On this day in 1625 - June 8th - Italian-French astronomer Giovanni Domenico (Jean-Dominique) Cassini was born.

Cassini was one of the most important astronomers of the 17-18th centuries, and was the first of four Cassinis to direct the Paris Observatory. The NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn bore his name because of his study of Saturn, which included the discovery of four of Saturn's moons.

Mona Evans
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