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Isaac Newton
Laws of motion, law of universal gravitation, basis for classical physics -
William Herschel
He developed a cosmogony—a theory concerning the origin of the universe: the stars originally were scattered throughout infinite space, in which attractive forces gradually organized them into even more fragmented and tightly packed clusters. -
Pierre-simon Laplace
French astronomer Pierre-Simon Laplace publishes his nebular hypothesis, arguing that the planets formed from a mass of incandescent gas -
Percival Lowell
American astronomer who predicted the existence of a planet beyond the orbit of Neptune and initiated the search that ended in the discovery of Pluto. -
Harlow Shapley
He proved that our solar system is only a peripheral member of our galaxy. (it is not known whether this discovery was made in 1911 but it is most likely) -
Henrietta Leavitt
She discovered the relation between the luminosity and the period of Cepheid variable stars -
William de Sitter
He developed theoretical models of the universe based on Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. -
Albert Einstein
Best known for his Special and General Theory of Relativity and the concept of mass-energy equivalence expressed by the famous equation, E = mc2 -
GEORGES LEMAÎTRE
He is usually credited with the first definitive formulation of the idea of an expanding universe and what was to become known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe, which Lemaître himself called his “hypothesis of the primeval atom” or the “Cosmic Egg”. -
Edwin Hubble
He made a startling find - all galaxies seemed to be receding from us with velocities that increased in proportion to their distance from us - a relationship now known as Hubble's Law. -
Fred Hoyle
He is primarily remembered today for his contribution to the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis, and his often controversial stance on other cosmological and scientific matters, such as his rejection of the Big Bang theory in favour of a steady state universe and the panspermia theory of the origin of life on earth -
Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson
They are known for the accidental discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation