Herschel, HUR shuhl, Caroline Lucretia (1750-1848), was the first noted woman astronomer. She assisted her brother, the astronomer Sir William Herschel, in his observations and in 1786 independently discovered a comet. She later discovered seven more comets. She also located a number of hazy objects called nebulae, including the companion of the Andromeda nebula. In 1828, the Royal Astronomical Society presented her with a gold medal for her catalog of William Herschel's observations of nebulae and stellar systems.