William Herschel’s ‘Star Gages’ and the Structure of the Milky Way

Abstract

William Herschel’s epochal observing campaign, using a self-made 18.7-in. reflector, lasted from 1783 to 1802. During his ‘sweeps,’ designed to find new nebulae and star clusters, he carried out a great number of star counts. In these so-called ‘star gages’ Herschel counted the number of stars seen in the field of view. One major result was the star distribution for a considerable part of the sky, observable from the Windsor area. Of course, the stars appeared strongly concentrated towards the band of the Milky Way.