Grace Weir Exhibition Celebrates Herschels in Bath — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Grace Weir created "The As-Yet Unseen" exhibition at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath, running 5 September to 3 January 2027 — Amy Frost, senior curator at Bath Preservation Trust, said it is the first time contemporary site-specific artworks have been integrated at the museum.
- Weir embroidered a copy of William Herschel's 1785 Milky Way drawing onto an antique linen tablecloth laid over the family dining table, where she said the siblings must have discussed the shape of the galaxy.
- In the basement workshop where William built his telescopes, Weir installed an LED digital counter that records the changing distance of Uranus — the planet William discovered — from Earth.
- "An Imperfect Account", a tribute to Caroline's comet-spotting, features a piece of meteorite and obsidian shaped like one of Caroline Herschel's worry beads.
- Caroline Herschel became the first woman in England paid as an astronomer and discovered eight comets; the exhibition deliberately works to ensure she gets her share of credit for the pair's advances.
- A companion exhibition studying photography by William's son John Herschel also runs at the museum until January.
Why it matters: The exhibition gives Caroline Herschel her overdue recognition as the first woman paid as an astronomer in England and an eight-comet discoverer, while making 18th-century domestic science tangible to modern audiences — Weir said visitors are "losing the art of observing closely" by scrolling through life.
Ask SkimNews
