Sir William Hershel was the greatest astronomer of his day. Active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, he was a true "renaissance man," with day jobs that included military bandmaster and church organist. But a single observation of the Orion Nebula through a friend's telescope changed his life forever and made astronomy a lifelong passion.
For years he toiled away in complete obscurity, silently observing the heavens from his small observatory in rural England, until a completely unexpected event suddenly catapulted him to "rock star" status. While searching for comets one night he stumbled upon Uranus, becoming the first person to discover a planet in recorded history! This happened in 1781 during the final days of the American Revolution, while George III was king, and Hershel parlayed his fame into big bucks by naming the planet "Georgium Sidum" in honor of the king!
The planet's name was officially changed to Uranus a half century later (the mythological father of Saturn), but Hershel's sycophancy had the desired effect. The king provided him with sufficient funds to build a large (48") telescope. But the big telescope proved difficult to operate, and so most of Hershel's observations were done with a smaller, 20" telescope.
Throughout his life, Hershel's method of observing consisted of climbing up a ladder to observe, and then dictating his observations to his devoted sister, Caroline, who sat at a small table below him transcribing his observations by the light of a candle.
Every time I view the Orion Nebula I am awed by its immensity and brilliance, and think of how a single glimpse of this object ignited Hershel's lifelong passion for astronomy. Be careful when looking at this object, for it has been known to have had a similar effect on many others!
The Orion Nebula (M42)
Date Taken:November 28, 2003
Location Taken: Conditions of Location: Equipment Used:Takahashi TOA-130 5" apochromatic refractor telescope and a Canon 10d digital camera
Processing Used:Five 2.5-minute unguided images @ 800 ISO combined in Images Plus (average combine, digital development).
Distance from Location:1,300 light years
Constellation:Orion (the "hunter")
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