Caroline Herschel (1750 - 1848) was a German-British astronomer who became the first woman known to discover a comet and, in 1828, the first woman awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. [1] Working as the assistant and collaborator of her brother William Herschel, she identified eight comets between 1786 and 1797 and compiled extensive catalogues of star clusters and nebulae. [3] In 1787 she was granted an annual salary by King George III, making her one of the first women paid for scientific work. [1]
Early life
Caroline Lucretia Herschel was born on 16 March 1750 in Hanover, then capital of the Electorate of Hanover, into a family of musicians. [1] A childhood attack of typhus stunted her growth and, her family assumed, left her unlikely to marry, so she was largely confined to household duties. [2] In 1772 her elder brother William, by then established as a musician in Bath, England, brought her to join his household, where she trained as a soprano and sang in his concerts. [1]
Partnership with William Herschel
As William's interests shifted from music to astronomy, Caroline became his indispensable assistant, helping to grind and polish telescope mirrors, recording observations and carrying out the laborious calculations his sky surveys required. [3] After William's discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781 brought him royal patronage, the pair devoted themselves to astronomy full time. In 1787 King George III granted Caroline an annual salary of £50 as her brother's assistant, one of the earliest instances of a woman paid for scientific labour. [1]
Comet discoveries and catalogues
Sweeping the sky with a small reflecting telescope of her own, Herschel found her first comet in 1786 and seven more by 1797, becoming the first woman credited with such discoveries. [3] She also identified nebulae and star clusters overlooked by earlier observers. Her most substantial scholarly work was an index to John Flamsteed's star catalogue, together with a list of more than 500 stars he had omitted, published by the Royal Society in 1798. [2]
Later years and recognition
After William's death in 1822, Caroline returned to Hanover, where she compiled a catalogue of some 2,500 nebulae to assist the continuing observations of her nephew John Herschel. [3] In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society awarded her its Gold Medal, and in 1835 it named her and Mary Somerville its first honorary female members. [3] The Royal Irish Academy elected her an honorary member in 1838, and on her 96th birthday the King of Prussia awarded her a gold medal for science. [2]
Legacy
Herschel died in Hanover on 9 January 1848 at the age of 97. [1] Remembered as a pioneer among women in science, she is commemorated by the asteroid 281 Lucretia and the lunar crater C. Herschel. [2]
