![]() ![]() Rømer knew that Io’s orbital period couldn’t be changing just because of the distance between Earth and Jupiter, so he developed a theory: if only the distance between the planets was changing, the image of Io’s eclipse must be taking those 17 extra minutes to reach our eyes on Earth. What he discovered was a 17-minute delay in a usually clockwork eclipse of Io that occurred when Earth and Jupiter were farther away from each other. Because Rømer was observing Io’s orbit throughout the year, he was recording data as Earth and Jupiter moved farther apart and closer to each other as they themselves orbited the Sun. Rømer was so dedicated in his studies that he continued tracking and timing Io’s orbital period for years, discovering a very interesting phenomenon as a result. Io’s orbital period was observed to be 1.769 Earth days. ![]() Rømer spent time observing the movement of Io and Jupiter’s other satellites and compiling timetables of their orbital periods (the time it takes for the moons to revolve around Jupiter once). One of Jupiter’s moons, Io, led the Danish astronomer Ole Rømer to the first measurement of the speed of light in 1676. Jupiter and Io Photo NASA/JPL/Caltech (NASA photo # PIA00378) August 22, 1676: Rømer Waits for the Speed of Light.By observing four of Jupiter’s moons (later named Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto), Galileo provided strong evidence for the Copernican model of the solar system, which places the Sun at the center of the solar system with Earth and the other planets moving around it and smaller celestial bodies like moons revolving around the planets. Galileo’s discovery debunked the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, which assumed Earth as the center of the solar system with all other celestial bodies revolving around it. Having just studied Earth’s moon with his telescope, Galileo had seen movement like this before-those “stars,” he realized, were not stars at all but individual moons that seemed to revolve around Jupiter. He recorded the movements of these four stars for the next few days, discovering that they moved with Jupiter and changed their location around the planet each night. On January 7, 1610, astronomer Galileo Galilei used a telescope to observe Jupiter and found peculiar fixated stars surrounding the planet. So what event in early Jupiter history could possibly compare? Only the discovery that helped prove that Earth is not the center of the universe. The day the human race first laid eyes on Jupiter would probably be the most-fitting first date for this list, but the planet is so big (the largest in our solar system) that humans have been seeing it with their naked eyes likely since the origin of our species. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!ĭiagram from 1771 of astronomy, solar system, phases of moon, orbit, Sun, Earth, and Jupiter's moons Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning. ![]() ![]() 100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. ![]()
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