OTD In Space – March 25: Christiaan Huygens Discovered Saturn's Moon Titan

Space.com 2023-03-25

Views 30

On March 25, 1655, Saturn's moon Titan was discovered by the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (a name that you've probably heard mispronounced as "Hoy-gens"). [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com](https://www.space.com/39251-on-this-day-in-space.html)

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and it was the first of 62 moons to be found orbiting Saturn. Huygens discovered Titan using a telescope he designed himself. While looking at Saturn's rings, he noticed a bright and tiny dot nearby. He suspected it was a moon, but just to be sure, he kept watching it for a few days. He confirmed that the tiny speck was orbiting Saturn and therefore must have been a moon. More than 300 years later, the European Space Agency sent a spacecraft to Titan and named it after him.

Share This Video


Download

  
Report form