A detail from a page of one of William Herschel's observation journals (RAS MSS Herschel W 2/1.2), showing his observations carried out on the night of 13 March 1781. The text relevant to the discovery of Uranus reads: "Tuesday March 13. Pollux is followed by 3 small stars at about 2' and 3' distance. M as usual. p H. In the quartile near ζ Tauri the lowest of two is a curious either nebulous star or perhaps a comet. A small star follows the comet at 2/3 of the field's distance."

William Herschel observed 'a curious either nebulous star or perhaps a comet' #OnThisDay 13 March 1781. If you turn the pages of his observation journal held at
@royalastrosoc.bsky.social
you will see that this new celestial body was confirmed to be a new planet, now known as Uranus.

Heute vor 245 Jahren, am 13. März 1781, entdeckte der hannoversch-britische Amateurastronom Wilhelm Herschel (* 15. November 1738 - † 25. August 1822) den Planeten Uranus. 1/2
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm...
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus_...

The @royalastrosoc.bsky.social and German Astronomical Society are delighted to announce that the 2026 Caroline Herschel Medal has been awarded to Professor Dr Heike Rauer, of @dlr-en.bsky.social and @freieuniversitaet.bsky.social.🏅

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Image of Uranus and it's rings shining in infrared light

Happy Gotcha Day to my favorite planet, Uranus!!! 245 years ago today, William Herschel observed Uranus for the first time, and since then, we've found that it's the strangest planet of all. 💚🧪🔭

eos.org/tag/uranus

William Herschel, German-born British astronomer, discovered planet Uranus #OTD 1781; pioneered use of astronomical spectrophotometry, discovered infrared radiation; Fellow Royal Society, first President Royal Astronomical Society.
Portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott 1785, NPG London
Herschel Museum

Amazing. I had no idea, but “Herschel decided to name the object Georgium Sidus (George’s Star), or the ‘Georgian Planet’, in honour of his new patron, King George III” (Wikipedia)

Portrait of William Herschel (1785)

245 years ago, on the 13th of March 1781, Uranus was discovered by astronomer (and composer) William Herschel during a search for double stars. Herschel named the planet 'Georgian star' after the British King George III. The French called the planet 'Herschel' instead. #otd #history 🗃️

A close-up view of historical materials displayed on a flat surface. The focus is on a vintage book titled Land Near the Sun by Evelyn Cheesman, featuring a yellow cover with an illustration of tall palm trees and a small hut. Nearby are other archival items, including an open book and a green document marked with numbered labels for cataloging.

Explore gendered dimensions of exploration history 🗺️

This resource examines evidence of women’s roles in expeditions, challenging dominant narratives and highlighting overlooked contributions to fieldwork and scientific practice 👇
https://ow.ly/Ffyp50XJvIm

Photogravure 'From a Pastel by the late J. Russell, Esq.re R. A., 1794. In the possession of Sir W J Herschel, Bart'. The fact that it belonged to Sir William James Herschel rather than his father, Sir John FW Herschel suggests that this was made after the latters death in 1871. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Herschel Collection https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-107483?_gl=1*1u5hb0f*_up*MQ..*_ga*NzU1MzI4MzI5LjE3NzI0MDM0NDE.*_ga_7JJ3J5DBF6*czE3NzI0MDM0NDAkbzEkZzEkdDE3NzI0MDM0NDckajUzJGwwJGgw*_ga_4MH5VEZTEK*czE3NzI0MDM0NDAkbzEkZzEkdDE3NzI0MDM0NDckajUzJGwwJGgw

Section of Plate XXIV from William Herschel; XXXII. Account of a comet. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 31 December 1781; (71): 492–501. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstl.1781.0056 William Herschel Collection Harry Ransom Center University of Texas at Austin

"On Tuesday the 13th of March between ten and eleven in the evening, while I was examining the small stars in the neighbourhood of H Geminorum, I perceived one that appeared visibly larger than the rest..." -William Herschel describes the discovery of Uranus #OnThisDay in 1781

#histSTM #astronomy 🔭

"A report published on Wednesday highlighted the danger SUVs posed to other road users and pedestrians, with children at particular risk of fatal injuries from collisions."

There are PhD studentships available for some lucky people:

Collecting Space Heritage (Museum Studies) - le.ac.uk/study/resear...

Humanity and space, open theme - le.ac.uk/study/resear...

#STS #histSTM 📜

The polymathic astronomer John Herschel coined the word "photography" on this day in 1839. Here is the story of the medium's inception, with a stunning meditation by Virginia Woolf (whose aunt was a pioneering photographer) on the fate of every technology. www.themarginalian.org/2019/04/03/v...

Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme: "Poetry Friday: Celebrating Women’s History Month with Caroline Herschel" kennn.com/FQtaFi #ChildrensPoetry #Poetry4kids @mattforrestvw.bsky.social

Caroline Herschel once showed princesses a fake Saturn through her telescope at Windsor Castle.

On the night of 3 July 1782, the plan was to show the royals Jupiter or Saturn. But the weather was not favourable.

Luckily, Caroline had prepared…

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#astronomy #histsci 🧪

Let’s raise a glass and wish Sir John Herschel a Happy Birthday! He invented the cyanotype process in 1842 & he inspires me, along with the entire alternative photography community, every day.💙

"Wineglasses Multiple" is my digitally reimagined collaged cyanotype on fabric with gold acrylic paint.

No tenemos disponible una descripción de esta imagen pero estamos trabajando en ello

7 de marzo de 1792. Nace el matemático y astrónomo John Herschel. También hizo avances en el campo de la fotografía, como la invención de la cianotipia, un procedimiento fotográfico monocromo en color azul de Prusia.

#CalendarioCientifico

Der britische Astronom John Herschel wurde am 7. März 1792 in Slough geboren. Er ist der Sohn von Wilhelm Herschel.

Photographic portrait of H by Julia Margaret Cameron. Wikipedia.

John Herschel was born OTD in 1792.

His 1831 Preliminary Discourse launched a flowering of reflection on the aims and methods of science among British thinkers that was so rich and influential that Charles Sanders Peirce would later dub it “the Age of Method.”

🧪#HistSTM #PhilSci 🐋🌱

Mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor and experimental photographer, John Herschel was born on 7 March 1792.

John Herschel

John Herschel
7 Mar 1792🎂
#ScienceSky🔭📷

@neildegrassetyson.com

Call for Contributions: Histories of Weather & Weathering Call for Contributions: A Sourcebook for Histories of Weather and Weathering (working title) Editors: Rebekah Higgitt, Tamara Caulkins and Lotta Leiwo We invite contributions to this planned open a…

Call for Contributions to a Sourcebook for Histories of Weather & Weathering teleskopos.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/c...
Full details linked and here teleskopos.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...
It will be edited by me, @lottaleiwo.bsky.social and Tamara Culkins. Please share! #histSTM #envhist 🗃️📜

Julia Margaret Cameron (British, 1815–1879), Ch. Darwin, 1868. Albumen print, 28.5 x 22.7 cm. Gernsheim Collection, Harry Ransom Center.

Letter from Charles Darwin to Sir John Herschel, dated November 11, 1859. The letter was tucked inside a signed first edition of Darwin’s “Origin of Species.”

"I have taken the liberty of directing Murray to send you a copy of my book on the Origin of species..." -Charles #Darwin to John Herschel (Nov. 11, 1859)

(Today you can consult Herschel's copy of the Origin here @ransomcenter.bsky.social!)

sites.utexas.edu/ransomcenter...

#histSTM #DarwinDay 🗃️📜

White text on a light green background reads "9,000 bios!" with white fireworks in the background

The Infinite Women women database now has more than 9,000 bios from around the world and throughout history! Check it out at www.infinite-women.com

Caroline Herschel also mentioned.

Herschel gets a mention here in @empirepoduk.bsky.social eps 321! John & Margaret Herschel were friends with Julia Margaret Cameron. She was godmother to their daughter Julia. He was godfather to her son. She offered advice when the Herschels sent 2 of their sons to India.

John & Margaret were friends & fans of Maria Edgeworth. She was godmother to their daughter Amelia & they followed Edgeworth's advice on Practical Education & choice of school.

Maria Edgeworth's Practical Education is referenced in Bridgeton! S4:E4

A map of the UK, with pins at various spots across the islands.

Help us map science history for #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience. We've launched a new interactive map of landmarks across the UK connected to women from science history, and we want your suggestions.

Explore the map and submit your landmark now: royalsociety.org/news-resourc...

That's very sad news.

Odile Lehnen discusses Caroline Herschel's observation practices at the History of Science, Technology, the Environment & Medicine at the University of Texas at Austin. Her slide, labeled "A shared way of seeing" features a notebook from the Herschel Family Papers at the Harry Ransom Center.

UT's History of STEM (Sci, Tech, Env. & Med.) colloquium kicked off its spring 2026 schedule w/a great talk on Caroline Herschel by @ransomcenter.bsky.social fellow Odile Lehnen.

(This slide shows one of Caroline's notebooks from HRC's Herschel Family Papers.)

#astronomy #histSTM #WomenInSTEM 🗃️📜🔭