-
Feb 25, 1530
The Planets Revolve Around the Sun
Who Discovered the Earth Moves Around the Sun? Nicolaus Copernicus was credited for the official discovery and publication of the major work 'De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium' (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres). This is the central theory that states the Earth rotates daily on its axis and revolves yearly around the sun. -
The First Patent Telescope
Who Invented the Telescope? The first person to apply for a patent for a telescope was a Dutch eyeglass maker named Hans Lippershey. Lippershey tried to lay claim on a device with three-times magnification. His telescope had a concave eyepiece aligned with a convex objective lens. -
Discovery of First Planet
Star Child Only 3 of the 9 planets in our solar system have official "discoveries" and "times of discovery." The reason is simple - all of the other planets were easily seen by the unaided eye. First, Uranus was discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781. Herschel was probably the most famous astronomer of the 18th century. He was the first astronomer to correctly describe the spiral structure of the Milky Way Galaxy. -
Discovery of Neptune
Star Child Neptune was discovered by John Couch Adams in 1846. Adams was an English astronomer and mathematician who, at the age of 24, was the first person to predict the position of a planetary mass beyond Uranus. Later German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle confirmed the existence of Neptune based on previous calculations by the French mathematician Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier. -
Pluto: Small, but Mighty
Star Child Pluto was discovered by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. It was believed that such a planet had to exist in order to explain some odd things happening in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. Pluto after some more evalution was identified as a dwarf planet from its size and distance from the sun. -
The Moon Landing
One Giant Leap for Mankind
Not only were people interested in discovering other planets, but the people of Earth were excited to get to their moon. On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon, and the first man to set foot on the moon was Neil Armstrong. After that travel to the moon continue with 10 more astronauts following in his footsteps. -
