Sir William Herschel, 1738–1822

AT the age of thirty-five years, William Herschel, a distinguished and prosperous musician, was impelled to explore the heavens. He found a small telescope which he had hired insufficient for his needs, and with great skill and patience constructed larger and larger instruments. After his day's work, he spent a great part of the night observing the stars. The conclusions he drew from his observations were characterized by an originality, boldness and splendour of outlook which have placed him among the greatest astronomers. “We ought”, he writes, “to avoid two opposite extremes. If we indulge in a fanciful imagination and build worlds of our own we must not wonder at going wide from the path of truth and nature.... On the other hand, if we add observation to observation, without attempting to draw not only certain conclusions, but also conjectural views from them, we offend against the very end for which observations ought to be made. I will endeavour to keep a proper medium ; but if I should deviate from that, I could wish not to fall into the latter error.”