This is a story to be told for decades. I bet you are all wondering what happened and we are more than ready to tell you all the juicy details. It is a very funny story as a whole but it is also a reflection of the mistakes that tend to happen in any field and that we should try not to condemn as much as we may feel we want to.
What happened?
Well, Peter Dunsby, upon looking through the observatory at the University of Cape Town found out a new, red like star on the sky. He knew he was on the path of a new discovery since that planet was not there two weeks ago.
Sadly for him, it looks like his award was swept from under his feet a couple hundred years ago. Did he actually find a new star in our galaxy? Not exactly new, per say. Dunsby found Mars. To be honest, no one really knows who discovered Mars but most evidence points to Galileo Galilei.
To add salt to the burn in the most professional way possible, the Astronomer’s Telegram also issued a small statement on this issue. Dunsby stated that he saw this bright object between the Lagoon and Trifid nebulas, both of which are part of the constellation Sagittarius. The Telegram, after almost 40 minutes, responded by saying that the planet that he saw has been identified as being Mars. They also apologized for the report and for the confusion that was caused.
On the bright side, it looks like people at the Astronomer’s Telegram have a very fine sense of humor since they wanted to congratulate Peter Dunsby on his discovery of Mars. We admit that this news brought a smile to our faces, showing how a strict scientific field can get a small, innocent laugh out of a minor human mistake.
