This article was downloaded by: [Mount Allison University 0Libraries]On: 28 April 2013, At: 23:23Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Annals of SciencePublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tasc20

Caroline Herschel's contributions toastronomyMarilyn Bailey Ogilvie aa Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, 97207, U.S.A.Version of record first published: 23 Aug 2006.

To cite this article: Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie (1975): Caroline Herschel's contributions to astronomy,Annals of Science, 32:2, 149-161

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00033797500200191

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representationthat the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of anyinstructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primarysources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings,demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

ANNALS OF SCIENCE, 32 (1975), 149-161

Carol ine Hersche l ' s Contributions to A s t r o n o m y

MA~ILYN BA~LEY OGILVIE

Portland State University, Portland, Oregon 97207, U.S.A.

Received 14 January 1975

Summary The nature of the contributions to astronomy of Caroline Lucretia Herschel (1750-1848) are explored in this article. Her accomplishments included new observational discoveries and the skilled and accurate transcription and reduction of astronomical data. Although she made important additions to the sum total of astronomical facts available to the scientist, she herself showed little interest or ability in applying these data to explain phenomena. Love of her brother, Sir William Herschel, motivated her achievements in astronomy. Barred from the ranks of creative astronomers by both her inability and her disinterest in abstract concepts, she substituted other qualities such as accuracy and perseverance which assured her a place in the history of astronomy.

Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 2. The origins of Caroline's interest in astronomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 3. Training period and early observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 4. Caroline's discoveries of comets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 5. t~evision of Flamsteed's catalogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 6. The Zone catalogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 7. Awards and honours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 8. Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

1. Introduction Although Caroline Lucre t i a Hersche l (1750-1848) has r ecen t ly been

' a p p l a u d e d . . , as an a s t ronomer who saw deeper into space t h a n a n y w o m a n (and only one man) before her ,,1 it seems likely t h a t her dep th of vision was a funct ion of her eyes r a the r t han of her intellect. As the rec ipient of Gold Medals f rom the Roya l Astronomical Society and the l~oyal Pruss ian A c a d e m y and honora ry member sh ips of bo th the R o y a l Ast ronomica l Socie ty and the Roya l I r i sh Academy, her impor tance to the deve lopmen t of a s t r o n o m y was recognized by her contemporar ies . There is li t t le quest ion t h a t her methodical , pa ins taking, and laborious observat ions added to the sum to ta l of as t ronomica l facts, or t ha t her devo ted subservience to her be loved brother , Sir Wil l iam Herschel (1738-1822), made possible some of his speculat ive advances . B u t it is doubtful t h a t Caroline, herself, was a creat ive innovat ive scientist. The purpose of this pape r is to explore the na tu re of her contr ibut ions to a s t r o n o m y rela t ive to her self image.

1E. Pierce, ' Caroline Herschel: tale of a comet ', Ms. (January, 1974), 16. Another recent notice of Caroline is the article on her by M. A. Hoskin in Dictiona~j of scientific biography, vel. 6 (1972, Now York), 322-323.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

150 Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie

Since her accomplishments have always been considered alongside those of her brilliant brother, it is difficult to evaluate Caroline's astronomical contributions without constant reference to those of William. Irt fact, she would have been horrified by the idea that she had anything to offer science apart from him. ' I did nothing for my brother ', she wrote, ' b u t what a well-trained puppy-dog would have done: tha t is to say, I did what he commanded me. I was a mere tool which he had the trouble of sharpening '.~ Indeed, she became angry whenever it was suggested that she had any claim to fame in her own right. Writing to William's astronomer son, John F. W. Herschel (1792-1871) in 1828, she complained that 'whoever says too much of me says too little of your father/and only cart cause me uneasiness! '~

Even while honouring her, contemporary astronomers considered Caroline art extension of her brother. James South's speech announoing the presenta- tion of one of the Gold Medals of the Astronomical Society to Caroline Herschel stressed her position as a 'handmaid to an astronomer'.4 'Miss Herschel, it was ', wrote South,

who by night acted as his amanuensis :--she it was whose pen conveyed to paper his observations as they issued from his lips; she it was who having passed the night near the instruments, took the rough manuscripts to her cottage at the dawn of day, and produced a fair copy of the night's work on the subsequent morning; she it was who reduced every observation, and made every calculation; she it was who arranged everything in a systematic order; and she it was who helped him to obtain an imperishable name.

