Mars ......and Herschel

[kerrylewis]

I've been reading about William Herschel. In the week that he discovered Uranus he noted in his log:

"Mars seems to be all over bright but the air is so frosty & undulating that it is possible there may be spots without my being able to distinguish them" I'd just like to say to Bill that nothing changes - fits my experience this week exactly!

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Absolutely. Old Will would have had less light pollution to deal with, but he still had to contend with the weather. I remember reading that his 40-foot scope only managed 17 nights of top-quality seeing in something like it's first 1 1/2 years of operation. With its 50" mirror it was very sensitive to seeing conditions, and wasn't a great improvement over smaller telescopes.

[Pete Presland]

most of the year has been like that, but it does seem to be improving slowly!

[John]

I visited the Hershel Museum in Bath a few days ago as a birthday treat

Very interesting museum set over 3 floors of the Regency house that he and his sister Caroline lived in and from the back garden of the house Herschel discovered the planet Uranus. 

I was able to stand at the spot where they believed his telescope would have been set up during the observations he made that led him to the discovery - very cool 

His sister was an excellent astronomer too (though both were musicians by profession) and she discovered a number of comets.

Well worth a visit if you are in the Bath area