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Nicholas Copernicus identified the concept of a heliocentric solar system, in which the sun, rahter than the earth, is the center of the solar system.
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Tycho Brahe made important contributions by devising the most precise instruments available before the invention of the telescope for observing the heavens. Brahe compiled extensive data on the planet Mars, which would later prove crucial to Kepler in his formulation of the laws of planetary motion because it would be sufficiently precise to demonstrate that the orbit of Mars was not a circle but an ellipse. He made alot of important observations to the devolopment of modern astronomy.
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Galileo made pioneering observations that laid the foundation for modern physics and astronomy. He also constructed a telescope and supported the Copernican theory, which supports a sun-centered solar system.
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Johannes Kepler provided perpetual tables for calculating planetary positions for any past or future date. Kepler used the tables to predict a pair of transits by Mercury and Venus of the Sun, although he did not live to witness the events. He is best known for the laws of planetary motion.
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Cassini is known for his work in the fields of astronomy and engineering. Cassini most notably discovered four satellites of the planet Saturn and noted the division of the rings of Saturn (with the Cassini Division becoming named after him).
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Newton developed the principles of modern physics. He discovered gravitational force and established the three Universal Laws of Motion. He came up with the Binomial Theorem and was one of the two creators of calculus. These discoveries represented a quantum leap in the fields of math and science allowing for calculations that more accurately modeled the behavior of the universe than ever before.
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Edmond Halley was an English scientist who is best known for predicting the orbit of the comet that was later named after him. He also made significant discoveries in the fields of geophysics, mathematics, meteorology and physics.
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Charles Messier was a French astronomer most notable for publishing an astronomical catalogue consisting of nebulae and star clusters that came to be known as the 110 "Messier objects"
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Sir William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus and several moons around other gas giants. In the course of his studies of the night sky, he also compiled a catalog of 2,500 celestial objects that is still in use today.
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Annie Jump Cannon was a pioneering astronomer responsible for the classification of hundreds of thousands of stars. She discovered hundreds of variable stars and devised a unique system of classification that became the universal standard, in which she listed hundreds of thousands of stars.
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Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity. General relativity theory predicted a measurable deflection of light around the sun when a planet or another sun oribited near the sun. He is considered the most influentual physicist of the 20th century.
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Hubble revolutionized the field of astrophysics. His research helped prove that the universe is expanding, and he created a classification system for galaxies that has been used for several decades.
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Frank Drake conducted the first modern SETI experiment in 1960,
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Carl Sagans contributions were central to the discovery of the high surface temperatures of Venus. However, he is best known for his contributions to the scientific research of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation.
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Hawking was the first to set forth a cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.
