirmed<ref>[https://www.handprint.com/ASTRO/Herschel_All.html William Herschel's Double Star Catalog]. Handprint.com (5 January 2011). Retrieved on 5 June 2011.</ref> double or multiple star systems, almost all of them physical rather than optical pairs. His theoretical and observational work provided the foundation for modern binary star astronomy;<ref name="Macpherson"/>{{rp|74}} new catalogues adding to his work were not published until after 1820 by [[Friedrich Wilhelm Struve]], [[James South]] and [[John Herschel]].<ref name="North">{{cite book |last1=North |first1=John |title=Cosmos : an illustrated history of astronomy and cosmology |date=2008 |publisher=Univ. of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0226594415 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qq8Luhs7rTUC&pg=PA448 |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="Cavin">{{cite book |last1=Cavin |first1=Jerry D. |title=The Amateur Astronomer's Guide to the Deep-sky Catalogs |date=2011 |publisher=Springer Verlag |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4614-0655-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=obLAoHOVodAC&pg=PA148 |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref>

===Uranus===
{{main|Uranus#History}}
[[File:Uranus Voyager2 color calibrated.png|thumb|[[Uranus]], discovered by Herschel in 1781]]
In March 1781, during his search for double stars, Herschel noticed an object appearing as a disk. Herschel originally thought it was a comet or a stellar disc, which he believed he might actually resolve.{{sfn |Holmes |2008 |p=96}} He reported the sighting to [[Nevil Maskelyne]] the [[Astronomer Royal]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Raffael |first1=Michael |title=Bath Curiosities |date=2006 |publisher=Birlinn |isbn=978-1841585031 |page=38}}</ref> He made many more observations of it, and afterwards Russian Academician [[Anders Johan Lexell|Anders Lexell]] computed the orbit and found it to be probably planetary.<ref name="Kuhn">{{cite book|last=Kuhn|first=Thomas S.|title=The structure of scientific revolutions|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|date=1970|isbn=978-0226458045|page=[https://archive.org/details/structureofscie000kuhn/page/115 115]|url=https://archive.org/details/structureofscie000kuhn|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Schaffer1981">{{cite journal |last1=Schaffer |first1=Simon |title=Uranus and the Establishment of Herschel's Astronomy |journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy |date=1981 |volume=12 |pages=11–25 |bibcode=1981JHA....12...11S |doi=10.1177/002182868101200102 |s2cid=118813550 }}</ref>

Herschel agreed, determining that it must be a planet beyond the orbit of Saturn.<ref>[https://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/herschel/fwhershs.html Astronomical League National – Herschel Club – Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel]. Astroleague.org. Retrieved on 5 June 2011.</ref> He called the new planet the "Georgian star" (Georgium sidus) after [[King George III]], which also brought him favour; the name did not stick.<ref name="Distillations"/> In France, where reference to the British king was to be avoided if possible, the planet was known as "Herschel" until the name "Uranus" was universally adopted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remembering William Herschel |url=https://britainsbestguides.org/blogs/remembering-william-herschel/ |access-date=12 June 2024 |website=British Guild of Tourist Guides |language=en-US}}</ref> The same year, Herschel was awarded the [[Copley Medal]] and elected a Fellow of the [[Royal Society]].<ref name="Schaffer1981"/> In 1782, he was appointed "The King's Astronomer" (not to be confused with the [[Astronomer Royal]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clerke |first1=Agnes Mary |title=The Herschels and modern astronomy |year=1901 |publisher=New York |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1108013925 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/herschelsandmod02clergoog/page/n35 30]–35 |url=https://archive.org/details/herschelsandmod02clergoog}}</ref>

On 1 August 1782 Herschel and his sister Caroline moved to [[Datchet]] (then in [[Buckinghamshire]] but now in [[Berkshire]]). There, he continued his work as an astronomer and telescope maker.<ref name="Holden">{{harvnb|Holden|1881}}</ref> He achieved an international reputation for their manufacture, profitably selling over 60 completed reflectors to British and Continental astronomers.<ref>{{harvnb|Mullaney|2007|p=14}}</ref>

===Deep sky surveys===
[[File:NGC 2683 HST.jpg|thumb|[[NGC 2683]] is an [[unbarred spiral galaxy]] discovered by William Herschel on 5 February 1788.]]
From 1782 to 1802, and most intensively from 1783 to 1790, Herschel conducted systematic surveys in search of "deep-sky" or [[Deep-sky object|non-stellar objects]] with two {{convert|20|ft|cm|adj=mid|-focal-length}}, {{convert|12|and|18.7|in|cm|adj=mid|-aperture}} telescopes (in combination with his favoured 6-inch-aperture instrument). Excluding duplicated and "lost" entries, Herschel ultimately discovered over 2,400 objects defined by him as [[nebula]]e.<ref name="Barentine"/> (At that time, nebula was the generic term for any visually diffuse astronomical object, including galaxies beyond the [[Milky Way]], until galaxies were confirmed as extragalactic systems by [[Edwin Hubble]] in 1924.<ref name="Alfred">{{cite magazine|last1=Alfred |first1=Randy |title=Dec. 30, 1924: Hubble Reveals We Are Not Alone |url=https://www.wired.com/2009/12/1230hubble-first-galaxy-outside-milky-way/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=5 June 2018|date=30 December 2009}}</ref>)

Herschel published his discoveries as three catalogues: ''Catalogue of One Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars'' (1786), ''Catalogue of a Second Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars'' (1789) and the previously cited ''Catalogue of 500 New Nebulae ...'' (1802). He arranged his discoveries under eight "classes": (I) bright nebulae, (II) faint nebulae, (III) very faint nebulae, (IV) planetary nebulae, (V) very large nebulae, (VI) very compressed and rich clusters of stars, (VII) compressed clusters of small and large [faint and bright] stars, and (VIII) coarsely scattered clusters of stars. Herschel's discoveries were supplemented by those of Caroline Herschel (11 objects) and his son John Herschel (1754 objects) and published by him as ''General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters'' in 1864. This catalogue was later edited by [[John Louis Emil Dreyer|John Dreyer]], supplemented with discoveries by many other 19th-century astronomers, and published in 1888 as the ''[[New General Catalogue]]'' (abbreviated NGC) of 7,840 deep-sky objects. The NGC numbering is still the most commonly used identifying label for these celestial landmarks.<ref name="Barentine"/>{{rp|418}}

Herschel's discoveries later compiled in the [[New General Catalogue]] include [[NGC 12]], [[NGC 13]], [[NGC 14]], [[NGC 16]], [[NGC 23]], [[NGC 24]], [[NGC 1357]], and [[NGC 7457]].

