• DOI:10.1177/002182868401500101
Corpus ID: 116314854

William Lassell and the Ring of Neptune: A Case Study in Instrumental Failure

@article{Smith1984WilliamLA,
  title={William Lassell and the Ring of Neptune: A Case Study in Instrumental Failure},
  author={R. W. Smith and R. Baum},
  journal={Journal for the History of Astronomy},
  year={1984},
  volume={15},
  pages={1 - 17}
}

R. W. Smith, R. Baum

Published 1984

Physics

Journal for the History of Astronomy

William Lassell (1799-1880) was one of the foremost British amateur astronomers of the nineteenth century (see Figure 1). Self-taught and highly motivated, he belonged in the words of John Herschel "to that class of observers who have created their own instrumental means-who have felt their own wants, and supplied them in their own way".' William Huggins even went so far as to compare his achievements, especially as a telescope maker, with those of the elder Herschel and Lord Rosse. 2 Today… CONTINUE READING

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