Space Science after Galileo
Moon and Planets
In the late 20th century, spaceships and space probes began to reach the Moon and other planets of the solar system. Some of these voyagers from Earth carried the names of space scientists after Galileo. Cassini and Huygens, architects of planetary science, provided the first sketches of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Others investigated the Earth in relation to the cosmos, discerned additional planetary satellites, and discovered unexpected solar system objects unknown to the ancients.
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A Synopsis of Cometary Astronomy, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Halley, Edmond (1705) |
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The System of Saturn Huygens, Christiaan (1659) In this work, Huygens resolved the enigma of Saturn’s changing telescopic appearance by proposing that a ring surrounds Saturn at an angle, varying in visibility from the Earth. |
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The Celestial Worlds Discover'd, or, Conjectures concerning the Inhabitants, Plants and Productions of the Worlds in the Planets Huygens, Christiaan (1698) In this translation of Huygens’ Kosmotheoros, Huygens took up questions of the habitability of other planets and the existence of extraterrestrial life. These topics were also considered by Kepler, Wilkins and other popular writers. |
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Observations in Bologna of the rotation of Mars around its axis Cassini, Giovanni Domenico (1666) These 3 broadsides, issued approximately 2 weeks apart, contain the first detailed illustrations of Mars. |
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Studies on Glaciers Agassiz, Louis (1840) In 1840, Agassiz introduced a radical element of contingency into geohistory, contrary to then widespread assumptions of uninterrupted gradual cooling. |
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Revolutions of the Sea Adhémar, Joseph Alphonse (1842) Accepting Agassiz’ theory of the Ice Age, Adhémar proposed that an astronomical cycle – the precession of the equinoxes – affects the melting of polar ice caps and thereby may lead to a catastrophic rise in sea level around the globe. |
