Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-19
BILL NYE ON TIE HERsoHELs
What the Great Star Gazers Did for Man
kind.

knowledge, and advance the interests of
astronomy especially, than Sir John Fred
erick William Herschel and Sir William
Herschel, deceased.
They were both passionately fond OF
astronomy and nothing pleased them
more than to scour the heavens while
others slept. do not think the heavens
have ever been so thoroughly aud careful
ly secured since John and William died.
Many people noticed it right away after
their death. s8 30 tirs sdC
Sir John was born at Slough, near
Windsor. in the State, OF England, March
Z, 1892 lie h,breAthet the very air OF
science AZ once and yearned to acquire
knowledge. Thus he fitted himself for the
fatiguing and exhausting labors OF scan
ming the sky and tracing out the history,
location and habits OF the stars. 10
He went directly IRON his home 10
Elton, AID from there TO st. Johns col
Smith 'pgixeman and senior wrangIer.
Nothing tits q young man for the great
field Of science so thoroughly as diploma
showing that he il a good wrangler. AL
the age of n his biographer states thathe
was elected a fellow.
Sir John Herschel at once marched to
the front, rank and was elected baronet
In lS36-the same year in which Queen
Victoria was crowned, If my memory is
not at fat)t. iHir John then began to ae-
ouire gold medRis In large numbers, and
to decorate his bosom with various cien-
tfic tags. He marcsed onward until he
was chosen President of the AstrOn0mi-
cal society and then master of the mint.
In 1855, his health having been i'm
pared, he resigned as master OF the mint
and was made honorary or corresponding
member to the academies of Brussels, st.
Petersburgh, Vienna, Gottingen, Turin,
Bologna, Naples, Copenhagen, Stock
holm, and other hotbeds OF learning. In
1928 his attention was attracted toward
Margaret Brodie, the daughter of the Rev.
DIR. Alex. Stewart. 1t was about this time
thathe began to sit up nights and rummage
the heavens. He never got over it.
In 1929 he married Margaret, hut he
still continued to sit up nights, ana moth
ing ticked him more than to rambe
through the track less void to watch the
antics of his nebule, or to follow a skit-
fish comet through space, trying to put
salt on it's little tail. Many a night would
he steal into his couch with cold feet af-
ter a long and tiresome search for stray
star.
In 1926 he began the stupendous task
of getting out a catalogue and price-list
Of all the stars. No one who has never
tried it can possibly realize fully the eX-
tent of this task. Not only that, but the
most Of 1t had to be done at night. And
vet he never murmured. His wife MUIR
INJURED sometimes and asked him to please
warm his feet before he retired, but Sir
John never murmured. He would work
on until very late at night, taking an in
ventory of the stars, and then he would
stick up a stake to show where he left of,
and retire.
In this way he catalogued between
5000 and 1000 double stars, and also
passed in review the nebul@ discovered
and catalOgued by his father. While others
slept he labored on. While the gddy
throng poured into the halls of pleasure,
or sought out the lawn sOciable, Sir
John, with his 40-tOot telescope and 10
foot pole over his shoulder, would start
out to investigate the trackless void.
Thus he became familiar with the man.
ners and customs OF the planets, and felt
perfectly at home in the sky. He knew
at glance whether a planet was wobbly
or not. He could at once detect it II an
orb got sprung. He had it down fine. No
one dared adulterate the milky way while
Sir John had charge of the stars.
In 1847 he published the result Of his
observations from the Cape of Good Hope,
covering the four years from 1894 to 1888.
These were: /. Nebul2 and what to do
for them. II. Double stars, and their
habits. III. Apparent size Of stars, or
how they look To man up a tree. ~.
Distribution of stars. and why early as
trOnomers soured on the milky way. v.
Hailey's celebrated comet. with appen-
dix treating OF bob-tail comets; also hints
about shying comets and how 10 eVade a
new-laid meteor. vi. Satellites or Sa-
turn. VII. Solar spots, and how to re-
move them without injury to the sun.
Sir William Herschel. who distinguished
himself about the middle of the egh-
teenth century by becoming the father OF
Sir John, was a great student all his life,
and close observer OF the heavenly
bodies. He discovered the planet Uranus
and called attention to it--a planet that
had been denied to q starving world for
many centuries. He was thoroughly
posted on the skies. He always knew
where he stood, and never got beyond his
siderlal depths. That was Williams
style. He was born investigator.
He made many accurate observations
upon variable and binary stars. He also
made a careful Investigation for the sid
erial parallax, and, though he did not find
it, be said that he felt certain that it must
be there. He also discovered and filed on
$500 stars. which. added TO the 500 then
known, made 1000. Sir John brought the
number up 70 over 5000, it is stated,
though have not had time to check them
off and detect any errors that the Her
schel family might have made.
No one VINO has not tried It can ade-
quately estimate the long, tiresome Job or
huRtng up and classifying stars. Those
who have never been kept up nights
fighting mosquitoes and trying 10 discover
a star. so as 10 get the reward for II, can
have little idea Of the trying and fatigp-
ing task,
Sir William Herschel was about the
first 10 suggest the prOpriety OF sweeping
the heavens with telescope. Since that
time the heavens have not been swept by
anything else, telescopes being used alto
gether. p F.lh "
There IL one thing that the Herscheis
neglected, andoi would Hike 20 call the
attention of pbilanthropists ana astronm
mers 10 it.d ] am aphilauthropist myself.
but heve not been successful in that
line, owing 70 lack Of means. SO Wish
those WIN want 10 do n sind act, and have
the ability as well as the desire, would m
vesti gate the, @ ase OF the gentleman who
generallyssiHlds In the middle NJ the
zodiac on the arst page Of the altnanaegC
We are likely so haze a lODg.eold win
ter very soon. and no man ought 10 die
from exposure in an enlightened land
where the rest OF us Aave all the clothes
we need. Besides, this man seems 10 be
seriOuly injured. and. though 1 am not at
all familiar with surgery. IL seems 10 me
that he ought % be sewed up. He ought
to wear vest, ANYWAY. II be wants 10
preserva his hea III, Who will be the first