===Works with his sister Caroline Herschel===
[[File:Sir William Herschel and Caroline Herschel. Wellcome V0002731 (cropped).jpg|thumb|William and [[Caroline Herschel]] polishing a telescope lens (probably a mirror); 1896 lithograph]]
Following the death of their father, William suggested that [[Caroline Herschel|Caroline]] join him in Bath, England. In 1772, Caroline was first introduced to astronomy by her brother.<ref name="Distillations"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Herschel/Caroline_and_William_Herschel_Revealing_the_invisible|title=Caroline and William Herschel: Revealing the invisible|last=esa|website=European Space Agency|access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref><ref name=":0"/>

Caroline spent many hours polishing the mirrors of high performance telescopes so that the amount of light captured was maximized. She also copied astronomical catalogues and other publications for William. After William accepted the office of King's Astronomer to George III, Caroline became his constant assistant.<ref name="Fernie">{{Cite book|title=The Inimitable Caroline|last=Fernie|first=J. Donald|publisher=American Scientist|date=November–December 2007|pages=486–488}}</ref>

In October 1783, a new 20-foot telescope came into service for William. During this time, William was attempting to observe and then record all of the observations. He had to run inside and let his eyes readjust to the artificial light before he could record anything, and then he would have to wait until his eyes were adjusted to the dark before he could observe again. Caroline became his recorder by sitting at a desk near an open window. William would shout out his observations and she would write them down along with any information he needed from a reference book.<ref name="Discoverers">{{Cite book|title=Discoverers of the Universe: William and Caroline Herschel|last=Hoskin |first=Michael|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2011 |isbn=978-0691148335 }}</ref>

Caroline began to make astronomical discoveries in her own right, particularly [[comet]]s. In 1783, William built her a small Newtonian reflector telescope, with a handle to make a vertical sweep of the sky. Between 1783 and 1787, she made an independent discovery of [[Messier 110|M110]] (NGC 205), which is the second companion of the [[Andromeda Galaxy]]. During the years 1786–1797, she discovered or observed eight comets.<ref name="Olson"/>
She found fourteen new nebulae<ref name="Redd">{{cite web |last1=Redd |first1=Nola Taylor |title=Caroline Herschel Biography |url=https://www.space.com/17439-caroline-herschel.html |website=Space.com|date=4 September 2012}}</ref> and, at her brother's suggestion, updated and corrected [[Flamsteed designation|Flamsteed's work]] detailing the position of stars.<ref name="Searching">{{cite book |last1=Ogilvie |first1=Marilyn Bailey |title=Searching the stars |date=2008 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud |isbn=978-0752442778 |page=146 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2LgTDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT46 |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="Elmsly">{{cite book |last1=Herchsel |first1=Caroline |last2=Flamsteed |first2=John |title=Catalogue of stars taken from Mr Flamsteed's observations contained in the second volume of the Historia Coelestis and not inserted in the British catalogue ... / by Carolina Herschel; with notes & introduction by William Herchsel |date=1798 |publisher=Sold by Peter Elmsly, printer to the Royal society |location=London |url=https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/1191547/catalogue-of-stars-taken-from-mr-flamsteeds-observations-contained-in-the-second |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> She also rediscovered [[Comet Encke]] in 1795.<ref name="Olson"/>

Caroline Herschel's eight comets were published between 28 August 1782 to 5 February 1787. Five of her comets were published in ''[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society]]''. William was even summoned to Windsor Castle to demonstrate Caroline's comet to the royal family. William recorded this phenomenon himself, terming it "My Sister's Comet." She wrote letters to the Astronomer Royal to announce the discovery of her second comet, and wrote to Joseph Banks upon the discovery of her third and fourth comets.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Memoir and Correspondence of Caroline Herschel|last=Herschel |first=Caroline|editor-first=Mrs. John|editor-last=Herschel|publisher=John Murray, Albemarle Street |year=1876|location=London|url=https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/herschel/memoir/memoir.html}}</ref>

The ''Catalogue of stars taken from Mr Flamsteed's observations'' contained an index of more than 560 stars that had not been previously included.<ref name="Redd"/><ref name="Elmsly"/> Caroline Herschel was honoured by the [[Royal Astronomical Society]] for this work in 1828.{{sfn |Holmes |2008 |p=410}}

Caroline also continued to serve as William Herschel's assistant, often taking notes while he observed at the telescope.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sheisanastronomer.org/index.php/history/carolineherschel|title=Caroline Herschel (1750–1848)|last=Baldwin|first=Emily|website=www.sheisanastronomer.org|access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref>
For her work as William's assistant, she was granted an annual salary of £50 by George III. Her appointment made her the first female in England to be honoured with a government position.<ref name="Ogilvie">{{Cite book|title=Women in Science: Antiquity Through the Nineteenth Century|last=Ogilvie|first=Marilyn Bailey|publisher=MIT Press|year=1986|isbn=978-0-262-65038-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/womeninscience00mari/page/97 97–98]|url=https://archive.org/details/womeninscience00mari/page/97}}</ref> It also made her the first woman to be given a salary as an astronomer.<ref name="Zielinski">{{cite web|last1=Zielinski|first1=Sarah|title=Caroline Herschel: Assistant or Astronomer?|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/caroline-herschel-assistant-or-astronomer-39807005/|website=smithsonianmag.com|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref>

In June 1785, owing to damp conditions, William and Caroline moved to Clay Hall in [[Windsor, Berkshire|Old Windsor]]. On 3 April 1786, the Herschels moved to a new residence on Windsor Road in [[Slough]].<ref name="Holden"/> Herschel lived the rest of his life in this residence, which came to be known as [[Observatory House]].<ref name="OH">{{cite web |title=Astronomical observatory |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/astronomical-observatory#ref147669 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref> It was demolished in 1963.<ref>{{cite web |title=Observatory House, about 1900 |url=http://www.sloughhistoryonline.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=slough&f=generic_objectrecord.htm&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&%3Dcms_con_core_identifier=sl-sl-673_observatoryhouse-i-00-000.tif&t=sl-sl-williamherschel&s=YsMAJVwNCpg |website=Slough House Online |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref>

William Herschel's marriage in 1788 caused a lot of tension in the brother-sister relationship. Caroline has been referred to as a bitter, jealous woman who worshipped her brother and resented her sister-in-law for invading her domestic life. With the arrival of Mary, Caroline lost her managerial and social responsibilities in the household, and with them much of her status. Caroline destroyed her journals between the years 1788 to 1798, so her feelings during this period are not entirely known. According to her memoir, Caroline then moved to separate lodgings, but continued to work as her brother's assistant. When her brother and his family were away from their home, she would often return to take care of it for them. In later life, Caroline and Lady Herschel exchanged affectionate letters.<ref name=":0" />

