Uranus. (World Atlas) On this day in 1781, Uranus was discovered by German military-band musician William Herschel. Originally thought to be a star by Hipparchos in 128 BCE, Uranus is in fact the third largest planet in our solar system and possessed of its own ring series. In honour of Herschel's groundbreaking discovery that enables…
Tag: Space
11/03 – Laika
A Mongolian Air Mail stamp depicting Laika. (source: Flickr) On this day in 1957 the Prosteyshiy Sputnik 2 (or, Elementary Satellite 2) spacecraft was launched by the USSR. Sputnik 2 sent Laika, a stray dog from Moscow, into outer space. Laika became the first living being to orbit the earth; tragically, the samoyed-husky mix died from exposure to…