The Planet Quiz Show  


Answer:  Uranus

The Englishman, William Herschel, discovered Uranus on March 13, 1781. He had just moved to Bath, England and was outside viewing the heavens with his homemade reflecting telescope that very same evening when he made his discovery. Herschel gave up his career as a musician and composer and went on to become the greatest astronomical observer of all times. Herschel found Uranus using a seven foot long reflecting telescope with a 6.2-inch speculum (metal) mirror made from an alloy of copper and tin that he had ground and polished himself.


[William Herschel and Uranus]
William Herschel was probably the world's greatest observer of the heavens. Starting in the upper left corner and going clockwise... Herschel as an old man... Herschel as a younger man about the time that he discovered Uranus… A Herschel constructed, seven foot telescope exactly like the one used to discover Uranus... A photo taken of the planet Uranus by Voyager 2 in 1986... The center drawing shows largest telescope that William Herschel built. It was 40 feet in length and had a metal mirror 49-1/2 inches in diameter. On the first night that Herschel used this telescope, he discovered a moon of Saturn.

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