Mapping the Milky Way: William Herschel's Star-Gages
Todd Timberlake

TL;DR
This paper analyzes William Herschel's 18th-century star-gage method for mapping the Milky Way, using computer simulations to interpret its assumptions, limitations, and historical inaccuracies in representing our galaxy.
Contribution
It provides a detailed description of Herschel's star-gage method and introduces a computer simulation to explore its assumptions and errors.
Findings
Herschel's assumptions led to inaccuracies in the galaxy map.
Simulations show how violations of assumptions affect results.
The study offers a modern interpretation of Herschel's map.
Abstract
In 1785 astronomer William Herschel mapped out the shape of the Milky Way star system using measurements he called "star-gages." Herschel's star-gage method is described in detail, with particular attention given to the assumptions on which the method is based. A computer simulation that allows the user to apply the star-gage method to several virtual star systems is described. The simulation can also be used to explore what happens when Herschel's assumptions are violated. This investigation provides a modern interpretation for Herschel's map of the Milky Way and why it failed to accurately represent the size and shape of our galaxy.
Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsHistory and Developments in Astronomy · Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies · Historical Astronomy and Related Studies
