Who discovered Saturn? Did the ancients know this planet or is modern science its first analyst? To be honest, in the old times people were better informed on the movement of the stars than we are today, and the presence of Saturn must have been noticed even with primitive telescopes. Most often, Galileo is recognized as the scientist who discovered Saturn in 1610, since in his notes he even gave an explanation for the rings. What he saw resembled some little ears on either side of the planet, and he assumed they were globes. Yet, after a while, the white rings were identified and have hold their position as the most spectacular solar system formation ever since. Click through here for additional information on zodiac sign compatibility .

The globe explanation suggested by Galileo came into discussion because of a confusion he didn’t know how to explain. He was the person who discovered Saturn, but at the same time he thought there were three planets, not one. The mystery of the rings was clarified in 1655 when Christiaan Huygens realized that what Galileo called globes were actually rings, but their structure became apparent twenty years later with the discovery made by Giovanni Domenico Cassini. He was the one to begin the theory that Saturn’s rings were broken or discontinuous, consisting of fragments of different sizes.

Nowadays we are aware that the rings are made of ice, rocks and other interplanetary debris, which only proves that the early theories were right. Who discovered Saturn then? A fair conclusion is that this part of our solar system gradually revealed itself to our eyes, but the discovery is not by far complete. Every year seems to get something new for us to discover: and even if more than forty satellites have been discovered around Saturn, more remain hidden to our eyes for now. Thus the question is not about who discovered Saturn, but what surprises are there in stock for us? You should obtain extra information on zodiac sign compatibility here.

Galileo as the person who discovered Saturn deserves all our respect and consideration, but he is not the only one. The probe which captured the the close image of Saturn for the first time was called Cassini after the astronomer who understood and theorized the pattern of the rings around this planet. Even so, thousands of people unknown to the public are presently involved in space programs; maybe their names are not known to history, but their effort is just as great and important. With every step we take towards knowing our universe, we claim one more victory in the exploration of the unknown.


Tags: , ,
category Uncategorized

Leave a Reply

Spam Protection by WP-SpamFree

© 2009 "White Angles" theme designed by ATILLUS