William Herschel Discovers Uranus (1781)
For many years, astronomers mistakenly believed that the planet Uranus, which is sometimes visible to the naked eye, was a star. Herschel, a German-born English astronomer, originally believed that it was a comet. It soon proved to be, indeed, a verifiable planet—the first to be discovered in modern times with the aid of a telescope. The planet was only named Uranus—for the Greek personification of heaven—after the original name of Herschel’s choosing proved unpopular. What was it? More… Discuss
euzicasa 
This is fascinating… one of my best friends is one of the two last direct descendants of William Herschel… and I find it amazing that he made his own telescopes to do the work in astronomy that he did – along with his sister, who was the first woman to be admitted to the Royal Society
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Some people are like that, interested, and successful in many areas: It is a matter of affinity I think!
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