Caroline continued her astronomical work after William's death in 1822. She worked to verify and confirm his findings as well as putting together catalogues of nebulae. Towards the end of her life, she arranged two-and-a-half thousand nebulae and star clusters into zones of similar polar distances. She did this so that her nephew, John, could re-examine them systematically. Eventually, this list was enlarged and renamed the ''[[New General Catalogue]]''.<ref name="HerschelJW">{{cite journal |last1=Herschel |first1=J. F. W. |title=A General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars for the Year 1860.0, with Precessions for 1880.0 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London |date=1863–1864 |volume=13 |pages=1–3 |jstor=111986|bibcode=1863RSPS...13....1H }}</ref> In 1828, she was awarded the [[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] for her work.<ref>{{cite web |title=Awards, Medals and Prizes Winners of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society |url=https://www.ras.org.uk/awards-and-grants/awards/268 |website=Royal Astronomical Society |access-date=5 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630050255/http://www.ras.org.uk/awards-and-grants/awards/268/ |archive-date=30 June 2016 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

===Herschel's telescopes===
The most common type of telescope at that time was the [[refracting telescope]], which involved the refraction of light through a tube using a convex glass [[Lens (optics)|lens]].
This design was subject to [[chromatic aberration]], a distortion of an image due to the failure of light of different component wavelengths to converge. Optician [[John Dollond]] (1706–1761) tried to correct for this distortion by combining two separate lenses, but it was still difficult to achieve good resolution for far distant light sources.<ref name="Distillations"/>

[[Reflecting telescope|Reflector telescopes]], invented by [[Isaac Newton]] in 1668, used a single [[concave mirror]] rather than a convex lens. This avoids chromatic aberration. The concave mirror gathered more light than a lens, reflecting it onto a flat mirror at the end of the telescope for viewing. A smaller mirror could provide greater magnification and a larger field of view than a convex lens. Newton's first mirror was 1.3 inches in diameter; such mirrors were rarely more than 3 inches in diameter.<ref name="Distillations"/>

Because of the poor reflectivity of mirrors made of [[speculum metal]], Herschel eliminated the small diagonal mirror of a standard [[newtonian reflector]] from his design and tilted his primary mirror so he could view the formed image directly. This "front view" design has come to be called the [[Herschelian telescope]].<ref name="Maurer">{{cite journal |last1=Maurer |first1=A. |last2=Forbes |first2=E. G. |title=William Herschel's Astronomical Telescopes |journal=Journal of the British Astronomical Association |date=1971 |volume=81 |pages=284–291 |bibcode=1971JBAA...81..284M }}</ref><ref name="Bratton">{{cite book|last1=Bratton|first1=Mark|title=The complete guide to the Herschel objects : Sir William Herschel's star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies|date=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0521768924|page=7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JLuv9bAUbBwC&pg=PA6|access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref>{{rp|7}}

The creation of larger, symmetrical mirrors was extremely difficult. Any flaw would result in a blurred image. Because no one else was making mirrors of the size and magnification desired by Herschel, he determined to make his own.<ref name="Distillations"/> This was no small undertaking. He was assisted by his sister Caroline and other family members. Caroline Herschel described the pouring of a 30-foot-focal-length mirror:

{{blockquote|A day was set apart for casting, and the metal was in the furnace, but unfortunately it began to leak at the moment when ready for pouring, and both my brothers and the caster with his men were obliged to run out at opposite doors, for the stone flooring (which ought to have been taken up) flew about in all directions, as high as the ceiling. My poor brother fell, exhausted with heat and exertion, on a heap of brickbats. Before the second casting was attempted, everything which could ensure success had been attended to, and a very perfect metal was found in the mould, which had cracked in the cooling.|Caroline Herschel<ref name=":0"/>}}

Herschel is reported to have cast, ground, and polished more than four hundred mirrors for telescopes, varying in size from 6 to 48 inches in diameter.<ref name="Maurer"/><ref name="Hastings">{{cite journal|last1=Hastings|first1=C. S.|title=History of the telescope|journal=The Sidereal Messenger: A Monthly Review of Astronomy|date=1891|volume=10|page=342 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dMBLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA342|access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref> Herschel and his assistants built and sold at least sixty complete telescopes of various sizes.<ref name="Maurer"/>
Commissions for the making and selling of mirrors and telescopes provided Herschel with an additional source of income. The King of Spain reportedly paid £3,150 for a telescope.<ref name=":0"/>

An essential part of constructing and maintaining telescopes was the grinding and polishing of their mirrors. This had to be done repeatedly, whenever the mirrors deformed or tarnished during use.<ref name="Distillations"/>
The only way to test the accuracy of a mirror was to use it.<ref name="Maurer"/>

====40-foot telescope====
{{see also|40-foot telescope}}
[[File:Lossy-page1-3705px-Herschel's Grand Forty feet Reflecting Telescopes RMG F8607 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|The [[40-foot telescope|{{convert|40|ft|m|adj=on}} telescope]]]]

The largest and most famous of Herschel's telescopes was a reflecting telescope with a 49{{frac|1|2}}-inch-diameter (1.26 m) [[primary mirror]] and a {{convert|40|ft|adj=on}} [[focal length]]. The [[40-foot telescope]] was, at that time, the largest [[scientific instrument]] that had been built. It was hailed as a triumph of "human perseverance and zeal for the sublimest science".<ref name="Distillations"/><ref name="Lubbock"/>{{rp|215}}

In 1785 Herschel approached King George for money to cover the cost of building the 40-foot telescope. He received £4,000.<ref name="Greenwich"/> Without royal patronage, the telescope could not have been created. As it was, it took five years, and went over budget.<ref name="Distillations"/>

The Herschel home in Slough became a scramble of "labourers and workmen, smiths and carpenters".<ref name="Distillations"/> A 40-foot telescope tube had to be cast of iron. The tube was large enough to walk through. Mirror blanks were poured from [[Speculum metal]], a mix of [[copper]] and [[tin]]. They were almost {{convert|4|ft|m|spell=in}} in diameter and weighed {{convert|1,000|lb|kg}}. When the first disk deformed due to its weight, a second thicker one was made with a higher content of copper. The mirrors had to be hand-polished, a painstaking process. A mirror was repeatedly put into the telescope and removed again to ensure that it was properly formed. When a mirror deformed or tarnished, it had to be removed, repolished and replaced in the apparatus. A huge rotating platform was built to support the telescope, enabling it to be repositioned by assistants as a sweep progressed. A platform near the top of the tube enabled the viewer to look down into the tube and view the resulting image.<ref name="Distillations"/><ref name="Greenwich">{{cite web|title=40-foot Herschelian (reflector) telescope tube remains – National Maritime Museum|url=https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11109.html |website=Royal Museums Greenwich |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref>
[[File:PIA06256 Mimas full view.jpg|thumb|A [[Cassini-Huygens|''Cassini'']] orbiter's view of [[Mimas (moon)|Mimas]], a moon of [[Saturn]] discovered by Herschel in 1789]]
In 1789, shortly after this instrument was operational, Herschel discovered a new [[Moons of Saturn#List|moon]] of [[Saturn]]: [[Mimas (moon)|Mimas]], only {{convert|250|mi|km}} in diameter.{{sfn|Holmes|2008 |pp=190}} Discovery of a second moon ([[Enceladus]]) followed, within the first month of observation.<ref name="Distillations"/><ref name="Mimas"/><ref name="Enceladus"/>