Although South continued by noting a number of independent observations made by Caroline, he did not mention any original theoretical accomplishments. 5

John Herschel, then President of the Society, refused to give the presenta- tion speech, partially because he did not want it thought that he was unfairly favouring his aunt and partially because he was convinced that a more deserving recipient might be found. In a letter to Caroline on 28 May 1828 he wrote: ' p r a y let me be understood on one point. I t was none of my doings. I resisted s t r enuous ly . . . The Society have done well. I think they might have done better but my voice was neither asked nor listened to ,6

2. The origins of Caroline's interest in astronomy Although Caroline Herschel's soldier-musician father Isaac lacked formal

schooling, he was interested in the education of his children. The conversation in the Herschel house in Hannover often centered around contemporary controversial ideas--much to the displeasure of Mrs. Herschel, whose interests revolved exclusively around daily housekeeping requirements. Although Mrs. Herschel could reluctantly acoept the need for a speeial education for her four sons, she totally rejected the possibility for the two girls. The eldest daughter, Sophia, was twenty-three years older than Caroline and seemed tc accept her

M. Herschel , Memoir and correspondence of Caroline Herschel (1876, New York) , 142. Cited hereaf te r as ' Hersche l '.

Herschel , 232. H. A s h t o n a n d K. Davios, I had a sister ([1937], London) , xv.

5 g. South , Esq . , 'An addres s del ivered a t the a n n u a l genera l mee t i ng of t h e As t ronomica l Society of London , on F e b r u a r y 8, 1829, on p resen t ing tho h o n o r a r y m e d a l to Miss Caroline Herschel ', Me,r~. Roy. Astron. Soc., 3 (1829), 409-412 (p. 410).

6 I=[ersehel, 227.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

Caroline Herschel's Contributions to Astronomy 151

mo the r ' s values wi thout quest ion Caroline, on the other hand, was fasc ina ted b y the subjects discussed b y her fa ther and brothers . 7 Lying awake a t night , she l istened while ' m y bro ther W i l l i a m . . . and his Fa the r ' a rgued

with such warmth that my Mother's interference became necessary, when the names of Leibnitz, Newton and Euler sounded rather too loud for the repose of her little ones, who ought to be in school by seven in the morning. But it seems tha t on the brothers retiring to their room, where they shared the same bed, my brother William had still a great deal to say; and frequently it happened tha t when he stopped for an assent or reply he found tha t his hearer had gone to sleep, s

Whenever possible, I saac Herschel included Caroline in the intel lectual discussions as well as in the musical ins t ruct ions he gave to the boys. I n fact , her first acqua in tance wi th a s t r o n o m y occurred when her fa ther who ' was a grea t admi re r ' of t h a t science took her ' on a d e a r f ros ty n ight into the s t reet , to m a k e me acqua in ted wi th several of the beaut i ful constellat ions, a f te r we had been gazing a t a comet which was then visible ,.9

However , Carol ine 's exposure to her fa ther was l imited in her girlhood. The French occupied H a n n o v e r f rom 1757 to 1759, and I saac and her older bro thers were a w a y wi th the a rmy. Dur ing this period her m o t h e r was in control . Unt i l 3.00 p .m. the seven-year-o ld girl a t t ended the inferier ' Garr ison School ' followed b y a special kni t t ing school. H e r ' spare ' t ime was occupied by kn i t t ing stockings for her brothers and fa ther and wri t ing le t ters to her fa ther f rom her i l l i terate mother . She also wrote let ters ' f o r m a n y a poor soldier 's wife in our neighborhood to her husband in the camp: for it ough~ to be r e m e m b e r e d t h a t in the beginning of the last cen tury ve ry few women, when they left count ry schools, had been t augh t to write ,.s0

After her fa ther re turned in 1760, he was a lmost an invalid. Still he was her champion, allowing her to pa r t i c ipa te in thei r ' l i t t l e concerts '. I n contras t , her mo the r even objec ted to her tak ing t ime off f rom her household duties for confirmation studies. F inal ly she relented, bu t only because it was her duty . 11

Wil l iam Herschel had immigra ted to Eng land and was emp loyed as the organis t tbr the Octagon Chapel, a p ropr i e to ry chapel in Bath . His bro ther , Alexander , had vis i ted him and informed h im of the intolerable home s i tuat ion in which their younger sister l ived af ter the dea th of I saac in 1767. Caroline hersel f was concerned abou t her future , wri t ing in her au tob iography:

I saw that all my exertions would not save me t~om being a burden to my brothers; and I had by this time imbibed too much pride for submitting to take a place as Ladiesmaid, and for a Governess I was not qualified for want of knowledge of languages. And I never forgot the caution my dear Father gave me; against all thoughts of marrying, saying as I was neither hansom [sic] nor rich, it was not likely that anyone would make me an offer, till perhaps, when far advanced in life, some old man might take me for my good qualities. 12

C. L u b b o c k (ed.) , The Herschel chronicle. ~he life.story of Wi l l iam Herschel and his sister Caroline Herschel (1933, C a m b r i d g e ) , 5-7 . C i t e d h e r e a f t e r as ' L u b b o c k '.

s L u b b o c k , 5. 9 Ibid. 10 H e r s c h e l , l l . 11 Ibid. 12 L u b b o c k , 40, 44 -45 .

