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Aryabhata accurately computes the earth's circumfrence, eclipses and length around the sun.
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Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī discovers the distance between the Earth and Sun.
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Indian Mathmatician Bhāskara II discovers the longtiude and latitude of the planets, eclipses and sun sets/rises.
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Galileo Galilei discovers Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, and Io, he also see's saturn's rings however he does not recognize fully understand what they are.
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Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovers Jupiters Great Red Spot, which is a huge storm that seems to be neverending.
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Giovanni Domenico Cassini determines the rotation speed of Mars, Jupiter, and Venus
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Edward Halley publicly predicts the return of Halley's Comet and its expected path.
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Johann Palitzsch watches the return of Halley's comet. The interference of Jupiter's orbit had slowed down the return by 618 days. Parisian astronomer La Caille suggests it should be named Halley's comet, due to his remarkable prediction.
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Pierre Laplace completes his study of gravitation, the solar system, tides, and the precession of the equinoxes.
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Johann Galle discovers Neptune
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Father Angelo Secchi determines that the sun is a star
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American launch of a camera-equipped V-2 rocket provides the first image of the Earth from space
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Luna 3 sends the first images of the far side of the Moon
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The Mariner 2 Venus flyby performs the first closeup observations of another planet
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The Mariner 4 spacecraft provides the first detailed images of the surface of Mars
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First ever moon landing
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The Mariner 9 Mars spacecraft becomes the first to successfully orbit another planet.
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The Hubble Space Telescope is launched
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The Galileo spacecraft becomes the first to orbit Jupiter.
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The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft becomes the first to orbit Saturn
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The Chinese record the earliest known meteor shower.