Left: Caroline Herschel. Middle: Caroline's discoveries, in space. (You can view this more closely at this Sky & Telescope link, also listed below.) Right: Caroline & her brother, William Herschel.
Caroline Herschel and her brother William worked together as astronomers in a small house in Datchet, England. Both Caroline and William were talented musicians who pursued astronomy as a hobby, became increasingly interested in astronomy, and then somewhat accidentally built successful, flourishing careers in the field.
Initially, Caroline worked as William's assistant and did grunt work (looking through the telescope for strange things). But through this grunt work, she made her own discoveries and published them. This way, she was able to make a name for herself as a scientist and able to earn her own income.
Her discoveries include: a nebula, then Messier 110 (a satellite galaxy near the Andromeda galaxy), followed by eight comets. Her discoveries pushed William to improve his own searching techniques and telescope-building methods.
Caroline's unusual lifestyle was partially motivated by her childhood. She had smallpox as a child which stunted her growth, and her parents believed this would make it difficult for her to marry. This led to her parents supporting Caroline's education, to William and Caroline arranging to live together, and to Caroline's own drive to provide a living for herself.
Caroline Herschel was the first woman to earn a salary as a scientist in England. She earned the Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society in 1828. She and Mary somerville were honored as the first female members of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1835. And the King of Prussia granted Caroline the Gold Medal for Science in 1846.
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