Historical Person

Asaph Hall

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📍 United States

Asaph Hall

Gender: Male

Related Events

Asaph Hall discovers Deimos

📅 11 August 1877

Hall spotted the first of Mars's two known moons; the recorded date is 11 August in US local time.

Mars gains a known moon

📅 11 August 1877

Finding Deimos overturned the assumption that Mars had no detectable satellites.

Angelina Hall encourages the continued search

📅 11 August 1877

Accounts of the discovery describe Angelina Hall urging her husband to continue looking for Martian moons.

A faint Martian point proves to be Deimos

📅 11 August 1877

Repeated observing established that the object was associated with Mars.

Asaph Hall discovers Phobos

📅 17 August 1877

Hall found the inner Martian moon days after identifying Deimos.

Mars's second satellite is recorded

📅 17 August 1877

Phobos's appearance completed the discovery of the planet's two familiar moons.

Phobos is found closer to Mars

📅 17 August 1877

The newly discovered moon orbits nearer to Mars than Deimos.

The Martian system becomes a three-body subject

📅 17 August 1877

With both moons identified, astronomers could study their motions around Mars.