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From Musician to Astronomer: The Great William Herschel Metamorphosis
Harry J. Augensen
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Widener University
American Astronomical Society
Harlow Shapley Lecture
Oberlin College, 2002 Apr 04
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Outline
• I. Early Years
• II. The Musician
• III. Early Interest in Astronomy
• IV. The Turning Point
• V. Astronomical Pursuits
• VI. Life Changes
• VII. Later Years
• VIII. Caroline Herschel
• IX. Herschel’s Legacy
• X. Oboe Concerto No. 2 in C
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Early Years
Born 1738 November 15, Hanover, Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel
Father Isaac was oboist in band of Hanoverian Foot Guards, instructed William in principles of music theory & gave him oboe & violin lessons
William studied French with tutor, Herr Hofschlager, who encouraged him to study science
In 1753 William left garrison school to take position as oboist & violinist in the Guards band
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Early Musical Career In 1756, William moved to London and found immediate
employment as music copyist
In 1760, appointed director of Militia Band at Durham, & made important musical connections – Charles Avison
In years 1759 – 1770, most of Herschel’s instrumental works were composed, including symphonies, concertos, and sonatas
In 1767, appointed organist of Octagon Chapel in Bath
In 1780, appointed director of Bath Orchestra
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The Musician
• Performer
• Composer
• Conductor
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Herschel’s Musical Contemporaries
• Thomas Arne (1710 - 1778)• Charles Avison (1709 - 1770)• C.P.E. Bach (1714 - 1788) • Johann Christian Bach (1735 - 1782)• John Garth (c.1722 - 1810) • (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)• Andre Danican Philidor (1726 - 1795)• Wolfgang A. Mozart (1756 - 1791)
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Musical Performer
• Played oboe, violin, organ, harpsichord
• Performed oboe-soprano duets with Sister Caroline
“Never before have I heard the concertos of Corelli, Geminiani and Avison performed more chastely, or more according to the original intention of the composer, than by Mr. Herschel.”
- commentary from Edward Miller on Herschel’s violin playing
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Composer
• 24 symphonies
• 3 oboe concertos (c. 1760) & numerous chamber works
• Organ pieces
• Several harpsichord pieces - the only instrumental compositions published in his lifetime
• Numerous anthems & other vocal music
Later concertos & accompanied keyboard sonatas show italianate galante style popularized by J.C. Bach
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Cadenzas for Movements 1 and 2 of Oboe Concerto No. 2 in C
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Adagio from Oboe Concerto No. 2 in C
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Conductor & Concert Manager
• A “true timist” - tempos are to be strictly adhered to
• Sometimes came to blows with performers who disagreed with him
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House in Bath
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Early Interest in Astronomy
First evidence of Herschel’s interest in sky found in excerpts from his diary for 1766:
– Jan. 7 Concert at Concaster at Sir Bryan’s relations
– Feb. 19 Wheatly. Observation of Venus
– Feb. 24 Eclipse of the moon at 7 o’clock A.M. Kirby.
– Mar. 7 Halifax. The Messiah.
• 1773 Purchased Ferguson’s Astronomy
• 1774 Made first entries into his astronomical journal
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Astronomical Pursuits
• Telescope design
• Planetary surfaces
• Sunspots
• Motion of Sun through space
• Double stars
• Nebulae
• Structure of Milky Way galaxy
• Infrared radiation
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Telescope Building
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7-foot Reflectors
• 6.5-inch diameter mirror
• Used for early star sweeps
• Used to discover planet Uranus
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The Turning Point: Discovery of Georgium Sidus (Uranus)
• 1781 March 13 in Gemini
• Made Herschel’s name famous overnight
• Planet ultimately named Uranus
• Eventually was offered royal pension by King George III to devote his time solely to astronomy
• In 1782, Herschel moved to near London, Caroline accompanied him
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Herschel’s 20-foot Reflector
• 18 inch diameter mirror
• Herschel made most observations with this instrument
• Lacked clock drive
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The Great 40-foot Telescope
• Work begun in 1785 in Old Windsor
• Completed 1789 near Slough
• Impressive, but unwieldy
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Charles Messier1730 - 1871
• French comet hunter
• Published list of 103 fuzzy objects which could be confused with comets
• Herschel sought to determine nature of these nebulae
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Globular Cluster M3
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The Orion Nebula M42
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Planetary Nebula Ring Nebula in Lyra M57
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Stellar Parallax
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Binary Stars
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The Milky Way
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Structure of the Milky Way
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The Andromeda Nebula M31
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Observations of Mars
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Herschel Discovers Infrared Rays
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Life Changes
• Marriage to Mary Pitt in 1788
• Son John born 1792
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House at Slough
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Musical Visitors
• Herschel’s fame as astronomer attracted prominent musicians to meet him
• In 1791, while touring London, F.J. Haydn visited Herschel’s observatory near Slough and peered through his telescopes
• Haydn popularized Hershel’s symphonies
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Later Years
• 1793 became British citizen
• 1802 traveled to France & met Napolean and Laplace
• 1817 was knighted
• 1821 became first president of Royal Astronomical Society
• 1822 died
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Caroline Lucretia Herschel1750 - 1848
• Born 1750 March 16, Hanover
• Mother wanted her to become housekeeper, & disapproved of her work with William
• 1772 Traveled with William from Hanover to Bath, where she remained as his assistant
• William taught her English, music, mathematics
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Caroline’s Partnership with William
• Soprano soloist at concerts with William as conductor & performed soprano-oboe duets with William
• Looked after William while he spent hours with his hobby of building telescopes
• Recorded and processed astronomical observations for William
• Was deeply hurt by William’s marriage to Mary Pitt, but eventually reconciled
• Returned to Hanover after William’s death in 1822
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Caroline’s Astronomical Discoveries
• Discovered 8 comets between 1786 and 1797
• Published her catalogue of 2500 nebulae in 1828
• Awarded gold medal by Royal Astronomical Society 1828
• Died 1848 Jan 9 at age 98
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Sir John Herschel1792 - 1871
• Continued in his father’s footsteps as astronomer
• Took William’s telescopes to South Africa to make observations of nebulae in southern skies
• Pioneered use of photography in astronomical research
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Herschel’s Legacy
• William Herschel made more astronomical discoveries than any other single astronomer, before or since
• He pursued areas of research such as stellar astronomy and nature of nebulae that were neglected by professional astronomers of his day
• Herschel introduced notion of evolutionary changes in astronomical bodies, and also attempted to find their distances
• Today is considered the “Father of Modern Astronomy”
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Excerpt of a contemporary description of Herschel:
• “Dr. Herschel is a man of unassuming manners; a free, communicative, and pleasant companion; and he enjoys that vigour of constitution which is so essential to an astronomical observer in a climate like that of England. It may be hoped, that his name will endure as long as the planetary system, to illustrate which he has devoted his life.”
– Taken from Public Characters, printed by R. Phillips, St. Paul’s Church Yard, London 1801. (Included 71 biographies of distinguished persons.)
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Special Thanks to:
• Dr. W. Davis Jerome, Rutgers University
• Dr. Sterling Murray, West Chester State University
• Dr. Owen Gingerich, Harvard University