In message , Mike Dworetsky
writes
"wnowak" wrote in message
...
took place on 18th of February 1930 - almost exactly 75 years ago.

However, the sattelite of PLuto Charon remained not discovered for ...
48 YEARS !
It was ACCIDENTLY discovered on pictures of PLuto in 1978.

The technology needed to discover Charon existed for all 48 years ( from
1930 to 1978 ).

Why it was not discovered ?

It was only when Christy used a relatively large (1.5-m, ISTR) telescope to
get precise astrometry from a high-quality mountaintop site (for prediction
of possible occultations) that he noticed a small bump on one side of the
planet's image. He might have simply dismissed it as a background star or a
flaw, but because it was on several images in different positions he
realised it was a satellite.

Interesting stuff snipped.

Can you imagine the feelings of astronomers if Charon hadn't been
discovered until 1990, and they realised they had missed a series of
eclipses which won't recur for over a century? :-)
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