Skip to content

Please be aware that some material may contain words, descriptions or illustrations which will not reflect current scientific understanding and may be considered in today's context inaccurate, unethical, offensive or distressing.

Letter from John Frederick William Herschel, Collingwood to [William Parkinson] Wilson

Reference number: MS/257/2/288

Date: 1 September 1861

Description

Herschel outlines advantages of erecting a great reflector in Wilson’s ‘colony’ [Melbourne] for observation of the southern nebulae on the request of Edward Sabine. Refers to the ’colonial expense’ and Melbourne being a ‘very wealthy’ colony.

Reference number
MS/257/2/288
Earliest possible date
1 September 1861
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
3 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

John Frederick William Herschel

View page for John Frederick William Herschel

Use this record

Citation

John Frederick William Herschel, Letter from John Frederick William Herschel, Collingwood to [William Parkinson] Wilson, 1 September 1861, MS/257/2/288, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ms_257_2_288/letter-from-john-frederick-william-herschel-collingwood-to-william-parkinson-wilson, accessed on 14 July 2026

Link to this record

Embed this record

<iframe src="https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/embed/items/ms_257_2_288/letter-from-john-frederick-william-herschel-collingwood-to-william-parkinson-wilson" title="Letter from John Frederick William Herschel, Collingwood to [William Parkinson] Wilson" allow="fullscreen" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="500px"></iframe>

Hierarchy

Related Fellows

Explore the collection

  • Manuscripts General

    Science in the Making presents selected items from the 'Manuscripts General' series, notably astronomical observations, investigations of discrete topics, and indices and registers of papers read before the Royal Society.

    Dates: 1551 - 1951

    View collection