Giovanni Domenico Cassini

In 1672 AD, Giovanni Domenico Cassini, one of the prominent astronomers of the time, noticed a small companion close to Venus. Cassini decided not to announce his observation, but 14 years later, in 1686 AD, he saw the object again, and then entered it in his journal. The object was estimated to have about 1/4 the diameter of Venus, and it showed the same phase as Venus.

The table of sightings records one sighting by Cassini in Paris in 1672 and one in 1686.