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Pre-Modern Astronomy vs Habitable Venus
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Looking at the History of Mars observation, if Venus had remained habitable per discussion in this thread, I can make some guesses about when Venus's albedo features (ice caps, seas) become detectable. However, a couple of questions remain:

1. Assuming Venus has plot-convenient inhabitants with 17th-19th Century technology, they'll have some cities that are lit up at night. When would human astronomers be able to reliably detect pre-electric city lighting? To put it another way, would 19th Century human astronomers be able to detect Venus's equivalent of 19th Century London and its gas- and oil lamps? Would 18th Century human astronomers be able to spot London?

2. If Venus had an inclination-stabilizing moon (call it "Cupid") that was half Luna's diameter but closer to Venus (deeper inside its Hill Sphere so the sun doesn't cause problems for Cupid), would it be naked-eye visible from Earth in ancient times? Or would a telescope be required to spot it?
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
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"Everbody's always in favor of saving Hitler's brain, but when you put it in the body of a great white shark, oh, suddenly you've gone too far." -- Professor Farnsworth, Futurama
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Pre-Modern Astronomy vs Habitable Venus - by Cray - 05-27-2020, 10:57 PM

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