Custom Search Sun and the Planets Space History Introduction
From our small world we have gazed upon the cosmic ocean for
untold thousands of years. Ancient astronomers observed points
of light that appeared to move among the stars. They called
these objects planets, meaning wanderers, and named them after
Roman deities -- Jupiter, king of the gods; Mars, the god of
war; Mercury, messenger of the gods; Venus, the god of love and
beauty, and Saturn, father of Jupiter and god of agriculture.
The stargazers also observed comets with sparkling tails, and
meteors or shooting stars apparently falling from the sky.
Science flourished during the European Renaissance. Fundamental
physical laws governing planetary motion were discovered, and
the orbits of the planets around the Sun were calculated. In the
17th century, astronomers pointed a new device called the
telescope at the heavens and made startling discoveries.  But
the years since 1959 have amounted to a golden age of solar
system exploration. Advancements i