Meet 20 great astronomers who made the history books

But Sagan was no slouch scientifically. He predicted that Venus’ temperature should be above the melting point of lead due to a runaway greenhouse effect. He also imagined that Jupiter’s moon Europa might have an underground ocean.

Not quite astronomers

Many of you might be thinking, “OK, Einstein — where’s Einstein?” Although his discoveries revolutionized astronomy, Albert Einstein was a physicist, the most famous of all. Here’s a list of 10 physicists who had a tremendous influence on astronomy, this time in alphabetical order.

Niels Bohr

Oct. 7, 1885 – Nov. 18, 1962

Christian Doppler

Nov. 29, 1803 – March 17, 1853

Albert Einstein

March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955

Carl Friedrich Gauss

April 30, 1777 – Feb. 23, 1855

Stephen Hawking

Jan. 8, 1942 – March 14, 2018

James Clerk Maxwell

June 13, 1831 – Nov. 5, 1879

Isaac Newton

Jan. 4, 1643 – March 31, 1727

Erwin Schrödinger

Aug. 12, 1887 – Jan. 4, 1961

Kip Stephen Thorne

b. June 1, 1940

John Archibald Wheeler

July 9, 1911 – April 13, 2008