Herschel, (Frederick) William (1738–1822)
Despite his astronomical credentials, in matters of astrobiology his contributions were less impressive. Swimming against the tide of professional opinion, he insisted that the habitability of the Moon was an "almost absolute certainty" (see Moon, life on) and, in common with Isaac Newton before him, was convinced there were intelligent beings living inside the Sun, which he believed to be a large planet with a cool, temperate interior (see Sun, life on). Sunspots he took to be apertures in the Sun's bright outer shell through which we could see inside and the solarions could peek out at the stars. His observations of Mars in the 1780s led him to surmise that the bright areas at the poles were ice caps, the dark patches were seas, and the lighter, yellowish areas were dry land. The inhabitants, he concluded, "probably enjoy a situation in many respects similar to ours" (see Mars, life on). In 1800, using a thermometer and a prism, he discovered infrared radiation. His work was continued by his son John.
Related category• ASTRONOMERS AND ASTROPHYSICISTS
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