I don't think there are enough posts on this topic compared to the amount of attention it's getting. The story of how humanity discovered and investigated the planets of our solar system is a tale of curiosity, ingenuity, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge. It begins in ancient times when the planets were mere points of light in the sky, indistinguishable from stars except for their peculiar motion. The word “planet” comes from the Greek term “planētēs,” meaning “wanderer,” reflecting their movement across the sky relative to the fixed stars. The earliest civilizations, including the Babylonians, Greeks, and Chinese, meticulously observed the night sky. They noticed that five stars did not stay put but wandered through the constellations: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. These became known as the classical planets, and their movements were recorded with great precision. The Greeks, most notably Ptolemy, developed the geocentric model of the universe, placing Earth at the center with the planets and stars orbiting around it in perfect circles. This model was widely accepted for over a millennium until the Renaissance period, which brought a revolutionary change in our understanding of the cosmos. In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium,” proposing a heliocentric model with the Sun at the center of the universe. This radical idea was refined by Johannes Kepler, who introduced the concept of elliptical orbits, explaining the varying speeds of the planets as seen from Earth. The invention of the telescope by Hans Lippershey, and its subsequent refinement and use by Galileo Galilei, marked a significant leap in planetary investigation. In 1610, Galileo pointed his telescope towards Jupiter and discovered four moons orbiting the giant planet, proving that not everything revolved around the Earth. This was a pivotal moment, supporting the Copernican model and setting the stage for modern astronomy. Wow that is a lot. Let's take a break and have some chocolate chip cookies! start by preheating your oven to a moderate temperature. In a bowl, whisk together flour with baking soda and salt. In a separate large bowl, cream together softened butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract for flavor, followed by eggs one at a time, ensuring each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined, taking care not to overmix. Fold in a generous amount of chocolate chips into the dough. Form the dough into small mounds and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them apart to allow for spreading. Bake the cookies until they are golden around the edges but still soft in the center. Remove from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve the cookies warm or at room temperature, accompanied by a glass of milk or as a standalone treat. Ok, I feel refreshed, let's get back to planets! The Enlightenment era saw great strides in astronomy. Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of motion and universal gravitation provided the mathematical framework to predict planetary motions with remarkable accuracy. The discovery of Uranus by William Herschel in 1781, followed by Neptune in 1846, expanded our solar system beyond the classical planets and showcased the power of predictive astronomy. The advent of the space age in the mid-20th century transformed planetary investigation. The launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in 1957 ignited a race to explore space. NASA’s Mariner, Pioneer, and Voyager programs sent robotic probes to fly by and photograph the planets, providing unprecedented detail and revealing moons, rings, and surface features never before seen. The Apollo program’s success in landing humans on the Moon in 1969 was a monumental achievement. It not only demonstrated the capability of human spaceflight but also spurred further exploration of other planets. Robotic landers and rovers, such as Viking on Mars and the more recent Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, have analyzed soil samples and searched for signs of past or present life. Orbiters like Galileo and Cassini have spent years studying Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, providing insights into their atmospheres, magnetospheres, and diverse moons. Atmospheric probes like the Huygens lander, which descended onto Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, have directly sampled extraterrestrial atmospheres and surfaces. Today, with advanced telescopes like Hubble and the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, we can peer deeper into space and time, examining planets around other stars—exoplanets. Missions like TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) are discovering new worlds, expanding our understanding of planet formation and the potential for life elsewhere in the universe. The investigation of planets in our solar system is a testament to human curiosity and our desire to understand our place in the universe. From ancient astronomers charting the heavens to modern scientists analyzing data from distant worlds, the quest to explore and understand our planetary neighbors continues to drive scientific discovery and inspire future generations of explorers.

I think they are real but probably vary in size from a ping pong ball to a basketball. And even if they were big the fact that no one can live on them is just further proof the Earth is flat.

Let's follow the truth.

Wherever the mangoes, we should follow...

They're too stuck on Uranus