1845 ⟶ Early Astrophotography of the Sun

French physicists Jean Foucault and Armand Fizeau take the f...
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Year
1843
1845
1846

☀️ Discovery of Sunspot Cycle

German amateur astronomer Heinrich Schwabe, who had been studying the Sun for the past 17 years, announces his discovery of a regular cycle in sunspot numbers - the first clue to the Sun's internal structure.⟶
Discovery of Sunspot Cycle (1843)
AstronomySolar PhysicsSunspotsHeinrich Schwabe19th CenturySolar CycleAstronomy
GermanyGermany

📸 Early Astrophotography of the Sun

French physicists Jean Foucault and Armand Fizeau take the first detailed photographs of the Sun's surface through a telescope - the birth of scientific astrophotography. Within five years, astronomers produce the first detailed photographs of the Moon. Early film is not sensitive enough to image stars.⟶
Early Astrophotography of the Sun (1845)
AstronomyAstrophotographyJean FoucaultArmand FizeauPhotography19th CenturySunMoon
FranceFrance

🔭 Construction of a Large Reflecting Telescope

Irish astronomer William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse completes the first of the world's great telescopes, with a 180-cm mirror. He uses it to study and draw the structure of nebulas, and within a few months discovers the spiral structure of the Whirlpool Galaxy.⟶
Construction of a Large Reflecting Telescope (1845)
AstronomyTelescopeWilliam ParsonsObservational Astronomy19th CenturyNebulaeWhirlpool Galaxy
IrelandIreland

🪐 Discovery of Neptune

A new planet, Neptune, is identified by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle while searching in the position suggested by Urbain Le Verrier. Le Verrier has calculated the position and size of the planet from the effects of its gravitational pull on the orbit of Uranus. An English mathematician, John Couch Adams, also made a similar calculation a year earlier.⟶
Discovery of Neptune (1846)
AstronomyPlanetary ScienceNeptuneUrbain Le VerrierJohn Couch AdamsJohann Gottfried Galle19th CenturyCelestial MechanicsGravitation
GermanyGermanyFranceFrance