The {{convert|40|ft|m|abbr=off|adj=on}} telescope proved very cumbersome, and in spite of its size, not very effective at showing clearer images.<ref name="Distillations"/> Herschel's technological innovations had taken him to the limits of what was possible with the technology of his day. The 40-foot would not be improved upon until the Victorians developed techniques for the precision engineering of large, high-quality mirrors.<ref name="Chapman">{{cite journal|last1=Chapman|first1=A. |title=William Herschel and the Measurement of Space |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=1989 |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=399 |bibcode=1989QJRAS..30..399C}}</ref> 
William Herschel was disappointed with it.<ref name="Distillations">{{cite journal|last1= Roberts |first1=Jacob |title=A Giant of Astronomy |journal=Distillations |date=2017|volume=3|issue=3 |pages=6–11 |url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/a-giant-of-astronomy}}</ref><ref name="Maurer"/><ref name="Ceragioli">{{cite book |last1=Ceragioli |first1=R. |editor-last=Cunningham |editor-first=C. |title=The Scientific Legacy of William Herschel |chapter=William Herschel and the "Front-View" Telescopes |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |location=Cham |pages=97–238 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-32826-3_4 |series=Historical & Cultural Astronomy |isbn=978-3-319-32825-6 }}</ref>
Most of Herschel's observations were done with a smaller {{convert|18.5|in|cm|adj=on}}, {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=mid|-focal-length}} reflector. Nonetheless, the 40-foot caught the public imagination. It inspired scientists and writers including [[Erasmus Darwin]] and [[William Blake]], and impressed foreign tourists and French dignitaries. King George was pleased.<ref name="Distillations"/>

Herschel discovered that unfilled telescope apertures can be used to obtain high angular resolution, something which became the essential basis for [[Interferometry|interferometric imaging]] in astronomy (in particular [[aperture masking interferometry]] and [[hypertelescope]]s).<ref name="Baldwin">{{cite journal |last1=Baldwin |first1=J. E. |last2=Haniff |first2=C. A. |title=The application of interferometry to optical astronomical imaging |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |date=15 May 2002 |volume=360 |issue=1794 |pages=969–986 |doi=10.1098/rsta.2001.0977 |pmid=12804289 |bibcode=2002RSPTA.360..969B |s2cid=21317560 }}</ref>

====Reconstruction of the 20-foot telescope====
In 2012, the [[BBC]] television programme ''[[Stargazing Live]]'' built a replica of the 20-foot telescope using Herschel's original plans but modern materials. It is to be considered a close modern approximation rather than an exact replica. A modern glass mirror was used, the frame uses metal scaffolding and the tube is a sewer pipe. The telescope was shown on the programme in January 2013 and stands on the Art, Design, and Technology campus of the [[University of Derby]] where it will be used for educational purposes.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC builds William Herschel's telescope for Stargazing Live |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ariel/20970167 |website=BBC/Ariel |access-date=10 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414083220/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ariel/20970167 |archive-date=14 April 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Life on other celestial bodies ===

Herschel was sure that he had found ample evidence of life on the Moon and compared it to the English countryside.<ref name="Basalla"/> He did not refrain himself from theorising that the other planets were populated,<ref name="Distillations"/> with a special interest in Mars, which was in line with most of his contemporary scientists.<ref name="Basalla"/> During Herschel's time, scientists tended to believe in a plurality of civilised worlds; in contrast, most religious thinkers referred to unique properties of the Earth.<ref name="Basalla">{{cite book|last1=Basalla|first1=George|title=Civilized life in the universe : scientists on intelligent extraterrestrials|date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0195171815|page=[https://archive.org/details/civilizedlifeinu0000basa/page/52 52]|url=https://archive.org/details/civilizedlifeinu0000basa/page/52}}</ref>
Herschel went so far as to speculate that the interior of the Sun was populated.<ref name="Basalla"/>

=== Sunspots, climate and wheat yields ===
[[File:William Herschel.jpg|upright|thumb|William Herschel, portrait by [[James Sharples (portrait painter)|James Sharples]], c. 1805]]
Herschel examined the correlation of [[solar variation]] and [[solar cycle]] and climate.<ref name="Herschel, W. 1801 265–318">{{cite journal |last=Herschel |first=W. |date=1801 |title=Observations tending to investigate the nature of the Sun, in order to find the causes or symptoms of its variable emission of light and heat; With remarks on the use that may possibly be drawn from solar observations |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |volume=91 |pages=265–318 |jstor=107097 |bibcode=1801RSPT...91..265H |doi=10.1098/rstl.1801.0015|doi-access=free }}</ref> Over a period of 40 years (1779–1818), Herschel regularly observed [[sunspot]]s and their variations in number, form and size. Most of his observations took place in a period of low solar activity, the [[Dalton Minimum]], when sunspots were relatively few in number. This was one of the reasons why Herschel was not able to identify the standard 11-year period in solar activity.<ref name="Ball">{{cite journal|last1=Ball|first1=Philip|title=Sun set food prices in the Middle Ages|journal=Nature|date=22 December 2003|doi=10.1038/news031215-12|url=https://www.nature.com/news/2003/031222/full/news031215-12.html|access-date=17 May 2018|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Pustil'nik">{{cite journal|last1=Pustil'nik|first1=Lev A.|last2=Din|first2=Gregory Yom|title=Influence of solar activity on the state of the wheat market in medieval England|journal=Solar Physics|date=September 2004|volume=223|issue=1–2|pages=335–356|doi=10.1007/s11207-004-5356-5|arxiv=astro-ph/0312244|bibcode=2004SoPh..223..335P|s2cid=55852885}}</ref>
Herschel compared his observations with the series of wheat prices published by [[Adam Smith]] in ''[[The Wealth of Nations]]''.<ref name="Nye">{{cite book|last1=Nye|first1=Mary Jo|title=The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 5, The Modern Physical and Mathematical Sciences |volume=5| date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn= 978-0521571999 |page=508}}</ref>

In 1801, Herschel reported his findings to the Royal Society and indicated five prolonged periods of few sunspots correlated with the price of wheat.<ref name="Herschel, W. 1801 265–318"/> Herschel's study was ridiculed by some of his contemporaries but did initiate further attempts to find a correlation. Later in the 19th century, [[William Stanley Jevons]] proposed the [[solar cycle|11-year cycle]] with Herschel's basic idea of a correlation between the low number of sunspots and lower yields explaining [[Business cycle|recurring booms and slumps in the economy]].<ref name="Pustil'nik"/>

