March 16, 2020 - Lost in the Glare

Lost in the Glare This Spitzer Space Telescope infrared view of spiral galaxy M31 in Andromeda also shows, at upper left, its less famous dwarf elliptical companion galaxy M110. Often overlooked, M110 shares a certain kinship with the astronomer who independently discovered it in 1783, ten years after Charles Messier first did. Caroline Herschel, born 270 years ago this week, was the sister of William Herschel, discoverer of Uranus. She spent most of her life as William’s apprentice, performing tedious calculations on his behalf, yet she managed to establish herself as an accomplished astronomer in her own right. She was the first woman to discover a comet (she found eight in all), she compiled catalogs of stellar observations, and she documented every discovery that she and William made.

Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / P. Barmby (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)

Weekly Calendar

March 16 - 22, 2020

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

Monday 16

Last Qtr Moon 5:34 AM ET

1750: Caroline Herschel born
1926: Robert Goddard launches first liquid fuel rocket
1966: Gemini VIII launched
1975: Mariner 10’s 3rd Mercury flyby

Tuesday 17

St. Patrick’s Day

1930: Jim Irwin born
1958: Vanguard 1 launched, first solar-powered satellite
1972: NASA issues request for proposals for Space Shuttle
2011: MESSENGER becomes first spacecraft to orbit Mercury