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

The title of this latest publication in the Great Discoveries series of books aptly describes the content of this neat paperback. At the time of the American Revolution, a German musician seeking a better opportunity transferred to England and thence became obsessed with the celestial patterns. An autodidact, William Herschel picked up English, Latin, Greek, mathematics and then turned to studying the skies. To better view the cosmos, he designed and built his own telescopes. Among his discoveries were the planets Uranus and Saturn, and their associated moons along with assorted nebulae. Uranus was named the Georgian Star in honor of King George III, who prior to succumbing to his genetic malady, was impressed by the discoveries and served as patron to this brilliant cosmologist. Shining alongside her star struck brother was younger sister Caroline, who not only assisted in the star sightings, but herself became so fascinated in the study that independently she sighted and is credited with comet recognition and recording galactic changes. This is truly a fascinating chronicle of a gifted musical family in the late 1700s whose findings are now being corroborated in our technological age. It is an inspiring story not only from the celestial view, but it serves as a reflection of the social and historical customs of the times, and also gives insights into the nature of the human character. Reviewed by Rita Hoots

The Georgian Star, by Michael Lemonick, is the biography of William Herschel and his sister Caroline Herschel. In 1781, William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus. As Lemonick points out, this made Herschel the first discoverer of a planet, since Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn had been visible and known to anyone who cared to look up at the night sky for all of human history. Herschel became more and more interested in astronomy. He bought books on the subject, studied the heavens through telescopes, and began making his own telescopes. With Caroline's help, he began spending every free minute, day and night, on astronomy. He invented the technique of making repeated sweeps of the entire night sky, cataloguing everything he found. In the midst of it all, he came upon the new planet. We call this planet Uranus, but at the time, Herschel's science colleagues urged him to name the planet for King George III. In this way, Herschel earned the King's favor and was freed at last from having to make a living with music. Throughout The Georgian Star, Mike Lemonick quotes from Caroline Herschel's wry, humorous diary about her brother's frenetic days and nights, and about her own award-winning contributions. William Herschel discovered more than 2000 nebulae, hundreds of paired stars, and infra-red radiation. He tracked the direction of the migration of our Solar System through the Milky Way, and realized that starlight we presently see has taken so long to reach us, the stars whose light it is might well have burned out by now. The Georgian Star combines science, history, and human interest so beautifully, we are sorry to come to the end of the book

The Georgian Star: How William and Caroline Herschel Revolutionized Our Understanding of the Cosmos by Michael D. Lemonick is a fascinating look at two astronomers who are little known but have made tremendous contributions to our understanding of astronomy. In the 1700s, William and Caroline Herschel were born into a Germany family of talented musicians. William ended up in England (easy to do as George III of England was also the Elector of Hanover). He then smuggled his sister over when their mother refused to let her leave Germany (mother Anna did not want to lose Caroline's domestic services). Both siblings were professional musicians. Caroline was a singer, while William served as organist, choir master, composer and instrumentalist in various English churches. But both William and Caroline became fascinated by astronomy and began on a course to study the cosmos. In addition, he began building his own telescopes--which happened to be much stronger than those being used by professionals. William wasn't taken very seriously at first, but eventually earned the respect of professional scientists of the day. He was even awarded a pension by George III, which allowed him to quit music forever and focus all his energies on stargazing. During his long life, William made many discoveries--including the planet, Uranus, as well as the existence of infrared radiation. His sister also made a number of discoveries (mostly comets) but was especially talented in organizing and cataloguing "all of the 2500 nebulae and star clusters she and William had discovered." Her efforts also earned her a pension from the king. I find the study of astronomy fascinating, although if it gets too technical, my eyes begin to glaze over. The Georgian Star was the perfect book in explaining much about our knowledge of astronomy, but in an understandable way. Lemonick also explains how the work done by both William and Caroline is still relevant today.

The "Great Discoveries" series books are short and enjoyable; this volume is no exception. The Herschel story is fascinating, and well told. I had no idea of the extent of William and Caroline's contributions to astronomy and cosmology prior to reading it. The Bibliography lists several books that are hard to find, making this book an important contribution.