William Lassell

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William Lassell

Born June 18, 1799
Bolton, England
Died October 5, 1880
Maidenhead, England
Fields Astronomer
Known for Discovered Triton, Hyperion,
Ariel and Umbriel moons

William Lassell (born June 18, 1799 in Bolton - died October 5, 1880 in Maidenhead) was an English astronomer.

He made his fortune as a beer brewer, which enabled him to indulge his interest in astronomy. He built an observatory near Liverpool with a 24-inch reflector telescope, for which he pioneered the use of an equatorial mount for easy tracking of objects as the earth rotates. He ground and polished the mirror himself, using equipment he also constructed himself.

In 1846 he discovered Triton, the largest moon of Neptune, just 17 days after the discovery of Neptune itself by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle. In 1848 he independently co-discovered Hyperion, a moon of Saturn. In 1851 he discovered Ariel and Umbriel, two new moons of Uranus.

When Queen Victoria visited Liverpool in 1851, Lassell was the only local she specifically requested to meet.

In 1855, he built a 48-inch telescope, which he installed in Malta because of the better observing conditions compared to England.

He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1849, and served as its president for two years starting in 1870.

Upon his death, he left a fortune of £80,000 (equivalent to millions of American dollars by today's standards).

Lassell crater on the Moon, a crater on Mars and a ring of Neptune are named in his honour.

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