Mathematicians Of The Day

21st March



On this day in 1684, Giovanni Cassini discovered two moons of Saturn: Tethys and Dione. He had previously discovered two other satellites of Saturn: Iapetus (in 1671) and Rhea (in 1672). Christiaan Huygens was the first to discover a moon of Saturn, when he viewed Titan (the largest and easiest to see) in 1655.

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Quotation of the day

From Joseph Fourier
The profound study of nature is the most fertile source of mathematical discoveries.
Quoted in M Kline, Mathematical thought from ancient to modern times (New York, 1972).