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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Richard Anthony Proctor, dated at Collingwood

Reference number: HS/14/114

Date: 20 August 1869

Description

Copy of a letter. Discusses Olbers's Paradox, raises objections to Richard Anthony Proctor's argument for the existence of dark celestial matter, and points out problems in Richard Anthony Proctor's method of measuring stellar diameters.

Reference number
HS/14/114
Earliest possible date
20 August 1869
Page extent
3 pages
Format
Manuscript
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Creator name

John Frederick William Herschel

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Citation

John Frederick William Herschel, Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Richard Anthony Proctor, dated at Collingwood, 20 August 1869, HS/14/114, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_14_114/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-richard-anthony-proctor-dated-at-collingwood, accessed on 18 May 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_14_114/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-richard-anthony-proctor-dated-at-collingwood

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  • Herschel Letters

    This collection of nearly 10,900 letters, drafts, copies and notes is the largest repository of scientific correspondence from and to Sir John Herschel, leading figure of Victorian science.

    Dates: 1807 - 1875

    View collection