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

152 Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie

After discussing the plight of their sister, William and Alexander decided that she should be brought to Bath and trained as a public singer. Over the protests of both her mother and her overbearing brother, Jacob, who felt he would be inconvenienced by the loss of a free servant, Caroline left for England with William in 1772. la

England was not the panacea that Caroline had imagined. Her greatest disillusionment, however, was the lack of time and attention given to her by William. Still, lessons in English, singing, arithmetic and bookkeeping kept her occupied, and she noted that she and William ' by way of r e l axa t i on . . . talked of Astronomy and the fine constellations with whom I had made acquaintance during the fine nights we spent on den Postwagen travelling through Holland ,.14

Mealtimes were occasions when William devoted himself to Caroline's education. At the seven o'clock breakfasts so detested by late-rising Carolinc~ William gave her lessons in mathematics, entitled ' Little Lessons for Lina ' From the playful first attempts, they progressed from algebra through geometry and trigonometry. After she had acquired sufficient skill in spherical trigonometry to put it to practical use, she showed no desire to proceed further. Abstract mathematics for its own sake had little appeal to her. John Herschel later summed up her mathematical abilities as follows:

She had nothing of mathematical genius, but her extraordinary powers of application in long-continued effort, with her extreme accuracy in all she did, were of as great practical value to my Father as if she had far greater mathematical knowledge--perhaps more. 15

3. Training period and early observations William Herschel's hobby of astronomy was occupying progressively more

of his time. Fascinated by the unprobed stellar region, he concluded that a regular, systematic survey of the entire heavens was needed. In order to begin his task, he had to equip himself with the proper instruments. Caroline reluctantly helped him construct the telescopes while begrudging the time taken away from her music. )/[usio, to her, represented a unique opportunity to be able to earn her own living, yet when this strong goal conflicted with a chance to serve Wfllian the latter was supreme. Of their early efforts, Caroline wrote:

I had to amuse myself with making the tube of pasteboard for the glasses which were to arrive from London, for at that time no optician had settled at Bath. But when all was finished, no one besides my brother could get a glimpse of Jupiter or Saturn, for the great length of the tube would not allow it to be kept in a straight line. 16

Lubbock, writing in the Herschel chronicle, noted that ' i t required all Caroline's devotion to overcome the dismay with which she found herself swept along in such an unexpected direction ,.17 Her fastidious nature was sorely challenged. ' Eve ry leisure moment ', she bemoaned, 'was eagerly

13 Lubbock, 47; Herschel, 26. 14 Lubbock, 30. 15 Lubbock, 57. is Herschel, 35. 17 Lubbock, 65.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

Caroline Herschel's Contributions to Astronomy 153

snatched at for resuming some work which was in progress, without taking time for changing dress, and many a lace r u f f l e . . , was torn or bespattered by molten pitch, &c.'. Still, whatever was important to William's well-being, Caroline must provide: ' I was even obliged to feed him by putting vitals by bits into his mouth ;--this was once the case when at the finishing of a 7 feet mirror he had not left his hands from it for 16 hours together . . . , . i s

Caroline's help moved from caring for William to 'sometimes lending a hand '. ' I became in time ' she reported, ' as useful a member of the workshop as a boy might be to his master in the first year of his apprenticeship '. Helping with perfecting the mirrors, copying catalogues and tables, and offering assistance with whatever task called for it, she soon became indis- pensable to William. 19

William was catapulted into astronomical fame by his discovery of a new ' comet ', later recognized as a new planet. For this discovery he was awarded the Copley Medal in November 1781, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 6 December 1781. The discovery o f ' Georgium sidus ', as Herschel named the new planet, signalled the beginning of the end of William's musical career. His friends at the Royal Society arranged for him to show the Royal Family his telescopes. George I I I was sufficiently impressed to award him a stipend of 200 pounds per year. Meagre though this sum appeared, it was sufficient to enable him to give up music and to devote his entire energies to astronomy. 20

Caroline and William left Bath and settled in a large but neglected house at Datchet, chosen because it included a large grassy plot on which the twenty- foot telescope could be erected. The move to Datchet marked a final end to Caroline's musical aspirations. For want of anything better to do and to win William's approbation, she became increasingly involved in astronomy. William encouraged her and gave her a small refracting telescope with which she could 'sweep for comets '. ' I see by my journal ', she wrote, ' t h a t I began August 22d., ] 782, to write down and describe all remarkable appearances I saw in my sweep '.~1

