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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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. On this day in 1723 – February 17th – German cartographer and astronomer Tobias Mayer was born in Marbach, Württemberg.
Mayer's chart of the full moon was the standard for half a century, but he's best known for his lunar tables. The accuracy of the lunar positions (and the theory behind them) enhanced the lunar distance method for determining longitude at sea. It enabled navigators to find longitude accurately to half a degree. .
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Joined: May 2010
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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. On this day in 1996 – February 17th – NASA's NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft was launched.
The spacecraft did a fly-by of asteroid Mathilde and then went on to study asteroid Eros from orbit. .
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,915 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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. On this day in 2018 – February 17th – it was the 5,000th sol that NASA's Mars rover Opportunity had been on the red planet.
Opportunity's mission was originally planned for 90 sols. A sol is a Martian day, and it's just over 39.5 minutes longer than an Earth day. A severe planet-wide dust storm in the summer of 2018 would finally end Opportunity's amazing mission. .
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Joined: May 2010
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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. On this day in 1677 – February 18th – Jacques Cassini was born at the Paris Observatory.He was the son of the director of the observatory Jean Dominique Cassini, with whom he made numerous astronomical observations. Eventually, he took over his father's duties as head of the Paris Observatory and continued the astronomical work. .
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,915 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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. On this day in 1930 – February 18th – Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto.Pluto was considered to be the ninth planet for many years. It's now the largest known Kuiper Belt object, and is classified as a dwarf planet. .
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,915 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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. On this day in 2021 – February 18th – NASA's Perserverance rover arrived safely on Mars at the place now named the Octavia E. Butler Landing.Perserverance also carried the Mars helicopter Ingenuity. .
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,915 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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. On this day in 1473 – February 19th – Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland.His work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) set out his arguments for a heliocentric (sun-centered) system instead of a geocentric (Earth-centered) system. .
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,915 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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. On this day in 1986 – February 19th – Mir was launched by the Soviet Union.
Mir was the first modular space station, and was assembled in orbit. It was the first continuously inhabited long-term research station in orbit. The failing station was deorbited in March 2001. .
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Joined: May 2010
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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. On this day in 1965 – February 20th – John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.
Glenn's space capsule Friendship 7 took him around the Earth three times before its splashdown. .
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,915 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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. On this day in 1744 – February 21st – Frisian astronomer Eise Eisinga was born in Dronrijp, Netherlands.
He built the Koninklijk Eise Eisinga Planetarium at his house in Franeker, Netherlands. The orrery still exists and is the oldest functioning planetarium in the world. .
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