Astronomy In Victorian Era Essay

The Victorian Era, which took place in London from 1830 through 1901, was an era characterized by energy and high moral purpose. During this time period, Queen Victoria ruled, setting high standards for what women should look like and how they should act. Throughout the time period, there were many advances in society. Science was developing, which created an issue for some, considering religion was still a very large part of society. Science was forcing people to either stick to what they were used to, or believe in these new scientific findings. Due to the way the time period was, propriety was important. Men and women were expected to dress and act maturely and properly, so when the idea of astronomy in particular was brought about, people were almost scared of it. Most denied affiliation with it, but a select few wealthy people decided to start up astronomy in London, as it was not

People began to develop an interest in it, and more and more technology involving telescopes particularly were built. With “new telescope technology and deeper observations” (Joshi), people were able to make stronger theories about space, and many were formed, but the theory of The Nebular Hypothesis is the most widely known to come from the Victorian Era. The Nebular Hypothesis, by William Whewell, is a combination of two preexisting theories. It brought together “the theory for the origins of the solar system by Pierre-Simon Laplace” (Wyhe) and “William Herschel’s findings that nebulae might be new nascent solar systems” (Joshi). The apparent swirling motions “in the heavens were composed of gas or dust condensing into a star” (Wyhe), and debris at the outer edge of the nebulas would end up becoming planets. This hypothesis is used today to represent nebulas as we know