The Discovery of Planets in Our Solar System

Who found Mars, Gliese, Uranus, and Jupiter?

Mars: Christian Huygens
Gliese: Steven S. Vogt
Uranus: William Herschel
Jupiter: Galileo

Final Answer:

Planets such as Uranus and Neptune were discovered due to their influence on other planets' orbits. Uranus was found by William Herschel, while Neptune's discovery is credited to mathematicians Adams and Le Verrier with the aid of astronomer Galle. Jupiter is known since antiquity, and Pluto's discovery was a result of searching for a predicted 'Planet X'.

Explanation:

The discovery of the planets in our solar system has been a significant achievement in astronomical history. For instance, Uranus was discovered by William Herschel, a German-born British astronomer, in 1781. Originally, Herschel wanted to name the planet Georgium Sidus in honor of King George III, but it was ultimately named Uranus to align with the tradition of naming planets after Greek and Roman mythology.

When it comes to Neptune, credit for its discovery is shared by mathematicians John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier. After calculations indicated that irregularities in Uranus's orbit suggested the presence of another planet, it was Le Verrier who, in 1846, suggested where to look for this new planet. Johann Galle then observed Neptune at the Berlin Observatory on the night of September 23, 1846, within one degree of Le Verrier's predicted position, greatly validating Newton's laws of gravitation.

Jupiter, being one of the brightest objects in the night sky, has been known since ancient times and therefore does not have a 'discoverer' in the traditional sense. Subsequently, spacecraft such as Galileo, Cassini, and Juno have explored Jupiter further, enhancing our understanding of this giant planet. As for Pluto, astronomers like Percival Lowell began searching for a 'Planet X' to explain perturbations in the orbit of Uranus. It was eventually discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory.