Visiting The Herschel Museum of Astronomy

Visit the house where the Planet Uranus was discovered from in 1781. The Herschel Museum of Astronomy is dedicated to the achievements of the Herschels’: distinguished astronomers and talented musicians.

Opening Times

Open 1st February to 31st December 2024 (Tuesday to Sunday)

10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm.

Closed between 1pm to 2pm on Weekends. Closed on 25 & 26 December

 

ADMISSION PRICES on ‘Visiting the Museum’ link below

What's new?

We are thrilled to launch a new guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and cultural app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Along with our sister museum No.1 Royal Crescent, we are currently one of the only museums in Bath to offer guides on the app. The Bloomberg Connects app, available for download from Google Play or the App Store, makes our museum accessible for onsite visits through photo, audio and video features. We also have devices that visitors can borrow to access these new guides.

The guide also includes sections just for children so that they can engage with the museums independently.

Whether you are in the museum or sitting at home, you can explore the collections and engage with our stories.

View the Herschel Museum guide here before you visit!

Giving Caroline Herschel her Voice Back

We are thrilled to reveal the successful acquisition of a handwritten draft of Caroline Herschel’s memoirs. The manuscript is now on display here at the Herschel Museum, which was also Caroline’s former home in Bath. We are hugely grateful to our various public and private funders, including the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), ACE/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Friends of National Libraries, facilitated via Christie’s Private Sales.

Herschel 200

In 2022 we commemorated 200 years since the death of William Herschel with a programme of special exhibitions and events.

Extra Resources

Caroline’s Almanac: Seasonal Guides to the Night Sky

Ever wondered when the best times of year are to see ice clouds, meteor showers, constellations, planets and deep space objects in the night sky? With the help of Bath Astronomers, we’ve created four seasonal guides to show you the most exciting things to look for at different times of the year:

Walking Maps

As part of our Herschel 200 project in 2022, we collaborated on two new Herschel-themed walking maps. Our first new walking map, of Bath, allows you to follow the Herschels’ footsteps around the city, taking in the sites of where the musical and astronomical family of Herschels lived and performed in Bath.

We also worked with the Herschel Society to launch a second downloadable map, for anyone looking to visit UK locations connected to William Herschel. William spent part of his life in Bath, but not all; take a look at this map to see some of the other places that William travelled, worked and lived.

3D Telescope

Bath Spa University Creative Computing Students created a phenomenal interactive 3D model of William Herschel’s telescope! Take a look and click around here.