| 1543 |
Copernicus published his treatise on the solar system, propounding the view that the planets, including earth, circled the sun. It was banned by the Roman Catholic Church. |
| 1609 |
Kepler defined 2 of his planetary laws of motion, on which much of Newton's work later depended. |
| 1610 |
Galileo discovered Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, and sunspots. |
| 1616 |
Galileo was banned by the church from further scientific work. |
| 1619? |
Birth of Jeremiah Horrocks. |
| 1632 |
Horrocks studied at Cambridge until 1635. |
| 1633 |
Galileo taken before the Inquisition for not obeying the decree of 1616. |
| 1635 |
Horrocks met William Crabtree. |
| 1639 |
Horrocks moved to Hoole as curate, and predicted and observed the transit of Venus. |
| 1641 |
Death of Horrocks on 3rd January. |
| 1642 |
Birth of Isaac Newton. |
| 1660 |
The Royal Society founded. |
| 1662 |
Publication of Horrocks' Venus in sole visa. |
| 1678 |
Publication of his papers by John Wallis as Opera posthuma. |
| 1682 |
Halley observed, and predicted future return of, a comet. |
| 1761 |
Mikhail Lomonosov discovered that Venus has an atmosphere. |
| 1768 |
Captain James Cook sailed to Tahiti in the Endeavour. |