The prospect of ' spending the starlight nights on a grass-plot covered by dew or hoar frost without a human being near enough to be within call ' did not immediately appeal to her. However, all the discomfort was worthwhile, for ' I had the comfort to see my Brother was satisfied with my endeavours in assisting him when he wanted another person, either to run to the Clocks, writing down a memorandum, fetching and carrying instruments, or measuring the ground with poles, &c.'. 22

Her early training ' sweeps ' were hindered by her unfamiliarity with the heavens. When William was not near, she was compelled to spend much of her precious observational time looking up unknown objects in an atlas. However, William's presence was both a help and a hindrance to her observa- tions. Although she could ask his advice immediately, she was also available instantly to serve him at his request. Her plans to construct a catalogue of

is Lubbock, 67-68. 19 Lubbock, 68. 20 Lubbock, 77-82, 94-95; Herschel , 50. 21 Herschel, 52. 2~ Herschel, 55; Lubbock, 136.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

154 Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie

nebulae were stifled ' when m y sweeping was in te r rup ted b y being employed with writ ing down my Brother ' s observations with the large 20-feet ,.2a

Industr ious Caroline cont inued her observations during 1783 and gradually became more proficient. She discovered three new nebulae in this year which William included in his 'Ca ta logue of one thousand new nebulae '. As a reward for her diligence, William presented Caroline with a new inst rument , the one she called h e r ' Newtonian small sweeper '. However , her opportuni t ies to use it to search for comets were limited by her d u ty to William, for ' i t could hard ly be expected to meet with any Comets in tha t pa r t of the heavens where I swept, for I generally chose my si tuat ion by the side of m y Brother ' s ins t rument tha t I might be ready to run to the clock or to write down m e m o r a n d u m s . . . ' . By the 'beg inn ing of December I became entirely a t tached to the writ ing desk and had seldom an oppor tun i ty of using m y newly acquired ins t ruments '. 24

4. Caroline's discoveries of comets

During their s tay at Datchet , Caroline had acquired m a n y of the skills necessary for the observat ional astronomer. However , Da tehe t was not a sat isfactory home for ei ther William or Caroline, so they moved in 1786 to a house in Slough, described by the daughter of a previous tenant , Mrs. Papendiek, a s

a very pret ty garden of one acre, at the end of which was a gravel walk, with a row of high elms on each side. On the side next to Windsor, from whence there was an imposing view of the north side of the Castle, was a raised terrace with a few trees, just enough to break the scorching rays of the sun without impeding the view.

Much to Mrs. Papendiek 's dismay, William immedia te ly proceeded to cut down the trees so tha t there ' should be no impediment to his observat ions of the heavenly bodies ,.2~

Caroline's first oppor tun i ty for independent achievement occurred short ly af ter their move to Slough. William, ' by the king's desire ', went to GSttingen to deliver one of his telescopes to the Universi ty. During his absence, Caroline could indulge her own interests wi thout concern t h a t William might call on her for assistance. In her notes of 1 August 1786, she repor ted t h a t ' this evening I saw an object which I believe will prove to-morrow night to be a c o m e t ' She repor ted t r i umphan t ly a t 1.00 a.m. on 2 August t ha t ' the object of last night is a Comet ,.9.6

Immedia te ly she wrote to Charles Blagden (1748-1820) and Alexander Auber t (1730-1805) to inform them of the discovery. In her le t ter to Dr. Blagden she implied t ha t it was William's absence tha t had given her the oppor tun i ty for the observation, for

the employment of writing down the observations when my brother uses the twenty-foot reflector does not often allow me time to look at the heavens, but as he is now on a visit to Germany, I have ~aken the opportunity to sweep in the neighbourhood of the sun in search of comets . . . . ~7

~8 L u b b o c k , 1 4 9 - 1 5 0 . 34 L u b b o c k , 150. 35 L u b b o c k , 1 4 5 - 1 4 6 . 26 L u b b o c k , 152. 27 H e r s c h e l , 65.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

Carodne Herschet' ~ Contributions to Astronomy 155

Caroline's discovery was acknowledged with delight by William's astronomer friends. Aubert typified their reactions as he wrote: ' I am more pleased than you can well conceive that you have made it, and I think I see your wonderfully clever and wonderfully amiable brother, upon the news of it, shed a tear of joy , ~s

