In Rubin’s first year alone, scientists expect the observatory to find 1 million undiscovered asteroids — as many as have been documented in the previous 200 years of human history — as well as thousands of comets and billions of stars and galaxies.
Why stop at 200 years? It's also 300 years and 400 years, or 4 billion years :P
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Why stop at 200 years? It's also 300 years and 400 years, or 4 billion years :P
The first asteroid was discovered in 1801, so going back 300 years and doing the count is pointless.
The term "asteroid" itself was coined in 1802, probably by William Herschel:
<https://www.etymonline.com/word/asteroid>.
There not having been a need for it before.
When did old mate first point a telescope in to the night sky?
Purely guessing based on knowing Galileo eventually did so, maybe around 400 years ago?