Herschel's speculation on a connection between sunspots and regional climate, using the market price of wheat as a proxy, continues to be cited.
According to one study, the influence of solar activity can actually be seen on the historical wheat market in England over ten solar cycles between 1600 and 1700.<ref name="Ball"/><ref name="Pustil'nik"/> The evaluation is controversial<ref name=ml12>{{cite journal|title=Solar Influence on Global and Regional Climates | doi=10.1007/s10712-012-9181-3 | volume=33|issue=3–4 |journal=Surveys in Geophysics|pages=503–534 | last1 = Lockwood | first1 = Mike|bibcode = 2012SGeo...33..503L |year=2012 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and the significance of the correlation is doubted by some scientists.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Love |first=J. J. |date=2013 |title=On the insignificance of Herschel's sunspot correlation |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=40 |issue=16 |pages=4171–4176 |doi=10.1002/grl.50846 |url=https://geomag.usgs.gov/downloads/publications/grl50846.pdf |bibcode=2013GeoRL..40.4171L |citeseerx=10.1.1.377.257 |s2cid=1654166 }}</ref>

===Further discoveries===
{|  style="float:right; border:1px solid #ccc; margin-left:15px;" cellpadding="5"
|+ '''[[Planet]]s discovered: 1'''
| [[Uranus]] || 13 March 1781
|}
{|  style="float:right; border:1px solid #ccc; margin-left:15px;" cellpadding="5"
|+ '''[[Natural satellite|Moon]]s discovered: 4'''
| [[Oberon (moon)|Oberon]] || 11 January 1787
|-
| [[Titania (moon)|Titania]] ||  11 January 1787
|-
| [[Enceladus]] || 28 August 1789
|-
| [[Mimas (moon)|Mimas]] || 17 September 1789
|}
In his later career, Herschel discovered two moons of Saturn, [[Mimas (moon)|Mimas]]<ref name="Mimas">{{cite web |title=Mimas |url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/mimas/in-depth/ |website=NASA Science Solar System Exploration |date=5 December 2017 |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> and [[Enceladus]];<ref name="Enceladus">{{cite web |title=Enceladus |url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/enceladus/in-depth/ |website=NASA Science Solar System Exploration |date=20 November 2017 |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> as well as two moons of Uranus, [[Titania (moon)|Titania]] and [[Oberon (moon)|Oberon]].<ref name="Franz">{{cite news |last1=Franz |first1=Julia |title=Why the moons of Uranus are named after characters in Shakespeare |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-01-01/why-moons-uranus-are-named-after-characters-shakespeare|work=Studio 360 |date=1 January 2017}}</ref> He did not give these moons their names; they were named by his son [[John Herschel|John]] in 1847 and 1852, respectively, after his death.<ref name="Mimas"/><ref name="Enceladus"/> Herschel measured the [[axial tilt]] of [[Mars]]<ref name="Axial">{{cite web |title=All About Mars |url=https://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/mystique/history/1700/ |website=NASA Mars Exploration |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> and discovered that the [[Martian polar ice caps|Martian ice caps]], first observed by [[Giovanni Domenico Cassini]] (1666) and [[Christiaan Huygens]] (1672), changed size with that planet's seasons.<ref name="Copus">{{cite web |title=Mars in the Classroom |url=http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~rpif/mitc/mitcearly.html |website=Copus |access-date=5 June 2018 |archive-date=29 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229034956/http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~rpif/mitc/mitcearly.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> It has been suggested that Herschel discovered [[rings of Uranus|rings around Uranus]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sci/tech/6569849.stm |work=BBC News |first=Paul |last=Rincon |title=Uranus rings 'were seen in 1700s' |date=18 April 2007}}</ref>

Herschel introduced but did not create the word "[[asteroid]]",<ref>In an oral presentation ({{cite web|url=http://had.aas.org/meetings/2013bAbstracts.html#HADII|title=HAD Meeting with DPS, Denver, October 2013 – Abstracts of Papers|access-date=14 October 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901143955/http://had.aas.org/meetings/2013bAbstracts.html#HADII|archive-date=1 September 2014}}), Clifford Cunningham presented his finding that the word has been coined by Charles Burney, Jr., the son of a friend of Herschel, see {{cite news|title=Local expert reveals who really coined the word 'asteroid'|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-asteroid-word-origin-20131008,0,501498,full.story|date=8 October 2013|access-date=10 October 2013|newspaper=South Florida Sun-Sentinel|archive-date=30 November 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141130155012/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-asteroid-word-origin-20131008,0,501498,full.story|url-status=dead}}. See also {{cite web|url=https://www.space.com/10593-post-william-herschel-coin-term-asteroid.html|title=Who Really Invented the Word 'Asteroid' for Space Rocks?|last=Wall|first=Mike|publisher=SPACE.com|date=10 January 2011|access-date=10 October 2013}}</ref> meaning ''star-like'' (from the Greek ''asteroeides'', ''aster'' "star" + ''-eidos'' "form, shape"), in 1802 (shortly after [[Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers|Olbers]] discovered the second [[minor planet]], [[2 Pallas]], in late March), to describe the star-like appearance of the small moons of the [[giant planet]]s and of the minor planets; the planets all show discs, by comparison. By the 1850s 'asteroid' became a standard term for describing certain minor planets.<ref name="Williams">{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Matt |title=What is the asteroid belt? |url=https://phys.org/news/2015-08-asteroid-belt.html|work=Universe Today |date=24 August 2015}}</ref>

From studying the [[proper motion]] of stars, the nature and extent of the [[stellar kinematics|solar motion]] was first demonstrated by Herschel in 1783, along with first determining the direction for the [[solar apex]] to [[Lambda Herculis]], only 10° away from today's accepted position.<ref name=lankford1997>{{cite book | first=John | last=Lankford | date=1997 | title=History of astronomy: an encyclopedia | page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofastrono00john/page/258 258] | volume=1 | series=Garland encyclopedias in the history of science | publisher=Taylor & Francis | isbn=978-0-8153-0322-0 | url=https://archive.org/details/historyofastrono00john/page/258 }}</ref><ref name=herschel1783>{{cite journal |jstor=106492 |last1=Herschel |first1=William |date=1783 |title=On the Proper Motion of the Sun and Solar System; With an Account of Several Changes That Have Happened among the Fixed Stars since the Time of [[John Flamsteed|Mr. Flamstead]] [sic] |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |volume=73 |pages=247–283 |doi=10.1098/rstl.1783.0017 |s2cid=186213288 }}</ref><ref name=hoskin>{{citation | title=Herschel's Determination of the Solar Apex | last1=Hoskin | first1=M. | journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy | volume=11 | issue=3 | pages=153–163 | year=1980 | bibcode=1980JHA....11..153H | postscript=. | doi=10.1177/002182868001100301| s2cid=115478560 }}</ref>