Caroline's letter to Dr. Blagden was read before the RoyaJ Society on 9 November 1786 and later published in the Philosophical transactions. Even the description of her first comet was not entirely bereft of William's influence, for he added a note in the published account. Although he questioned the identity of two sthrs noted by Caroline, he admitted that ' the conclusion of the change of place, which was drawn from them was equally good whether these stars were the same or different '. 29

After Caroline's discovery of the comet, she became the pet of the astro- nomical community. The pleasure with which the astronomers received the news of her discovery was a testimony of their esteem. In addition, her growing fame had a practical result, for she was named Assistant Astronomer by the King and granted a salary of fifty pounds per year. This sum, the first money she had ever earned herself, was an intoxicating triumph for her self-esteem. ~0

The serenity of Caroline's existence was disrupted by William's marriage to Mary Pit t in 1788. Losing her coveted position in the life of her brother so disturbed her that, distraught, she wrote remarks in her journal that she later regretted. She subsequently grew fond of her sister-in-law and penitently destroyed every page of her journals which contained any reference to this period of her life. al

During the period surrounding William's marriage, all of Caroline's energies were diverted to astronomy. She discovered her second comet on 21 December 1788, seven months after the wedding, while she was searching for the comet of 1661 whose return was expected. In a letter to Sir Joseph Banks (1742- 1820), William discussed his sister's new discovery. In this letter William speculated on the nature of comets. I t is characteristic that whereas William tried to probe into the nature of the comets, Caroline was content to describe. ~2

Caroline's observations were not confined to comets in these years. She was especially interested in the satellites of Saturn and of ' Georgium sidus ', and made numerous observations and drawings of their positions. ~ Dis- covering comets, however, was her major interest. She observed a third, a small one which soon disappeared on 7 January 1790 and a fourth on 17 April 1790. William was gone again when she made this latter observation, so she immediately wrote to their astronomer friends to report her discovery. By 15 December 1791, when she discovered her fifth, she was almost blas6, as she noted simply that ' my brother wrote an account of it to Sir J. Banks, Dr,

2s Herschel, 69. ~ C. Herschel, 'An account of a new comet. I n a letter f rom Miss Caroline I-Iersch~l to

Charles ~Blagden, M. D. Sec. ~ . S.', Phil. trans. Roy. Soe. London, 77 (1787), 1-5 (pp. 2-3). a0, Caroline Herschel ' [review of Memoir and correspondence of Caroline Herschel, by Mary

Cornwallis Herschel], The nation, 22 ( January 1 to J u n e 30, 1876), 281. S. Gossner, ' Caroline Herschel ', Nature ( January , 1956), 100-101, 106 (p. 101).

3~ Lubbock, 175; Herschel, 79. 32 j . Sidgwick, William Herschel, explorer of ttte heavens (1953, London), 159; cited hereafter

as ' Sidgwick '. See also Herschel, 84. as Lubbock, 248.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

156 Marilyn Bailey 0gilvie

Maskelyne, and to several astronomical correspondents '. She found this comet with her new ' comet sweeper ' which William had made for her. aa

In a short letter to the secretary of the Royal Society, Joseph Planta (1744-1827), Caroline reported that she had discovered a comet on 8 October 1793. Although she made the discovery, William determined its position. Unbeknown to Caroline, her sixth comet had been observed by Charles Messier (1730-1817) ten days before she saw it. a5

Comet number seven had an interesting history. Although Caroline's report of her observations to Sir Joseph Banks were read to the Royal Society, it was later determined that she was not the first one to see it. This comet had first been discovered by Pierre Mdchain (1744-1805) in 1786, but not until 1819 did Johann Enokc (1791-1865) prove tha t both Mdchain's and Caroline's observations had been of the same comet. I t has an extremely short period of 33 years. 3G

On 14 August 1797 Caroline discovered her eighth and last comet. ' I began in the usual manner ', she recorded, 'w i th looking over the heavens with the naked eye, and immediately saw a comet nearly as bright as that which was discovered by Mr. Gregory, Jan. 8, 1793 '. Although when she first informed Dr. Nevil Maskelyne (1732-1811) of the find he had not heard about it, the same evening he ' received a letter from Stephen Lee, Esq., who had also seen it on the 14 th . . . ,.37

Even though she discovered no more comets herself, she enthusiastically watched for those discovered by others In fact, her interest in comets survived William's death. The last entry in her ' Book of observations ' recorded the appearance of a comet over Hannover on 3 January 1824. 3s

5. Revision of Flamsteed's catalogue Shortly after she had discovered her last comet, Caroline embarked upon a

new task, one for which her qualities of perseverance, accuracy, and attention to detail perfectly suited her. The first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed (1646-1719), had, in the third volume of his Historia coelestis, produced a catalogue of the 2935 stars tha t he had observed. The observations on which the catalogue was based were given in another volume of the work. The star catalogue, published six years after his death and generally known as the ' British catalogue ', had been generally accepted as an infallible authori ty for the position of a star. 39

