Discovering Uranus

William Herschel was an amateur astronomer. In March 1781, Herschel discovered what he thought was a comet. Because of the limits of his telescope, he had a difficult time seeing what his discovery actually was. He did not believe this discovery was due to chance. “He saw it as an inevitable consequence of a series of thorough surveys of the heavens which marked a new kind of astronomical practice.” 1 Herschel began surveying the stars in 1779 using a 7’ reflecting telescope. Being the scientist that he was, he immediately wrote his discovery in his journal. He realized this could not be a star because it had moved. In order to define his discovery, he asked his friend, Dr. William Watson, to show him the “comet.”