Caroline Herschel is noted for her scientific annals in astronomy more than for her mathematical knowledge.
She never received formal mathematical training, which only serves to accent the dimension of her accomplishments and determination.
Background
Caroline Lucretia Herschel was born in the town of Hanover on 16 March 1750.
She was a sister of Sir William Herschel, the eighth child and fourth daughter of her parents.
After the death of her father in 1767 she obtained permission to learn millinery and dressmaking with a view to earning her bread, but continued to assist her mother in the management of the household until the autumn of 1772, when she joined her brother William, who had established himself as a teacher of music at Bath.
Education
On account of the prejudices of her mother, who did not desire her to know more than was necessary for being useful in the family, she received in youth only the first elements of education.
Herschel was a literate young woman, but did not receive a formal education.
Career
Their mother refused to let her go until William promised to provide funds for her mother to retain a maid.
Unlike their parents, William encouraged his sister to be independent.
He invited her to live with him in Bath, England, where he was immersed in musical training and astronomy.
Herschel's brother married in 1788, causing her concern about having to share his home and affections.
Over the next five years, her horizons expanded.
Her interest in the constellations grew.
But William increasingly needed her efficient, meticulous talents in copying his astronomy catalogs, tables, and papers.
She eventually drifted from her desires and devoted herself to his astronomy.
Made Celestial Discoveries
Herschel assisted her brother in grinding and polishing his telescopes.
He built a new six-foot telescope and began scanning the night skies.
This discovery assured him recognition in British scientific circles.
When her brother accepted the office of astronomer to George III, she became his constant assistant in his observations, and also executed the laborious calculations which were connected with them.
Originally, Uranus had been named "Georgium Sidus, " after King George III.
William was appointed to the position of court astronomer and was knighted.
She systematically collected data and trained herself in geometry, learned formulas and logarithmic tables, and gained an understanding of the relationship of sidereal time (time measured by means of the stars) to solar time.
Her record keeping was meticulous and systematic.
The numerical calculations and reductions, which saved her brother precious time, were all done without error, and the volume of her work was enormous.
When Herschel was not engaged in other tasks, she too searched the night skies using a small Newtonian reflector.
By year's end, she had discovered 14 additional nebulae.
As a reward, William presented her with a new Newtonian sweeper of 27 inches, with a focal length of 30.
Between 1789 and 1797 she had discovered another seven comets.
Herschel calculated and catalogued nearly 2, 500 nebulae.
She also undertook the task of reorganizing John Flamsteed's British Catalogue, which listed nearly 3, 000 stars.
These concerns proved to be without merit, as her new sister-in-law accepted her warmly and graciously.
Though she returned to Hanover in 1822 she did not abandon her astronomical studies, and in 1828 she completed the reduction, to January 1800, of 2500 nebulae discovered by her brother.
She spent the last years of her life in Hanover, organizing and cataloguing the works of William's son, Sir John Herschel, who carried on his father's extensive work.
In 1825, she had donated the works of John Flamsteed to the Royal Academy of Göttingen.
In 1828, at the age of 75, the Royal Astronomical Society awarded Herschel a gold medal for her monumental works in science.
She received a similar honor from the Royal Irish Academy.
Her meticulous work aiding her famous brother was her legacy.
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At the age of ten, Caroline was struck with typhus, which stunted her growth, such that she never grew taller than four feet three inches. She suffered vision loss in her left eye as a result of her illness.
Membership
The Royal Astronomical Society elected her an Honorary Member in 1835, along with Mary Somerville; they were the first women members. She was also elected as an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin in 1838.
Personality
She was, as he kept telling her, so homely and without money, no one would marry her until she was older and had more character.