Marie Eksteen's List: Space discovery 1500-1900

• A.D. Poland Copernicus publishes his heliocentric theory of the Universe.  1572 A.D. Denmark Tycho Brahe discovers a supernova in constellation of Cassiopeia.  1582 A.D. Italy Pope Gregory XIII introduces the Gregorian calendar.  1603 A.D. Germany Johann Bayer introduces Bayer designation of stars, assigning Greek letters to stars, still in use today.  1608 A.D. Netherlands Hans Lippershey, a Dutch spectacles maker invents the telescope.  1609 A.D. Italy Galileo uses telescope for astronomical purposes. He discovers 4 Jovian moons, the Moon's craters and the Milky Way galaxy.  1609 A.D. Germany Kepler's First and Second Laws of Planetary Motions are announced.  1619 A.D. Germany The Third Law of Planetary Motion is announced by Kepler in his work Harmonice Mundi (Harmony of the World).  1656 A.D. Netherlands Christian Huygens discovers Saturn's rings and Titan, the fourth satellite of Saturn.  1659 A.D. Netherlands Huygens notes markings on Mars.  1666 A.D. Italy Martian polar ice caps are noted by Cassini.  1668 A.D. England The first reflecting telescope was built by Newton.  1669 A.D. Italy Geminiano Montanari discovers the star Algol is not steady in brightness, thus recognizing the first variable star.
• .D. France While in Paris, Danish astronomer Ole Romer measures the speed of light.  1675 A.D. France Cassini discovers that Saturn's rings are split into two parts, so that today the gap is called the "Cassini Division".  1687 A.D. England Newton publishes his theory of universal gravitation in the work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. This is seen to be the start of Modern Astronomy.  1705 A.D. England Halley correctly predicts the return of a comet (Halley's comet) in 1758.  1758 A.D. Germany Johann Palitzsch observes Halley's comet as predicted by Halley in 1705.  1781 A.D. England The discovery of Uranus by Herschel  1781 A.D. France Messier discovers galaxies, nebula and star clusters while looking for comets. He compiles a catalogue of these objects (Messier objects).  1801 A.D. Italy Piazzi discovers first asteroid, Ceres.  1842 A.D. Austria Discovery of the 'Doppler Effect' by Austrian physicist and mathematician, Christian Doppler.  1843 A.D. Germany Samuel Heinrich Schwabe describes the sunspot cycle.  1846 A.D. Germany Johann Galle observes and discovers Neptune. His observations were prompted by mathematical calculations by French astronomer Joseph Leverrier and English astronomer John Couch Adams.
• A.D. Russia Rocket pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovskii was born. Tsiolkovskii's work in early rocketry earned him the title of "Father of Astronautics". Many of his proposals concerning rocketry were later put into use including: use of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as rocket fuel and multi-stage rocket design for achieving Earth orbit or interplanetary flight.  1860-63 A.D. England The beginning of spectral analysis of stars by Sir William Huggins  1868 A.D. England Jansen and Lockyer observe solar prominences.  1872 A.D. U.S.A. Henry Draper takes a photograph of the stellar spectrum of Vega. This is the first of its kind.  1877 A.D. U.S.A. Asaph Hall discovers Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars.  1877 A.D. Italy Schiaparelli observes the canals on Mars.  1878 A.D. Jupiter The Great Red Spot on Jupiter becomes prominent.  1905 A.D. California Mount Wilson Observatory was established for study of the Sun.  1905 A.D. Germany Albert Einstein introduces special Theory of Relativity in paper Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies.  1908 A.D. Denmark Hertzsprung describes giant and dwarf stars.

1 more annotation...

• July 5, 1687

   

  Publication of Principia

   

  The English astronomer Sir Isaac Newton publishes the Philosophae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. This three-volume work outlines Newton's three laws of motion as well as his law of universal gravitation and a derivation of Kepler's laws for the motion of the planets. The Principia is considered by many to be one of the most important scientific works ever written.

   

   

     

   

   

    <!--------End Year Box--------->   

  <!--------Begin Year Box---------> 

   

   

  1810

   

   

   

    

  <!--------Begin Info Box---------> 

  

   

   

  1813

   

  First Exposition of Rocket Mechanics

   

  The British mathematician William Moore publishes Treatise on the Motion of Rockets. This work features the first exposition of rocket mechanics based on Newton's third law of motion.

•  Nasir  al-Din al-Tusi establishes an observatory in Maragha, Persia. 

  1543 

    Copernicus  revives Aristarchus’ ideas (c. 300 BC). 

