It therefore follows that what we observe is not exactly the
track of one star around the other; it is rather the projection of
that track as seen on the surface of the sky. Now it is remarkable
that this apparent path is still an ellipse. Herschel contrived a
very ingenious and simple method by which he could discover from the
observations the size and position of the ellipse in which the
revolution actually takes place. He showed how, from the study of
the apparent orbit of the star, and from certain measurements which
could easily be effected upon it, the determination of the true
ellipse in which the movement is performed could be arrived at. In
other words, Herschel solved in a beautiful manner the problem of
finding the true orbits of double stars. The importance of this work
may be inferred from the fact that it has served as the basis on
which scores of other investigators have studied the fascinating
subject of the movement of binary stars.
The labours, both in the discovery and measurement of the double
stars, and in the discussion of the observations with the object of
finding the orbits of such stars as are in actual revolution,
received due recognition in yet another gold medal awarded by the
Royal Society.
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