William Herschel found that the 'as t ronomer 's b ible ' was not always dependable. After finding differences between the catalogue and his observa- tions, he a t tempted to trace the origin of these discrepancies back to the original observations on which the catalogue entries were based. Since the

34 Lubbock , 248-249; Herschel , 85-88; Sidgwiek, 159. 35 C. Herschel , ' A n accoun t of the d i scovery o f a comet . I n a le t ter f rom Miss Caroline

Herschel , to J o s e p h P l an t a , Esq . Sec. 1~. S. ' , Phil. trans. Roy. Soc. London, 84 (1794), 1. See also Sidgwiek, 159.

8s C. Herschel , 'Accoun t of t he d i scovery of a new comet . B y !V[iss Carol ine Herschel . I n a le t te r to Sir J o s e p h B anks , :Bart. K . ]3. P .R.S . ' , Phil. trans. Roy. Soc. London, 86 (1796), 131-134 (pp. 131-132). See also Sidgwick, 159.

aT Lubbock , 254. as Lubbock , 255. 39 Lubbock , 255-256; Sidgwiek, 161.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

Caroline Herschel's Contributions to Astronomy 157

original observations were published in a separate volume he needed a cross- index. William himself was occupied with more exciting pursuits, for ' t h e labour and time required for making a proper index witheld me continually from undertaking the construction of it '. Still, wrote William, ' I found the indispensable necessity of having this index recur so forcibly, tha t I recom- mended it to my Sister to undertake the arduous task '. Capable Caroline accepted his suggestion and began the tedious task.a~

The resultant Catalogue of s tars . . , was published by the Royal Society in 1798 and contained an index to 'every observation of every star made by Flamsteed ', an enumeration of errata, as well as a list ' of upwards of 560 stars that are not inserted in the British catalogue ,.4~ According to Francis Baily (1774-1844), a lack of organization made Caroline's potentially valuable catalogue inconvenient to use. Instead of arranging the observations according to right ascension she merely recorded them in approximately the same order as ~hey were listed in Flamsteed's book of observations. 42

In spite of its organizational defects, Baily recognized the usefulness of Caroline's catalogue and noted his own indebtedness to her. Her method of juxtaposing the name of a known star with that of each inedited star ' together with the difference of their right ascension and declination ' made it possible to determine accurately the location of the inedited stars, a3

Certain discrepancies between Caroline's conclusions and Baily's later revision of Flamsteed's work occurred, but these were occasioned by new information found in additional manuscripts of Flamsteed's which had been ' mouldering (literally so) on the shelves of the Royal Observatory ', rather than inaccuracies in Caroline's judgments. Baily noted that the disagreement ' is upon such grounds as they themselves [William and Caroline] would have assented to, had they fortunately possessed the same means of information, which have since been accidentally placed in my possession ,.ha

Caroline's role was a subordinate one, even in her own productions of the ' Catalogue ' and ' Index '. I t was to William, not Caroline, that the secretary of the Royal Society, Planta, wrote regarding the printing of these works. Still, news of the impending publication pleased her. Her excessive modesty as she wrote to Dr. Maskelyne that ' the pains it had cost me were and would be rewarded in the use it had ~lready been, and might be in the future, to my brother ', was somewhat compromised as she admitted that ' you r having thought it worthy of the press has flattered my vanity not a little ,.45

6. The Zone catalogue Not until after William's death did Caroline again become deeply involved,

independently or semi-independently, in an astronomical project. She was

40 Sidgwick, 160; Lubbock, 256. 42 F. ]gMly, 'A catalogue of the posit ions (in 1690) of 564 s tars observed by Flams~eed, bu t

no t inser ted in his ]gritish Catalogue; together wi th some remarks on F l~msteed ' s observat ions ', Mere. Roy. Astron. See., 4 (1830), 129.

42 Ibid. 43 Ibid., 129-130. 4~ ~F. ]gaily, An account of the Revd. John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer.Royal; compiled from

his own manuscripts, and other authentic documents, never before published. To which is added his British catalogue of stars, corrected and enlarged (1835, London) , 388-389.

