without note or comment. But on an ever-memorable night in March,
1782, it happened that he was pursuing his task among the stars in
the Constellation of Gemini. Doubtless, on that night, as on so many
other nights, one star after another was looked at only to be
dismissed, as not requiring further attention. On the evening in
question, however, one star was noticed which, to Herschel's acute
vision seemed different from the stars which in so many thousands are
strewn over the sky. A star properly so called appears merely as a
little point of light, which no increase of magnifying power will
ever exhibit with a true disc. But there was something in the
star-like object which Herschel saw that immediately arrested his
attention and made him apply to it a higher magnifying power. This
at once disclosed the fact that the object possessed a disc, that is,
a definite, measurable size, and that it was thus totally different
from any one of the hundreds and thousands of stars which exist
elsewhere in space. Indeed, we may say at once that this little
object was not a star at all; it was a planet. That such was its
true nature was confirmed, after a little further observation, by
perceiving that the body was shifting its place on the heavens
relatively to the stars. The organist at the Octagon Chapel at Bath
had, therefore, discovered a new planet with his home-made telescope.

I can imagine some one will say, "Oh, there was nothing so wonderful
in that; are not planets always being discovered? Has not M. Palisa,
for instance, discovered about eighty of such objects, and are there
not hundreds of them known nowadays?" This is, to a certain extent,
quite true. I have not the least desire to detract from the credit
of those industrious and sharp-sighted astronomers who have in modern
days brought so many of these little objects within our cognisance. I
think, however, it must be admitted that such discoveries have a