Uploaded June 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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The Herschel family was a dynasty of space "fathers" - but every astronomer has a father of their own!

In this video Mike Merrifield and Meghan Gray (astronomers at the University of Nottingham) discuss the "like-father-like-son" Herschel family, but also discuss heir own science heritage.

William Herschel, John Herschel and, to a lesser extent, Alexander Herschel are some of astronomy's biggest names.

Extra footage about Mike's father Ralph: youtu.be/NNGAbB9ZuVs
Extra footage about Meghan's great-grandfather Robert Pocock: youtu.be/nyFJ5A93NGM
Extra footage of Mike talking about the Herschels: youtu.be/ltRxHYphli0

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Videos by Brady Haran