[[File:Herschel-galaxy.jpg|thumb|right| William Herschel's model of the Milky Way, 1785]]

Herschel also studied the structure of the [[Milky Way]] and was the first to propose a model of the galaxy based on observation and measurement.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Herschel |first1=William |title=XII. On the construction of the heavens |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |date=1 January 1785 |volume=75 |pages=213–266 |doi=10.1098/rstl.1785.0012 |s2cid=186213203 |doi-access=free }}</ref> He concluded that it was in the shape of a [[spiral galaxy|disk]], but incorrectly assumed that the Sun was in the centre of the disk.<ref name=Kamp/><ref name="Berendzen">{{cite journal |last1=Berendzen |first1=Richard |title=Geocentric to heliocentric to galactocentric to acentric: the continuing assault to the egocentric |journal=Vistas in Astronomy |date=1975 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=65–83 |doi=10.1016/0083-6656(75)90049-5 |bibcode=1975VA.....17...65B }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Shape of the Milky Way from Starcounts |url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/astro801/content/l8_p3.html |website=Astro 801 |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref><ref name=PBS>{{Citation |url=https://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/meet-the-stargazers/in-history.html |title=Stargazers in History |publisher=PBS }}</ref> This [[heliocentric]] view was eventually replaced by [[galactocentrism]] due to the work of [[Harlow Shapley]], [[Heber Doust Curtis]] and [[Edwin Hubble]] in the 20th century. All three men used significantly more far-reaching and accurate telescopes than Herschel's.<ref name=Kamp>{{Citation |title=The Galactocentric Revolution, A Reminiscent Narrative |date=October 1965 |last=van de Kamp |first=Peter |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific |volume=77 |pages=324–328 |issue=458 |bibcode=1965PASP...77..325V |doi = 10.1086/128228 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Berendzen"/><ref name="Bergh">{{cite journal |last1=Bergh |first1=Sidney van den |title=Hubble and Shapley—Two Early Giants of Observational Cosmology |journal=Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada |date=2011 |volume=105 |issue=6 |pages=245 |arxiv=1110.2445 |bibcode=2011JRASC.105..245V }}</ref>

== Discovery of infrared radiation in sunlight ==
In early 1800, Herschel was testing different filters to pass [[sunlight]] through, and noticed that filters of different colours seemed to generate varying amounts of heat. He decided to pass the light through a [[Dispersive prism|prism]] to measure the different colours of light using a [[thermometer]],<ref name=":1" /> and in the process, took a measurement just beyond the red end of the [[visible spectrum]]. He detected a temperature one degree higher than that of red light.<ref name=":2" /> Further experimentation led to Herschel's conclusion that there must be an invisible form of light beyond the visible spectrum, [[infrared]].<ref name="Rowan-Robinson">{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Rowan-Robinson |date=2013 |title=Night Vision: Exploring the Infrared Universe |page=23 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107024762 |oclc=780161457}}</ref><ref name="Aughton">{{cite book|last1=Aughton|first1=Peter|title=The story of astronomy|date=2011|publisher=Quercus|location=New York|isbn=978-1623653033|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpeJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT96|access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref> He published these results in April 1800.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal|last=Herschel|first=William|year=1800|title=Experiments on the refrangibility of the invisible rays of the Sun|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000054592520;view=1up;seq=358|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London|volume=90|pages=284–292|doi=10.1098/rstl.1800.0015|jstor=107057|doi-access=free|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Biology==
Herschel used a [[microscope]] to establish that [[coral]] was not a plant – as many at the time believed – because it lacked the cell walls characteristic of plants. It is in fact an animal, a [[marine invertebrate]].<ref name="Azzouni">{{cite book|last1=Azzouni|first1=Jody|title=Ontology Without Borders|date=20 July 2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780190622558|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0W4sDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT69}}</ref>

==Family and death==
[[File:Arms of William Herschel.svg|thumb|William Herschel's coat of arms deemed a notorious example of [[debased heraldry]]:<ref>[[George Thomas Clark]] (1809–1898), article on [[heraldry]] in the [[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] (9th & 10th editions)[https://www.1902encyclopedia.com/H/HER/heraldry-13.html]</ref> ''Argent, on a mount vert a representation of the 40 ft. reflecting telescope with its apparatus proper on a chief azure the astronomical symbol of Uranus irradiated or''. Crest: ''A demi terrestrial sphere proper thereon an eagle, wings elevated or'']]
On 8 May 1788, William Herschel married the widow Mary Pitt (née Baldwin) at [[St Laurence's Church, Upton-cum-Chalvey|St Laurence's Church]], [[Upton, Slough|Upton]] in Slough.{{sfn |Holmes |2008 |pp=186}} They had one child, [[John Herschel|John]], born at Observatory House on 7 March 1792. William's personal background and rise as man of science had a profound impact on the upbringing of his son and grandchildren. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1788.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter H|url=https://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterH.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref> In 1816, William was made a Knight of the [[Royal Guelphic Order]] by the [[George IV of the United Kingdom|Prince Regent]] and was accorded the honorary title 'Sir' although this was not the equivalent of an official British knighthood.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hanham |first1=A. |first2=M. |last2=Hoskin |journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy |volume=44 |title=The Herschel Knighthoods: Facts and Fiction |name-list-style=amp |bibcode=2013JHA....44..149H |issue=120 |pages=149–164 |date=2013|doi=10.1177/002182861304400202 |s2cid=118171124 }}</ref> 

He helped to found the Astronomical Society of London in 1820,<ref name="Shortland">{{cite journal |last1=Shortland |first1=E. |title=The Astronomical Society of London |journal=Journal of the British Astronomical Association |date=1820 |volume=81 |pages=44–47 |url=http://adsbit.harvard.edu/full/seri/JBAA./0081//0000044.000.html |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref> which in 1831 received a royal charter and became the [[Royal Astronomical Society]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A brief history of the RAS |url=https://www.ras.org.uk/about-the-ras/a-brief-history |website=Royal Astronomical Society |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref> In 1813, he was elected a foreign member of the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]].

