From the Discovery of Uranus to the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland

Professor Michael Burton, Director of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

The image is a sketch of M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, by William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse in 1845.

William Herschel’s discovery of Uranus in 1781– the first new planet found by humanity since antiquity – made him famous overnight.  It also profoundly changed our conception of the cosmos and stirred the imagination, a driver for the Enlightenment and the emergence of modern science.

The consequences were many, one of which was the founding of an observatory in Armagh, now the longest running observatory in the British Isles that has been continuously used for its original purpose – of exploring the cosmos.

Richard Robinson, Archbishop of Armagh and the Primate of All-Ireland, knew Herschel from the time he spent in Bath in the years following the discovery of Uranus. He was inspired to found Armagh Observatory in 1790 by it.  A century later the famous “New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars” (the NGC) was compiled in Armagh by its then Director, John Dreyer. The NGC is the successor to John Herschel’s General Catalogue, made using the Grubb 10” telescope in Armagh that still works today. 

In Birr Castle, in County Offaly in Ireland, the 3^rd Earl of Ross, William Parsons, was motivated by Herschel’s “40 foot” telescope to build his Great Telescope in 1845, with its 6-foot speculum mirror – the Leviathan – so succeeding Herschel’s 40 foot as the world’s largest telescope. Using it, and working with the Director of Armagh Romney Robinson, he uncovered the enigma of the spiral nebula, what we recognise today as other galaxies situated far beyond our own Milky Way,

Today the historic observatories of Ireland – Armagh, Birr and Dunsink (Dublin) – whose astronomers have worked closely together from their foundations – have come together as the Astronomical Observatories of Irelands with the aspiration to seek UNESCO World Heritage accreditation for their outstanding astronomical heritage, still very evident at the three sites today.

Each observatory also has ambitious plans for their sites. All are still active in scientific research and education in addition to their heritage, serving as beacons for the public communication of science in our challenged 21^st century world, where many of the pressing problems faced by humanity must be tackled through the application of science.

As we approach the 250^th anniversary of Herschel’s epoch-making discovery of Uranus in Bath – which will occur on the 13^th of March in 2031 – it is timely to ask how might we mark this discovery and celebrate the achievements of all the Herschels in their pursuit of frontline science?

Professor Michael Burton is the Director of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium as well as the President of the International Astronomical Union’s Commission C4 on “World Heritage and Astronomy”.

His own career in astronomy has followed in some of Herschel’s pioneering footsteps.  It began in Edinburgh studying cosmic sources of infrared radiation (as first discovered by Herschel) using one of the first telescopes specially built for the infrared – the UKIRT in Hawaii.

Over the past decade he has been studying the structure of our Milky Way Galaxy – of which Herschel drew the first map – using radio telescopes in Australia in order to map out the giant clouds of molecules where stars are forming.

Today he runs both the Observatory and Planetarium in Armagh, where research & discovery, education & outreach, history & heritage all come together and contribute to a sense of place and civic pride in the community.

A link to a video recording of the lecture will be made available here.

Professor Mike Cruise

The image is an artist’s impression of gravitational waves generated by binary neutron stars.
Credit: R. Hurt/Caltech-JPL

In 1916 Albert Einstein predicted that his new theory of gravitation, now called General Relativity, included wave modes which could propagate in vacuum a little like electromagnetism. These modes- the “gravitational” waves- were predicted by Einstein to be so weak that they would “never be detected”.

Professor Mike Cruise

Mike Cruise has been active in Space Science for more than 50 years. He received degrees from University College London in 1968 and 1973 and went on to do research in X-Ray astronomy at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory using sounding rockets launched from Woomera, South Australia. In 1980 he was appointed to a lectureship at UCL and worked on Ariel VI and HIPPARCOS before leaving to join the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in 1986. First as Group leader for Astrophysics and then Division Head and Associate Director of RAL, Mike was involved in the management of ROSAT, SOHO, Cluster and Spectrum RG. He served on many national and international space policy and review committees.

In 1995 Mike was appointed Professor of Astrophysics and Space Research at the University of Birmingham and set up the gravitational wave group at Birmingham in 1996. He led the Birmingham work on LISA Pathfinder in addition to continuing his own research on the interaction of gravitational waves and electromagnetic fields. Mike was appointed Head of Physics and Astronomy at Birmingham in 1997 and then Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at the University in 2002.

Mike Cruise has chaired space policy committees in STFC, the UK Space Agency and ESA. He was appointed Professor Emeritus on his retirement from Birmingham in 2012 and has subsequently served as Treasurer and President of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Mike has written over 200 scientific papers and co-authored one book.

Dr Emily Winterburn

Wednesday 3rd April 2024 7.30 pm in the BRLSI, can be attended either in the BRLSI or remotely on Zoom

Meet John Herschel,  much less famous today than either his father or his aunt yet in his day he represented the very definition of what a scientist should be.  In 1824, as the BRLSI began, he too was just starting out. On the 8 June, there will be a Conference dedicated to every aspect of the life & work of this great man, but for today let’s just get to know him. What did he do? Why should we care about him? What were his politics? What was his family life like? Come along on 3rd March and find out.

This introduction to John Herschel will prepare us for the all-day conference on Saturday 8th June 2024,

Emily Winterburn is one of the authors for the forthcoming Cambridge Companion to John Herschel. She is also the author of a biography of John’s aunt, Caroline Herschel (The Quiet Revolution of Caroline Herschel, 2017) and completed her PhD on the Herschel family in 2011. She is the former curator of astronomy at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Today she is a teacher and writer living in Leeds. She is also honorary vice president of the Society for the History of Astronomy.

Tickets (£6/£3), proceeds to the BRLSI) available here.

The Bath Preservation Trust Museums are looking at ‘Conservation in Action’ this year, and for the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, this is focused on ‘Conserving the Planet’. The Herschel Society have agreed to collaborate with them on a shared lecture programme on this theme which will consist of 4 lectures given from September to December 2023 at the BRLSI, Queen Square, Bath.

Friday 8th September 2023	The Right Light at Night	Steve Tonkin
Friday 13th October 2023	The Astrophysics of Earth: light-life interactions beyond photosynthesis	Dr Robert Fosbury
Friday 3rd November 2023	A cluttered and noisy sky? Meeting the challenge of satellite constellations (and why you should care)	Dr Robert Massey
Friday 1st December 2023	Space debris: Hazards, Situational awareness and responsible use of space	Dr Philippe Blondel

Director George Sibley

Image credit: (c)

This event is part of H200 – the Herschel Society’s celebration of William Herschel on the bicentenary of his death.

William Herschel, a 42 year old musician and amateur astronomer, discovered the first “new” planet in history in 1781. His telescopes, observations and theories transformed what was the clockwork universe imagined by Isaac Newton into the evolutionary and wonder-filled cosmos we know today. This is the story of how modern astronomy took shape under the pre-industrial skies of the 18th century.

George Sibley is a film director based in Florida. He plans to be present to introduce the film, and to answer questions in the discussion that follows. A trailer of the film is available here.

The film is available on Amazon.