45 Sidgwick, 160; Lubbock, 256.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

158 Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie

always available to assist William in his work and to follow his orders. Some- times he could be quite demanding, as exemplified by the instruct ions which he sent Caroline while he and his family were touring Scotland in 1811:

I shall be glad to know the names of every person who has called at Slough either to inquire after me, or to see the telescopes; and also to hear whether more papers have been sent to Bulmer for correction. I f he wants to know what copies ~ wish to have, you will say as usual that Dr. H. wishes to have 25 copies. Perhaps Dr. Davy may write something about the engravings of Nebulae; of course you will mention that I shall be at home in about 6 weeks and will inspect the correction of the plates myself, which nobody can do fo r m e . 46

After years of failing health, William Herschel died on 25 August 1822. Caroline was complete ly distraught . England wi thout Will iam seemed unbearable, so she decided to re tu rn to Harmover , a decision which she constant ly bemoaned. Wi th William gone, there was only one person who could eve~l begin to replace him in her affect ions--his son, John. Thus, in order to be helpful to him as she had been to his father , she took eight volumes of William's ' Book of sweeps ' and the ' Catalogue of 2500 nebulae ', and prepared a new catalogue of nebulae arranged in zones for John ' s use. Although this work, for which she was later awarded the Gold Medal of the I~oyal Astrono- mical Society, was never published, Jo h n had in tended it for eventual publication. In a le t ter to Caroline, he wrote:

I have already found your Catalogue of Nebulae in Zones very useful in my 20-feet sweeps and I mean to get it in order for publication by degrees, but it will take a long time, as it will require a great deal of calculation to render it available as a work of reference. 47

Pa r t l y because he realized t ha t most of his fa ther ' s nebulae could only be observed by the largest telescopes and par t ly because he had in tended to compile a general catalogue of all known stars and c lus te rs - -a task which he did not complete unti l 1864- -John never under took the necessary revision. 4s

7. Awards and honours

Expect ing to die a t any moment , Caroline spent her !ast years reminiscing about the pas t and complaining about the present . Nothing being done in con temporary as t ronomy could ever equal what William had achieved. She especially resented the suggestion tha t the fine new telescope recent ly completed by the Ear] of Rosse (1800-1867) could possibly be as good as ' t h e for ty-foot ' Writ ing to John after Caroline finally died a t the age of n ine ty-e ight years, her niece Anna Knipping no ted tha t ' she looked upon progress in science as so much det rac t ion from her brother ' s fame, and even your [John's] investi- gations would have become a source of es t rangement had she been with y en '. 49

Among her contemporar ies Caroline had become a legend. Anyone of any scientific eminence who passed through H a n n o v e r s topped to visit her. Her sense of humour did not desert her as she chuckled over her reputa t ion as a

~6 Lubbock, 333. ~7 Herschel, 133; Lubbock, 367-369. ks See Sister Mary Thomas ~ Kempis , ' Caroline Herschel ', Scripta math., 21 (1955), 237-251

(pp. 246-247). a~ Herschel, 150-151,346.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

Caroline Herschel's Contributions to As t ronomy 159

savante in a le t ter to John, explaining t h a t he must send her current publica- t ions bu t should not pay for them:

for it is necessary I should every now and then lay out a little of my spare cash in that for the sake of supporting the reputation of being a learned lady (there is for you!), for I am not only looked at for such a one, but even stared at here in Hanover. 5~

Caroline was considered a remarkable maiden aunt by m a n y astronomers . The y wanted to honour her suitably. The oppor tun i ty came with the unanimous resolut ion

that a Gold Medal of this Society [Royal Astronomical Society] be given to Miss Caroline Herschel, for her recent reduction, to January 1800, of the Nebulae discovered by her illustrious brother, which may be considered as the completion of a series of exertions probably unparalled either in magnitude or importance in the annals of astronomical labour . . . . 51

On 13 F eb rua ry 1835 Caroline Herschel along with Mary Somerville became two of the three women before the twent ie th century to be awarded Honora ry Memberships to tha t society, a~ The repor t to the F i f teen th Annual Generol Meeting defended the propr ie ty of placing the names of women on the roll as honorary members. Both men and women, they reported, should be judged by the same criteria of excellence, for a l though

the tests of astronomical merit should in no case be applied to the works of a woman less severely than to those of a man, the sex of the former should no longer be an obstacle to her receiving any acknowledgment which might be held due to the latter. 5~

Caroline's increasing popular i ty ne t t ed her another honorary membership. In ]838 she was elected to membership in the I~oyal Ir ish Academy, proposed by the same William Rowan Hami l ton who refused to allow ladies to a t t end academy meetings for fea~' t h a t bo th academic and business mat te r s would be tu rned into ' babble '. Characteristically, she deprecated her election to this society, asking why they had chosen her, who for so many years had ' not even discovered a comet ,.a4

Two years before her dea th she received a le t ter from Alexander yon H u m b o l d t (1769-1859) informing her t h a t ' His Majesty the King, in recognit ion of the valuable service rendered to As t ronomy by you, as the fellow-worker of your immortal brother ', wishes ' t o convey to you in his name the large Gold Medal for Science ,.55

