William solved Caroline’s money concerns by persuading King George to give her a personal salary. Finally, in 1787, at the age of thirty-four, Caroline Herschel was financially independent. But she had become emotionally estranged from her brother.

   Fortunately, William’s new wife, Mary, was a warm, friendly woman who must have understood Caroline’s feelings. Her kindness toward Caroline began to mend the rift caused by the marriage. And the birth of baby John helped. Caroline adored her nephew and delighted in helping him grow up to become an astronomer nearly as well known as his father.

Caroline’s Comet When William traveled to Europe, Caroline scanned the night sky alone, sweeping for comets. In 1786, she spotted an object she knew had not been there the night before. “The object of last night is a comet,” she wrote in her diary on August 2, 1786. With that note, she became the first woman in recorded history to discover a comet. She eventually discovered numerous nebulae and a total of nine comets, though not one was named for her.

   When William died in 1822, Caroline returned to Hanover to live with her younger brother Dietrich. She was now the foremost woman astronomer in Europe. Astronomers from all over visited her. The King of Prussia awarded her the Gold Medal of Science. And in 1835, when she was eighty-two, the Royal Astronomical Society of England elected her to honorary membership. Honor and recognition had finally come to Caroline Herschel, along with her independence. The unpaid household servant had become the First Lady of Comets.