# Herschel's Discovery: When Uranus Revealed Itself to Humanity

0:00Hi, this is Alex Cantrowitz. I'm the host of Big Technology Podcast, a longtime reporter and an on-air contributor to CNBC. And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out how artificial intelligence is changing the business world and our lives. So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors from companies building AI tech and outsiders trying to influence it. Asking where this is all going, they come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and plenty more. So if you want to be smart with your wallet, your career choices, and meetings with your colleagues and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology Podcast or ever you get your podcasts. This is Mike Voilo of Lexicon Valley. And I'm Bob Garfield. Are you one of those people who sometimes uses words? Do you communicate or acquire information with, you know, language? Hey, us too. So join us on Lexicon Valley to true over the history, culture, and many mysteries of English. Plus some ice cracks. So find us on one of those apps

1:01where people listen to podcasts. Non astronomy tonight podcast. This is your astronomy tonight podcast. Good evening, stargazers. On this day, March 12th, we celebrate one of the most thrilling moments in modern astronomy, the discovery of Uranus, on March 13th, 1781. British Astronomers Sir William Hershel was conducting a systematic survey of the night sky from his garden in Bath, England when he spotted something extraordinary. Through his telescope, he observed what he initially thought was a comet moving slowly across the constellation Gemini. But here's where it gets absolutely wild. This wasn't a comet at all. It was an entirely new planet, previously unknown to humanity, for all of recorded history. Can you imagine? For thousands of years, humans had mapped the heavens, tracked the wandering stars they called planets, and Uranus had been hiding right there in plain sight. Hershel's discovery doubled the known radius of our entire solar system overnight. Suddenly, we realized our cosmic neighborhood

2:03was far more expansive than anyone had ever dreamed. What's even more remarkable is that Uranus had likely been observed before. Records show it appeared in historical star catalogs, but it had always been mistaken for a regular star. Hershel's methodical observation and keen eye finally revealed the truth about this distant ice giant. If you want more details about this astronomical milestone and catalyst other cosmic wonders, please be sure to Oscar to subscribe to the Astronomy Tonight podcast. For additional information, you can check out quietplease.ai. Thank you for listening to another quiet please production.