What gave us close up views of the gas giants and showed us their moons?

1 Answer
Jun 11, 2016

The telescope, of course!

Explanation:

Two of the earliest telescopic discoveries, by Galileo:

  • Jupiter's large moons, still collectively called the "Galilean moons".

  • Our own Moon is rough, showing a jagged boundary between lighted and dark sides when viewed from Earth.

Later on, use of the telescope revealed that Uranus is a planet and empirically verified the presence of Neptune.