Sir John Herschel, English astronomer, mathematician and chemist, c 1852

Sir John Herschel, English astronomer, mathematician and chemist, c 1852. Mezzotint engraving by William Ward after an oil portrait by William Henry Pickersgill, c 1852. The only son of the famous astronomer Sir William Herschel (1738-1822), Sir John Herschel (1792-1871) continued the work of his father by mapping the Southern Skies. Between 1834 and 1838 he observed from Feldhausen House near Table Mountain at Claremont, six miles from Cape Town in South Africa. Using a 20-foot reflecting telescope, Herschel discovered thousands of new celestial objects whose position he carefully plotted. These were later published in 1847 as 'Results of Astronomical Observations made 1834-8 at the Cape of Good Hope'. Dimensions: 372mm x 285mm. ©SSPL/Science Museum