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William Herschel
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, KH, FRS (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; November 15, 173815 November 1738
3 Kislev 5499 He
3 Kislev 5742 AM – August 25, 182225 August 1822
8 Elul 5582 He
7 Elul 5825 AM) was German-born English astronomer and one of the pioneers of modern astronomy.
Contents |
Degrees and Discoveries
Herschel became an astronomer. He improved the telescope and discovered the planet Uranus in 1781. Herschel also discovered two more moons of Saturn — Mimas and Enceladus. He was knighted in 1816 and received every honor the scientific world could bestow. And he became the first president of the newly formed Astronomical Society of London.
Christian Beliefs
Herschel was a Christian. He believed that God's universe was characterized by order and planning. His discovery of that order led him to conclude that "the undevout astronomer must be mad" and when he discovered Uranus, he showed that the laws that govern our earth and moon are the same throughout the heavens.
In his diary, Herschel wrote:
| “ | The difference was occasioned by an exclamation of the First Consul’s, who asked in a tone of exclamation or admiration (when we were speaking of the extent of the sidereal heavens) ‘and who is the author of all this.’ M. de La Place wished to shew that a chain of natural causes would account for the construction and preservation of the wonderful system; this the First Consul rather opposed. Much may be said on the subject; by joining the arguments of both we shall be led to ‘Nature and Nature’s God.’ | ” |
Another famous quote of William Herschel is:
| “ | "Time! Time! Time! — we must not impugn the Scripture Chronology, but we must interpret it in accordance with whatever shall appear on fair inquiry to be the truth for there cannot be two truths. And really there is scope enough: for the lives of the Patriarchs may as reasonably be extended to 5,000 or 50,000 years apiece as the days of Creation to as many thousand millions of years." — John Frederick William Herschel | ” |
Astronomical Discoveries
List of celestial bodies discovered by William Herschel:| Name | Date of discovery | Primary | Semi-major axis | Sidereal period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uranus | 2371628.513 March 178113 March 1781 16 Adar 5541 He 47 Adar 5784 AM |
Sun | 2.87246E+122,872,460,000 km19.201 AU 1,784,863,894.854 mi |
30681.615300230,681.615 da84.002 a |
| Titania | 2373758.511 January 178711 January 1787 21 Teveth 5547 He 21 Teveth 5790 AM |
Uranus | 435910000435,910 km0.00291 AU 270,861.916 mi |
8.7058728.706 da0.0238 a |
| Oberon | 2373758.511 January 178711 January 1787 21 Teveth 5547 He 21 Teveth 5790 AM |
Uranus | 583520000583,520 km0.0039 AU 362,582.518 mi |
13.46323913.463 da0.0369 a |
| Mimas | 2374677.518 July 178918 July 1789 24 Tammuz 5549 He 25 Tammuz 5792 AM |
Saturn | 185520000185,520 km0.00124 AU 115,276.784 mi |
0.94242180.942 da0.00258 a |
| Enceladus | 2374718.528 August 178928 August 1789 6 Elul 5549 He 7 Elul 5792 AM |
Saturn | 238020000238,020 km0.00159 AU 147,898.771 mi |
1.3702181.37 da0.00375 a |
