Title : Treasures of the RAS: The discovery of Uranus Duration : 02:20 Posted : 13 Apr 2016 - 16:05
Treasures of the RAS: The discovery of Uranus
The notebooks of William Herschel, describing his discovery of Uranus in 1781. Herschel recorded his observations of a new planet in his working notebook of March 1781: "a curious either nebulous star or perhaps a comet", near the star Pollux. Later observations demonstrated that this was the first new planet discovered since prehistoric times. Herschel attempted to name the planet 'Georgium sidus' (George's star) after King George III. Although this brought him great favour with the King, the name was unpopular outside Britain. Later agreement called the planet 'Uranus'. The Library and Archives of the Royal Astronomical Society contain books, images and documents significant in the development of scientific thought in astronomy, geophysics and related disciplines. In this series of videos RAS Librarian Jenny Higham displays some of the gems of the collection.
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