A distant moon appears near Uranus

He recorded a small object in Gemini, at first thinking it might be a comet.

Later observations showed that Herschel's object was a planet beyond Saturn.

The first modern discovery of a planet began with this observation.

The precise dated sighting enabled other astronomers to establish the object's orbit.

Titania was one of the first two moons of Uranus discovered on this date.

Titania's detection showed that the recently identified planet was orbited by moons.

Herschel's observation of Titania demonstrated that distant satellites could be detected from Earth.

Oberon was observed on the same night as Titania, revealing a second moon of Uranus.

The paired discoveries changed astronomers' picture of the recently found planet.

Oberon and Titania were identified together; modern spacecraft later examined both worlds.