What was Herschel's central idea about star clusters?
Through my extensive surveys, I came to understand that star clusters and nebulae were not merely amorphous patches of light, but contained structures of immense scale. I developed a method, which I called 'star gauging,' to estimate the density of stars in different directions. By counting stars visible in small fields of view, I deduced that our Sun was likely located within a vast collection of stars, the 'Sidereal System,' and that other such systems existed, some perhaps in different directions, contributing to the grand architecture of the universe.
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