... Hiorter and Celsius note that the polar aurora is accompanied by a disturbance of the magnetic needle. ... Richard Carrington in England observes a violent and rapid eruption near a sunspot; 17 hours later a large magnetic storm begins. ... Using it he observes a solar flare and confirms the connection between flares and magnetic storms. ... Explorer 1, launched by the US January 31, observes the radiation belt; Explorer 3, launched in March, comes up with the first clear evidence for its existence....
... For a timeline of the exploration of the magnetic environment of the Earth, Sun and Planets, see here . ... Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) builds the first astronomical telescope and observes for the first time craters on the Moon, satellites around Jupiter, and the way Venus goes through phases like the Moon (crescent, etc.) ... 17 December--First successful flight by the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. ... 16 March--Goddard launches his first liquid-fuel rocket. ...
The Discovery of the Galilean Satellites . ... Probably the most significent contribution that Galileo Galilei made to science was the discovery of the four satellites around Jupiter that are now named in his honor. Galileo first observed the moons of Jupiter on January 7, 1610 through a homemade telescope. He originally thought he saw three stars near Jupiter, strung out in a line through the planet. ... Galileo's Observations of Jupiter's Moons . ... Jupiter . ...