On 25 August 1822, Herschel died at Observatory House, Windsor Road, [[Slough]], [[Buckinghamshire]], after a long illness. Caroline was deeply distressed by his death, and soon after his burial she returned to [[Hanover]], a decision she later regretted. She had lived in England for fifty years. Her interests were much more in line with her nephew [[John Herschel]], also an astronomer, than with her surviving family in Hanover. She continued to work on the organization and cataloguing of nebulae, creating what would later become the basis of the ''[[New General Catalogue]]''. She died on 9 January 1848.<ref name=":0"/><ref name="Olson">{{Cite journal|last1=Olson|first1=Roberta J. M.|author1-link=Roberta Olson |last2=Pasachoff |first2=Jay M.|date=2012|title=The Comets of Caroline Herschel (1750–1848), Sleuth of the Skies at Slough|journal=Culture and Cosmos|volume=16 |pages=53–80 |doi=10.46472/CC.01216.0213 |arxiv=1212.0809 |bibcode=2012arXiv1212.0809O |s2cid=117934098 }}</ref><ref name="Caroline Herschel Biography">{{Cite web|url=https://www.space.com/17439-caroline-herschel.html|title=Caroline Herschel Biography|website=Space.com|date=4 September 2012|access-date=23 April 2016}}</ref>

==Memorial==
William Herschel lived most of his life in the town of Slough, then in Buckinghamshire (now in Berkshire). He died in the town and was buried under the tower of the nearby [[St Laurence's Church, Upton-cum-Chalvey]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.saint-laurence.com/history.html |website=Saint Laurence Church, Upton-cum-Chalvey, Slough |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref> Herschel's epitaph is:
{{blockquote|Coelorum perrupit claustra<br>(He broke through the barriers of the heavens)<ref name="Pendergrast">{{cite book|last1=Pendergrast|first1=Mark|title=Mirror mirror : a history of the human love affair with reflection |date=2004|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0465054718|page=159|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T4-GErgSbU0C&pg=PA159|access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref>}}

[[File:William Herschel Museum - Herschel statue in garden.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of William and Caroline in the garden of the [[Herschel Museum of Astronomy]] in Bath where William discovered Uranus]]
Herschel is especially honoured in Slough and there are several memorials to him and his discoveries. In 2011 a new bus station, the design of which was inspired by the infrared experiment of William Herschel, was built in the centre of Slough.<ref name="Serck"/>

[[John Keats]] alludes to Herschel's discovery of Uranus in his 1816 sonnet "[[On First Looking into Chapman's Homer]]": "Then felt I like some watcher of the skies/ When a new planet swims into his ken." [[Richard Holmes (biographer)|Richard Holmes]] says that Keats "picks out the finding of Uranus, thirty-five years before, as one of the defining moments of the age."{{sfn|Holmes|2008|p=206}}

His house at 19 New King Street in [[Bath, Somerset]], where he made many [[telescope]]s and first observed Uranus, is now home to the [[Herschel Museum of Astronomy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Visiting |url=http://herschelmuseum.org.uk/visiting/ |website=Herschel Museum of Astronomy |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref> There is a commemorative plaque of Herschel installed by the [[Institute of Physics]] in London. There is a memorial plaque of William near the choir screen in [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref>'The Abbey Scientists' Hall, A.R. p53: London; Roger & Robert Nicholson; 1966</ref>

==Musical works==
Herschel's complete musical works are as follows:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://asterope.bajaobs.hu/cski/research/mktars/hegecikk/WilliamHerschel.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130625154724/http://asterope.bajaobs.hu/cski/research/mktars/hegecikk/WilliamHerschel.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 June 2013 |title=William Herschel (1738–1822): Organ works |publisher=asterope.bajaobs.hu |access-date=1 May 2013 }}</ref>
* 18 [[symphony|symphonies]] for small orchestra (1760–1762)
* 6 symphonies for large orchestra (1762–1764)
* 12 [[concerto]]s for [[oboe]], [[violin]] and [[viola]] (1759–1764)
* 2 concertos for organ
* 6 sonatas for violin, [[cello]] and [[harpsichord]] (published 1769)
* 12 solos for violin and [[Figured bass|basso continuo]] (1763)
* 24 [[Capriccio (music)|capriccio]]s and 1 sonata for solo violin
* 1 [[andante (tempo)|andante]] for two [[basset horn]]s, two oboes, two [[French horn|horn]]s and two [[bassoon]]s.

Various vocal works including a "[[Te Deum]]", [[psalm]]s, [[motet]]s and sacred chants along with some [[Catch (music)|catches]].
 
Keyboard works for organ and harpsichord: 
* 6 fugues for organ 
* 24 sonatas for organ (10 now lost) 
* 33 [[Voluntary (music)|voluntaries]] and pieces for organ (incomplete) 
* 24 pieces for organ (incomplete) 
* 12 voluntaries (11 now lost)
* 12 sonatas for harpsichord (9 extant)
* 25 variations on an ascending scale 
* 2 [[minuet]]s for harpsichord

==Named after Herschel==

[[File:William herschel Telescope Dome.jpg|thumb|The [[William Herschel Telescope]] in La Palma. Funded by research councils from the UK, the Netherlands and Spain, it was built in 1987.]]
* The [[astrological symbol]] for planet [[Uranus]] ([[File:Uranus monogram.svg|22px]]) features the capital initial letter of Herschel's surname.
* [[Mu Cephei]] is also known as Herschel's Garnet Star
* [[Herschel (lunar crater)|Herschel]], a crater on the [[Moon]]
* [[Herschel (Martian crater)|Herschel]], a large [[Impact crater|impact basin]] on [[Mars]]
* The enormous crater [[Herschel (Mimantean crater)|Herschel]] on [[Saturn]]'s moon [[Mimas (moon)|Mimas]]
* The [[Rings of Saturn#Herschel Gap|Herschel gap]] in Saturn's rings.
* [[2000 Herschel]], an asteroid
* The [[William Herschel Telescope]] on [[La Palma]]
* The [[Herschel Space Observatory]], successfully launched by the European Space Agency on 14 May 2009. It was the largest [[space telescope]] of its kind, until the launch of the [[James Webb Space Telescope]].
* [[Herschel Grammar School]], Slough
* Rue Herschel, a street in the [[6th arrondissement of Paris]].
* The Herschel Building at [[Bath College]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]
* The [[Herschel building]] at [[Newcastle University]], Newcastle, United Kingdom
* [[Herschel Museum of Astronomy]], at 19 New King Street in Bath.
* Herschelschule, Hanover, Germany, a grammar school
* The Herschel Observatory, at the Universitas School in [[Santos, São Paulo|Santos]], [[Brazil]].
* The lunar crater [[C. Herschel (crater)|C. Herschel]], the asteroid [[281 Lucretia]], and the comet [[35P/Herschel-Rigollet]] are named after his sister [[Caroline Herschel]].
* The public house "Herschel Arms" at 22 Park Street, [[Slough]] is named after him and is quite close to the site of Observatory House.
* Herschel Astronomical Society, the operator of the Herschel Memorial Observatory based in [[Eton, Berkshire]].
* Herschel Park, Slough.
* The shape of Slough Bus Station, built in 2011, was inspired by Herschel's infrared experiment.<ref name="Serck">{{cite news |last=Serck |first=Linda |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-13527012 |title=Slough bus station: Silver dolphin or beached whale? |work=bbc.co.uk |date=28 May 2011 |access-date=13 August 2012}}</ref>
* Herschel Street, a street in Brisbane, Australia.

