Timeline: 1501-1900 Date Event 1543 Nicholas Copernicus Revives the idea of Aristarchus; that the Sun is the centre of the solar system. 1550- 1600 Tycho Brahe produced an accurate star catalogue. 1572 Tycho Brahe (Danish astronomer) observes a new star in Cassiopeia and builds an observatory at Hven. 1608 Hans Lippershey (Dutch) invents the telescope. 1609 Johannes Kepler’s (German astronomer and mathematician) first two laws of planetary motion are published. 1647 Johannes Kepler’s (German astronomer and mathematician) first two laws of planetary motion are published. 1668 Issac Newton (English scientist) makes the first reflecting telescope. 1675 Dane Olaus Roemer measures the speed of light. 1705 Edmond Halley (English Astronomer) predicts that the comet that had passed Earth in 1682 will return in 1758. 1781 William Herchel (German-born astronomer) discovers Uranus. 1786 William Herchel gave the first accurate description of shape of our galaxies 1787 William Herschel builds a 1.3 meter reflecting telescope to observe planets and stars 1796 Pierre Laplace (French mathematician and astronomer) elaborates his theory of the origin of the solar system. 1800 Herchel detected the Sun’s infrared radiation. 1801 Giuseppe Piazzi (Italian) discovered Ceres; an asteroid. 1814 Joseph Von Fraunhofer (German optician and physicist) studies absorption lines in the solar spectrum. 1846 J. G.. Galle (German astronomer) discovers Neptune at the Berlin Observatory. 1864 William Huggins (English spectroscopist) publishes the study results of stellar spectra.