The Herschel Partnership by Michael Hoskin
The partnership between William Herschel (1738 -1822) and his sister Caroline (1750 - 1848) transformed astronomy from the study of the solar system, with the stars as little more than a backcloth, to exploration of the stellar system, the nebulae, and the cosmos as a whole.
This book examines the partnership from the point of view of Caroline, and reveals the sacrifices she was called on to make and the effects these had on her.
"The rags-to-riches story of Caroline Herschel, from household drudge in Hanover in 1876 to gold medal winning astronomer, has been well known since the posthumous publication of her memoirs in 1876. But Michael Hoskin brings to the subject a richness of detail and nuance that was previously unimaginable. He firmly establishes the context for the most extraordinary partnership astronomy has ever known."
Owen Ginnerich, Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics.
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ISBN 0 905193 05 9 (publication 1 April 2003
Pp. Viii + 182, with 21 illustrations, hard bound
£Sterling 23.00 post free in the UK. Please contact theMuseum Bookshopfor postage details.
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