William Huggins Research Paper

William Huggins was an amazing contribution to the rise of astronomy. When Huggins was born in Cornhill, England on February 7, 1824. A bit later in life, Huggins married Margaret Lindsey who also had an affinity for astronomy. She persuaded her husband to continue his work and together they became a dynamic duo of astronomers. Somewhere towards the middle of his life, William Huggins built an observatory on top of the roof of his own house. At this time, he lived in Tulse Hill, England. The reason for which he chose to build the observatory at Tulse Hill was that it was away from the smoke in London. His reasoning was very sensible and smart because had he spent the time, money, and effort to build it in London, he would have greatly hindered his chances to make great discoveries such as being one of the few astronomers to discover a new outlet of science, astrophysics. Huggins and his wife also spent time in their observatory observing emission and absorption lines of numerous cosmic objects. When analyzing NGC 6543, also known as the Cat’s Eye Nebula, on 29 August …show more content…
A few of these awards include: the Royal Medal in 1866, which he won for “for his researches on the spectra of some of the chemical elements and on the spectra of certain of the heavenly bodies; and especially for his researches on the spectra of the nebulae, published in the Philosophical Transactions”; the Rumford Medal in 1880, which he won “for his important researches in astronomical spectroscopy, and especially for his determination of the radial component of the proper motions of stars”; and the Copley Medal in 1898, which he won “for his researches in spectrum analysis applied to the heavenly bodies.” William Huggins was knighted in recognition for his contributions to science and he also spent time as an officer in the Royal Astronomical Society. He performed these duties for thirty-seven years, which was more than any other