O. von Guericke, Solar System, 17th century. Diagram of the solar system, published in Experimenta Nova (1672) by the German scientist and inventor Otto von Guericke (1602-1686). The Sun is at center, surrounded by two sunspots, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. A moon is shown orbiting Venus (a theory later discredited), with the Moon orbiting the Earth, four moons around Jupiter, and one around Saturn. The other planets had not yet been discovered. Surrounding the solar system are the "fixed stars", including Lyra Lucida (upper left) and Canis major (lower right).