In an academic dustup of astronomical importance, a team of Russian and American scientists have replicated an experiment by 18th-century Russian scientific and literary luminary Mikhail Lomonosov in a quest to demolish sceptics' doubts that he discovered Venus' atmosphere. Using a rudimentary telescope from his St. Petersburg observatory in 1761, Lomonosov claimed to have witnessed evidence of Venus' atmosphere in the form of a "luminous arc" jutting out from the planet as it made its rare transit between earth and the sun Read more
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (November 19 [O.S. November 8] 1711 - April 15 [O.S. April 4] 1765) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Lomonosov was the first person to hypothesize the existence of an atmosphere on Venus based on his observation of the transit of Venus of 1761 in a small observatory near his house in Petersburg. Read more