Herschel
n 1: English astronomer (son of William Herschel) who extended
the catalogue of stars to the southern hemisphere and did
pioneering work in photography (1792-1871) [syn:
Herschel, John Herschel, Sir John Herschel, Sir John
Frederick William Herschel]
2: English astronomer (born in Germany) who discovered infrared
light and who catalogued the stars and discovered the planet
Uranus (1738-1822) [syn: Herschel, William Herschel, Sir
William Herschel, Sir Frederick William Herschel]
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Uranus \U"ra*nus\ (-n[u^]s), n. [L. Uranus, Gr. O'yrano`s
Uranus, o'yrano`s heaven, sky. Cf. Uranium.]
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1. (Gr. Myth.) The son or husband of Gaia (Earth), and father
of Chronos (Time) and the Titans.
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2. (Astron.) One of the primary planets. It is about
1,800,000,000 miles from the sun, about 36,000 miles in
diameter, and its period of revolution round the sun is
nearly 84 of our years.
[1913 Webster]
Note: This planet has also been called Herschel, from Sir
William Herschel, who discovered it in 1781, and who
named it Georgium Sidus, in honor of George III.,
then King of England.
[1913 Webster]
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