Who Discovered Saturn – A Quick Glance
Who discovered Saturn? Did the ancients know this planet or is modern science its first analyst? The truth is that in the antiquity people had a far better knowledge of the sky map than we have today, and it is possible that they were familiar with Saturn by means of primitive telescopes. In fact, Galileo is widely known as the scientist who discovered Saturn in 1610, as in his notes he even wrote a theory about the rings. According to his words, there were some little ears on each side of the planet, and he thought 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.
The analysis of the globes suggested by Galileo started from 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 clarification of the rings’ presence was provided in 1655 when Christiaan Huygens made the discovery that what Galileo referred to as 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 launch the theory that Saturn’s rings were not solid or unitary but, consisting of fragments of different sizes.
Presently we are aware that the rings consist of ice, rocks and other interplanetary remains, which only contributes to underlying the truth of the early theories. Who discovered Saturn then? In conclusion, we have to admit that the discovery of the solar system has been in progress since we’ve started looking at the stars, and we are far from getting to the bottom. Every year seems to bring something new for us to explore: thus, more than forty of Saturn’s moons have become known, some of them with potential conditions to sustain life. Thus the question is not about who discovered Saturn, but what is there more to discover?
The tribute paid to Galileo as the person who discovered Saturn is obvious, but he was not the only one. The probe which sent the the close image of Saturn for the first time was called Cassini after the astronomer who revealed and analyzed 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 written in history, but their effort is just as great and relevant. With every step we take towards knowing our universe, we claim one more victory in the exploration of the unknown.
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