Herschel, William

[person]

English astronomer and composer born in Hanover, Germany (1738-1822). Herschel worked closely with his sister, Caroline. Their most important contribution was the discovery, in 1781, of the planet Uranus. They also discovered two moons of Uranus in 1787, and two of Saturn's moons. William Herschel's work on double stars showed that gravity acts outside of the solar system. He also studied sunspots and their connection to weather.