Has arrived in Scotland. Recently witnessed a large comet. Thanks JH and family for hospitality at Slough.
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The Sir John Herschel Collection
The preparation of the print Calendar of the Correspondence of Sir John Herschel (Michael J. Crowe ed., David R. Dyck and James J. Kevin assoc. eds, Cambridge, England: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1998, viii + 828 pp) which was funded by the National Science Foundation, took ten years. It was accomplished by a team of seventeen professors, visiting scholars, graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and staff working at the University of Notre Dame.
The first online version of Calendar was created in 2009 by Dr Marvin Bolt and Steven Lucy, working at the Webster Institute of the Adler Planetarium, and it is that data that has now been reformatted for incorporation into Ɛpsilon.
Further information about Herschel, his correspondence, and the editorial method is available online here: http://historydb.adlerplanetarium.org/herschel/?p=intro
No texts of Herschel’s letters are currently available through Ɛpsilon.
Has arrived in Scotland. Recently witnessed a large comet. Thanks JH and family for hospitality at Slough.
Thanks JH for information concerning the comet. Planned to build telescope with object glasses separated from each other. Optician said this would not correct spherical and chromatic aberrations. Wants advice.
Wishes to teach privately. Asks William Herschel to write a recommendation certificate. Weather has been problematic. Sends greeting to the elder Herschels.
Concerned over illness of William Herschel. Discusses 'Evolution of Curve Lines.' Describes [Christiaan] Huygens's terms for evolution of curves. Offers advice to avoid problems with them.
Grateful for letter from Brighton. Agrees with JH concerning comet. Is suspicious of those who claim it is the same comet that was seen one year previously.
Describes the difficulty of [P. Laplace's] Mécanique céleste. Has a new pupil. Discusses proper boundary of a front view mirror.
Discusses problem of the ellipse and offers a method of solving it. States the proper boundary of a front mirror is too difficult to ascertain. Still having problems with teaching.
Describes lunar rainbow seen on 22 August. Congratulates JH on his mathematical attainments. Describes his enjoyment of mathematics. Hopes JH will continue to correspond.
Found JH's resolution of a biquadratic ingenious. AR used René Descartes's method of resolution, but found it less elegant. Discusses resolution of higher order quadratics.
Discusses the comet that 'attracts the attention of all.' Speculates that the train of comets arises from the impulse of solar rays. Discusses shape and composition of comets.
Is now a clerk for [London and Edinburgh] shipping company. Does not know if he should mention his employment to Mr. Watts.
Dr. [Charles] Burney offered him a position at his academy. He will, however, remain at the shipping company.
Congratulates JH on his progress in mathematics. Discusses forces of attraction and his employment at the shipping company.
Congratulates JH on the formation of the [Analytical] Society, which will let Britain 'take the lead' in mathematics. Discusses analysis of a radical.
Describes an oil lamp that makes efficient use of all the oil placed in it.
Left his job because of precarious health. Is retired. Discusses achromatic telescopes and his ideas for correcting spherical and chromatic aberrations.
Sends copy of his account of the achromatic telescope because JH did not receive the original. Constructing an achromatic telescope of 5-foot focal length.
Recently received telescope from the optician. Some adjustments are necessary. [Robert] Blair has a similar idea regarding telescopes. Asks JH to mention his idea to the Astronomical Society.
Gives permission to release his telescope proposal to others. Discusses the progress of the telescope. Considers modifying the arrangement of lenses.
Asks JH to report how James South's telescope performs. There was a defect in the settings of the telescope. Hopes JH's method of eliminating chromatic aberration improves the microscope.