 1543: Nicolaus Copernicus publishes his theory of heliocentrism, a model that places the sun at

the center of the known universe with the planets orbiting in circles around it.
 1609, 1619: Johannes Kepler publishes three laws of planetary motion.
 1610: Galileo Galilei publishes "The Starry Messenger," a pamphlet about his telescopic
observations of Earth's moon, the phases of Venus, and four of Jupiter's moons.
 1781: William Herschel extends the solar system by telescopically discovering a new planet, later
named Uranus.
 1846: Urbain Le Verrier, with confirming observations by Johann Galle, further extends the solar
system by predicting (Le Verrier) and observing (Galle) a new planet, Neptune.
 1930: Clyde Tombaugh's photographic search discovers a member of the solar system beyond
Neptune, named Pluto, initially classified as a planet but now considered a dwarf planet.
 1977: Voyagers 1 and 2 launch from Earth, beginning their mission to explore the far reaches of
our solar system.
 2012: Voyager 1 enters interstellar space.