==See also==

* [[Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars]]
* [[List of astronomical instrument makers]]
* [[List of largest optical telescopes historically]]
* [[NGC 4800]]
* [[NGC 4694]]

==Brothers and sisters==
* Sophia Elizabeth Herschel (1733–1803) – in 1755 married violinist Johann Heinrich Griesbach (1730–1773), she lived in Hannover all her life, and had seven children.
* {{ill|Heinrich Anton Jacob Herschel|de|Jacob Herschel}} (1734–1792) – musician, unmarried
* Johann Heinrich Herschel (1736–1743)
* Anna Christina Herschel (1741–1748) – died of whooping cough.
* Johann Alexander Herschel (1745–1821) – he was married to Margarethe Smith, no children.
* Maria Dorothea Herschel (1748–1749)
* [[Caroline Herschel|Caroline Lucretia Herschel]] (1750–1848)
* Franz Johann Herschel (1752–1754) – died from smallpox.
* Johann Dietrich Herschel (1755–1827) – musician, he married Catharina Maria Reiff (1760–1846) and had four children.

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* {{cite wikisource |last=Holden |first=Edward S. |date=1881 |author-link=Edward S. Holden |title=Sir William Herschel, his life and works |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |location=New York}}
* {{cite book |last=Holmes |first=Richard |date=2008 |title=The age of wonder |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4000-3187-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Mullaney |first=James |date=2007 |title=The Herschel objects and how to observe them |publisher=Springer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HFg2sOjrFtsC&pg=PA10 |access-date=5 June 2011 |isbn=978-0-387-68124-5}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Herschel, Sir Frederick William | volume= 13 |last1= Clerke |first1= Agnes Mary |author1-link= Agnes Mary Clerke |last2= Pritchard |first2= Charles |author2-link= Charles Pritchard | pages = 391&ndash;393 |short=1|ref=none}}
* "William Herschel" by Michael Hoskin. ''New Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' Scribners, 2008. v. 3, pp.&nbsp;289–291.
* [https://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/JRASC/0074//0000134.000.html Biography: JRASC '''74''' (1980) 134]

==External links==
{{library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes |viaf=19885773|lcheading=Herschel, William, 1738–1822}}
*{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{wikisource author-inline}}
* [http://rstl.royalsocietypublishing.org/search?fulltext=william+herschel&submit=yes&andorexactfulltext=and&x=35&y=7 Articles and letters published in the ''Philosophical Transactions'' and available online] (70 items, June 2016)
* [http://messier.seds.org/xtra/similar/herschel.html William Herschel's Deep Sky Catalog]
* [https://www.handprint.com/ASTRO/herschel.html The William Herschel Double Star Catalogs Restored]
* Full text of {{Ws | [[s: Herschel|Herschel]] by Hector Macpherson}}
* Full text of ''[https://gutenberg.org/etext/12340 The Story of the Herschels]'' (1886) from [[Project Gutenberg]]
* [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?search=ss&sText=herschel&LinkID=mp02166 Portraits of William Herschel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930192346/http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?search=ss&sText=herschel&LinkID=mp02166 |date=30 September 2007 }} at the [[National Portrait Gallery (London)|National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom)]]
* [https://www.bath-preservation-trust.org.uk/ Herschel Museum of Astronomy] located in his [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] home
* [https://herschelsociety.org.uk/ William Herschel Society]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ml6DwyLbxdIC ''The Oboe Concertos of Sir William Herschel'', Wilbert Davis Jerome ed.] {{ISBN|0-87169-225-2}}
* [http://contentdm.lindahall.org/u?/classics,4720 A notebook of Herschel's, dated from 1759] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109111114/http://contentdm.lindahall.org/u?%2Fclassics%2C4720 |date=9 January 2019 }} is available in the digital collections of the Linda Hall Library.
* [http://digitalcollections.ucsc.edu/cdm/search/collection/p265101coll10/searchterm/%20Herschel/order/title Portraits of William Herschel (and other members of the family) from the Lick Observatory Records Digital Archive, UC Santa Cruz Library's Digital Collections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191407/http://digitalcollections.ucsc.edu/cdm/search/collection/p265101coll10/searchterm/%20Herschel/order/title |date=4 March 2016 }}
* Michael Lemonick: ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20120721161044/http://www-ppd.fnal.gov/EPPOffice-w/colloq/colloq_08_09.html William Herschel, the First Observational Cosmologist]'', 12 November 2008, Fermilab Colloquium
* {{IMSLP|id=Herschel, William}}
* Musical pieces by William Herschel @YouTube:
** {{YouTube|hXZ6olVNh4w|Chamber Symphony in F minor No. 4- Allegro moderato (I)}}
** {{YouTube|efk3fm1B0zc|Hubble Images to Herschel Music}} (Chamber Symphony in F, 2nd movement)
** {{YouTube|MRe7_9lxPns|Richmond Sinfonia for Strings, Bassoon & Harpsichord n. 2 in D major}}
** {{YouTube|7BehLlyqYk8|Sinfonía para Cuerdas No. 8 en Do menor}}
** {{YouTube|O9ZA0gA4Qps|Sinfonia n. 12, primo movimento, Allegro}}
** {{YouTube|Ry8_v-nYdqg|Symphony No. 8, I: Allegro Assai}}

{{Copley Medallists 1751-1800}}
{{Uranus}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Music|Astronomy|Stars|Spaceflight|Outer space|Solar System|Science}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herschel, Friedrich Wilhelm}}
[[Category:1738 births]]
[[Category:1822 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century British astronomers]]
[[Category:18th-century British classical composers]]
[[Category:18th-century British astronomers]]
[[Category:18th-century German astronomers]]
[[Category:Uranus]]
[[Category:British male classical composers]]
[[Category:British Lutherans]]
[[Category:German classical oboists]]
[[Category:Male oboists]]
[[Category:German Lutherans]]
[[Category:Classical-period composers]]
[[Category:Discoverers of moons]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Scientists from Hanover]]
[[Category:Composers awarded knighthoods]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Copley Medal]]
[[Category:British scientific instrument makers]]
[[Category:British classical organists]]
[[Category:German classical organists]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire to the Kingdom of Great Britain]]
[[Category:18th-century German classical composers]]
[[Category:18th-century British male musicians]]
[[Category:19th-century German male musicians]]
[[Category:Discoverers of astronomical objects]]
[[Category:Burials in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:18th-century German keyboardists]]
[[Category:German male classical composers]]
[[Category:German emigrants to the Kingdom of Great Britain]]
[[Category:German military personnel of the Seven Years' War]]
[[Category:Deserters]]
[[Category:Herschel family|William]]
[[Category:British male classical organists]]
[[Category:International members of the American Philosophical Society]]