Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to William Henry Smyth, dated at Feldhausen, Cape of Good Hope
Reference number: HS/21/160
Date: 15 May 1834
Description
Copy of a letter. Describes voyage to Cape as being uneventful. 20-ft. reflector operating since late February; has already examined much of the southern sky. Believes the Milky Way is not equidistant from the earth at all points; and that the earth is between Canopus and Alpha Centauri. Amazed at clusters such as Omega Centauri. Describes richness of Magellanic Clouds. Details progress in erecting instruments. Sends observations of Alpha Crucis, which he believes is a double star.
- Reference number
- HS/21/160
- Earliest possible date
- 15 May 1834
- Page extent
- 3 pages
- Format
- Manuscript
- Also available on Epsilon
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Citation
John Frederick William Herschel, Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to William Henry Smyth, dated at Feldhausen, Cape of Good Hope, 15 May 1834, HS/21/160, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_21_160/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-william-henry-smyth-dated-at-feldhausen-cape-of-good-hope, accessed on 21 January 2025
Link to this record
https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_21_160/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-william-henry-smyth-dated-at-feldhausen-cape-of-good-hope
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Hierarchy
This item is part of:
-
Correspondence of Sir John Frederick William Herschel
1812-1870 Creator: Sir; John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS -
Correspondence of John Frederick William Herschel: volume 21 Copies of outgoing letters
1873-1875 Reference number: HS/21
Related Fellows
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John Frederick William Herschel
Creator -
William Henry Smyth
Recipient
Map
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Herschel Letters
Dates: 1807-1875
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.View collection