Although Caroline had expec ted to die from the t ime she left England in 1822, she survived most of her contemporar ies and m an y of her juniors. At ~he age of ninety-seven years and ten months she died on 9 J an u a ry , 1848, and was buried with a lock of her beloved William's hair. 5"

50 Herschel, 150-151. 51 j . South, 411. 52 R. E. W. Maddison, Librar ian of the Royal Astronomical Society, personal letter. The

th i rd honorary member was Anne Sheepshanks, who received the award on 12 F e b r ua r y 1862. 58 ~ Repor t to the fifteenth annual meeting ', 2kIem. Roy. Astron. See., 8 (1835), 296. 54 Press release f rom the l~oyal I r i sh Academy, prepared on the occasion of a presenta t ion

of letters of Maria Edgewor th a~d W. R. Hamil ton; personal letter f rom Brigid Dolan, Librar ian of the Royal I r ish Academy. See also Herschel, 151.

55 Herschel, 336-337. 56 Herschel, 347.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

160 Marilyn Bai ley Ogilvie

8. Evaluation

I t is possible to be an impor t an t contr ibutor to science wi thou t being a scientist, for science must t ranscend the mere collection of da t a by adding the critical e lement of in terpreta t ion. B y focusing on this idea, i t is possible to evaluate the contr ibut ions of Caroline Herschel to the science of as t ronomy.

As an observer, Caroline added to the sum to ta l of as t ronomical facts available to the scientist. Besides her eight comets (only five of which can be proper ly credi ted to her), she located several new nebulae and etar clusters. However , speculations as to the na ture of comets or of the nebulae were left to William. Curiosity about the objects of her discoveries was seldom displayed. Even her interest in mathemat ics was pragmatic ; she learned well t ha t which was necessary to serve her practiGal ends b u t showed no inclination to find mathemat ics interest ing for its own sake.

Caroline's second contr ibut ion to the science of as t ronomy was the skilled and accurate t ranscr ipt ion and reduct ion of as t ronomical data. Her per- severance and a t t en t ion to detail equipped her well for tllis task. B y working as an amanuensis for William, by producing the list of omi t ted stars and index to F lamsteed ' s catalogue, and by compiling the Zone Catalogue, she demon- s t ra ted this skill. Her accm'acy was recognized, for

Caroline Herschel's perseverance in doing the enormous amount of copying required of her was equalled by her carefulness and accuracy in performing her tasks; the books and slips written in her clear and most legible hand seem completely free from slips, either clerical or arithmetical. In fact the only mistakes she ever made in her work seem to have been two or three slips of 1 ~ in Polar Distance in the Zone Catalogue of her Brother's nebulae which she made in her old age. 57

Thus, just as Johannes Kepler could r ight ly have absolute fa i th in the da ta of Tyoho Brahe, so could future theoret ical as t ronomers re ly confidently on Careline's work. William's work was also freer of errors because of Caroline's pa r t in it.

The t ravel ler Bar the ldmy Faujus de Saint Fond, in describing his first encounter wi th Caroline, symbolized her role in the his tory of as t ronomy. He wrote:

I observed, in a window at the farther end of the room, a young lady seated at a table, which was surrounded with several lights; she had a large book open before her, a pen in her hand, and directed her attention alternately to the hands of a pendulum-clock, and another dial placed beside her, the use of which I did not know: she then noted down her observations. 5s

After making his presenoe known to her, he asked her to describe her labours.

' My brother ', said Miss Caroline Herschel, ' has been at work these two hours; I do all I can to assist him here. That clock gives me the time, and this dial, the hand of which communicates by strings with his telescopes, informs me, by signs which we have agreed upon, of whatever he observes. I mark upon that large chart the stars which he enumerates, or discovers in particular constellations, and even in the most distant parts of the sky ,.59

~7 Lubbock, 160. 5s B. Fau jas de Saint F o n d (od. Sir Archibald Goikie), A journey through England and Scotland

to the Hebrides in 1784 (rev. ed. of English t ransl . , 2 vols.; 1907, Glasgow/, vol. 1, 63-64. B~ 1bid., 63-65.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013

Caroline Herschel's Contributions to Astronomy 161

Love of her brother was the stimulus behind Caroline Herschel's achieve- ments in astronomy. Barred from the ranks of creative astronomers by both her inability and her uninterest in abstract concepts, she substituted other qualities such as accuracy and perseverance which assure her of a place in the history of astronomy.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt A

lliso

n U

nive

rsity

0L

ibra

ries

] at

23:

23 2

8 A

pril

2013