Since earliest times, one of the brightest lights in the heavens has been Jupiter, mythical king of the gods and the largest planet in the solar system. It was only natural that people from the dawn of history would be interested in such a planet and indeed, Jupiter was one of the first objects to be observed with the telescope. Even today Jupiter captures the public imagination: a vast gaseous world, home to violent storms, which have raged for centuries.
Since earliest times, one of the brightest lights in the heavens has been Jupiter, mythical king of the gods and the largest planet in the solar syste...
Gazing up at the heavens from our backyards or a nearby field, most of us see an undifferentiated mess of stars--if, that is, we can see anything at all through the glow of light pollution. Today's casual observer knows far less about the sky than did our ancestors, who depended on the sun and the moon to tell them the time and on the stars to guide them through the seas. Nowadays, we don't need the sky, which is good, because we've made it far less accessible, hiding it behind the skyscrapers and the excessive artificial light of our cities.
How We See the Sky gives...
Gazing up at the heavens from our backyards or a nearby field, most of us see an undifferentiated mess of stars--if, that is, we can see anything a...
