Table of Contents
When was the moon discovered on other planets?
That all changed in 1610 when Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei discovered the four largest moons of the planet Jupiter and, later in the 1600s, other European astronomers discovered five moons surrounding Saturn.
Who was the first to discover moons around another planet?
astronomer Galileo Galilei
On January 7, 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei discovered, using a homemade telescope, four moons orbiting the planet Jupiter.
What was the first planet discovered other than Earth?
Five planets have been known since ancient times — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The first new planet discovered was Uranus. It was discovered by the English astronomer Sir William Herschel in 1781.
Which planet has the oldest moon?
Callisto (moon)
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Average orbital speed | 8.204 km/s |
| Inclination | 2.017° (to the ecliptic) 0.192° (to local Laplace planes) |
| Satellite of | Jupiter |
| Group | Galilean moon |
What was the last planet to be discovered?
Pluto
Pluto was the last planet discovered, although that distinction returned to Neptune when Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. Pluto was discovered in 1930 by the astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. Many people had been searching for a ninth planet – the elusive planet X – for quite a while.
Which two planets do not have moons?
Of the terrestrial (rocky) planets of the inner solar system, neither Mercury nor Venus have any moons at all, Earth has one and Mars has its two small moons. In the outer solar system, the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn and the ice giants Uranus and Neptune have dozens of moons.
Who first discovered the moon?
Galileo Galilei
Galileo’s discovery When the moon was named, people only knew about our moon. That all changed in 1610 when an Italian astronomer called Galileo Galilei discovered what we now know are the four largest moons of Jupiter.