  1572 

    Tycho Brahe sees a supernova and proves that it is just  as far away as the other stars.
•   Tycho Brahe begins his important observations from the island of Hven, where he  formulates his own astronomical system (click  here). The English astronomer Thomas Digges presents  the idea that the stars are at very different and very large distances from the  Earth. He has a description of a device that indicates that he constructed a  telescope (called PERSPECTIVE GLASS from the Latin perspicere, to see through).  It could also have been his father Leonard who made the invention in the 1550s.

  1582 

    Pope Gregory XIII introduces his calendar, which we  still use (it was first introduced in Denmark in 1700).  

  1596 

    Fabricius discovers the variable star Mira in the Whale. 

  1603 

    Bayer publishes  his star chart. He uses Greek letters to indicate the luminosity  of the stars. 

  1604 

    Kepler sees a supernova.
• lescope is invented. It is developed by Galileo from 1609. 

  1611 

    The first observations of sunspots with a telescope. However, they were also  described in ancient Chinese sources. 

  1619 

    Kepler’s  laws of planetary motion are published. 

  1633  

    Galileo’s ideas are condemned by the Catholic Church. The world’s first State  observatory is established in Leiden, Holland. 

  1642 

   The  world’s second State observatory is established in Rundetaarn, Denmark.
• Helvelius publishes the first map of the Moon. 

  1668 

    Newton builds the first reflecting telescope. 

  1671 

    The Paris observatory is established. 

  1675 

    The Royal Greenwich Observatory is established in London.
• mer publishes his discovery that light has a finite speed. He uses the delay in lunar  eclipses in connection with Jupiter to measure the speed. 

  1687 

    Newton’s "Principia" is published. It contains his theory of gravity. 

  1705 

    Halley predicts, based on Newton’s theory, that a comet that was seen in 1682  will pass the Earth again in 1758. It was subsequently named after him. 

  1725 

    Flamsteed publishes his star  catalogue. 

  1728 

   Halley  discovers that some stars have moved since antiquity. This is the proper motion  of the stars. 

  1781 

   Herschel  discovers the planet Uranus.  Messier’s catalogue of nebulas  is
• 1796 

    Laplace publishes his theory of the origin of the solar system. 

  1801 

    Piazzi discovers the first asteroid, Ceres. 

  1814 

    Fraunhofer finds dark lines in the  Sun’s spectrum.  

  1838  

    The first measurement of the distance to a star is made by  Bessel.
•   Lord Rosse discovers the spiral structure of the galaxies. 

  1846 

   Galle  discovers the planet Neptune. 

  1859 

    Kirchhoff explains the dark lines in the Sun’s spectrum. 

  1887 

    The first photographs of the sky. 

  1889 

    The first photographs of the Milky Way.

5 more annotations...

• 1500s 
   
  • (1513) Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon landed near (present day) St. Augustine, named it La Florida, and claimed it for Spain
   
  • (1539) Hernando de Soto explored central and northern Florida
   
  • (1565) Spanish established St. Augustine, first permanent European settlement
   
  • (1586) British seafarer, Sir Francis Drake, conquered and burned St. Augustine
   
    1700s 
   
  • (1763) Britain gained control in exchange for Havana, Cuba
   
  • (1781) Spanish captured Pens
• • (1783) Spanish troops repossessed Florida
   
  • (1785-1795) Spain relinquished St. Augustine and Pensacola to England
   
    1800s 
   
  • (1803) United States claimed West Florida and Pensacola as part of Louisiana Purchase
   
  • (1813) Andrew Jackson captured Pensacola
   
  • (1816) Cannon ball exploded in abandoned British fort, killed almost 300 freed and runaway slaves
   
  • (1818) General Jackson fought Seminole Indians
   
  • (1821) General Jackson established new U. S. territorial government
• • (1822) Unified government of Florida established; William Duval first Territorial Governor
   
  • (1830-1840) Population boomed, settlers arrived
   
  • (1834-1837) First railroads began operation; second Seminole War occurred, Major Francis Dade and two U S Army troops ambushed and massacred
   
  • (1837) General Zachary Taylor commanded forces against Seminoles at Lake Okeechobee
   
  • (1842) Second Seminole War ended with many Indians dead, the rest forced out of Florida
   
  • (1845) Florida became 27th state
   
  • (1851) Dr. John Gorrie patented ice making process
   
  • (1855-1858) Third Seminole War occurred
   
  • (1861-1865) Civil War began; Florida seceded from Union, joined Confederacy
   
  • (1868) Florida readmitted to Union
   
  • (1878) Tourism began at Silver Spring, Hullam Jones invented glass-bottom boat
   
  • (1881) Phosphate discovered in Peace River Valley
   
  • (1888) Yellow fever epidemic struck, 40% of Jacksonville population fled, over 400 died
   
  • (1894-1899) Frosts killed many citrus trees
   
  • (1898) Embarkation camps created at Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville due to Spanish-American War

1 more annotation...