CHAPTER IV. 



THE MOON. 



IT is somewhat remarkable that the one celestial 

 body which Herschel neglected was our satellite, 

 the Moon; and it is also remarkable that the 

 Moon was for many years the chief object of 

 study of his contemporary astronomer, Johann 

 Hieronymus Schroter (1745-1816). Born at 

 Erfurt, near Hanover, on August 30, 1745, 

 Johann Hieronymus Schroter was originally 

 intended for the study of law, for which he 

 was sent to the University of Gottingen. At 

 the same time he studied mathematics, and 

 particularly astronomy, under the mathematician, 

 Kaestner of Gottingen. Deeply interested in 

 music, he became acquainted with the Herschel 

 family, and, inspired by William Herschel's ex- 

 ample, determined to study the heavens. In 

 1779 he became the possessor of a small achro- 

 matic refractor, and commenced to observe the 

 Sun and Moon. In 1778 he entered the legal 



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