1857
American astronomer James Keeler is born in Illinois. In his lifetime, Keeler would study at Johns Hopkins, write in science journals, and manage different observatories, where he imaged 120,000 galaxies with a Crossley 36-inch telescope, proving that the most common type of galaxy is the spiral. Among his other achievements include his verification that the rings of Saturn are composed of tiny particles rather than being solid, and his measurement of the rate at which the Orion Nebula expands in the Milky Way Galaxy.
1984
After its first launch on August 30th, the space shuttle Discovery returns to the Kennedy Space Center.
For a complete list of today’s Space History, see http://www.astronautix.com/s/september10.html
I always thought that Saturn's rings were solid. I just learned a new fact Thank you North Star Gazer !
ReplyDelete