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Karl Ludwig Harding almost missed it. He was actually mapping background stars t
1804 Event

September 1

Asteroid Juno Discovered: The Third Known Minor Planet

Karl Ludwig Harding almost missed it. He was actually mapping background stars to help track a different asteroid — Vesta — when a point of light moved where it shouldn't. He'd accidentally found Juno, roughly 234 kilometers wide, orbiting in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter. It was only the third asteroid ever discovered. Harding spent months confirming it before telling anyone. The man was looking for something else entirely when the solar system offered him something new.

September 1, 1804

222 years ago

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