Galilean satellite
astronomy
Also known as: Galilean moon, Medicean star
Learn about this topic in these articles:
discovery
- In Jupiter: The Galilean satellites
Galileo proposed that the four Jovian moons he discovered in 1610 be named the Medicean stars, in honour of his patron, Cosimo II de’ Medici, but they soon came to be known as the Galilean satellites in honour of their discoverer. Galileo regarded…
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navigation
- In navigation: Almanacs and tables
…the occultation or eclipses of Jupiter’s moons by Jupiter, first seen by Galileo in 1610. (Galileo himself had advocated the preparation of such tables for this purpose, but the method, though sound in principle, could not be made practical aboard sailing ships.) In 1755 Johann Tobias Mayer, a German astronomer,…
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