Events in History Relating to Astronomy
April 30, 1006
Supernova SN 1006, the brightest supernova in recorded history, appears in the constellation Lupus.
June 18, 1178
Five Canterbury monks see what is possibly the Giordano Bruno crater being formed. It is believed that the current oscillations of the moon's distance from the earth (on the order of metres) are a result of this collision.
November 7, 1492
The Ensisheim Meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, strikes the earth around noon in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France.
October 9, 1604
Supernova 1604, the most recent supernova to be observed in the Milky Way.
October 17, 1604
Kepler's Star: German astronomer Johannes Kepler observes that an exceptionally bright star had suddenly appeared in the constellation. Ophiuchus, which turned out to be the last supernova to have been observed in our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
January 7, 1610
Galileo Galilei observes the four largest moons of Jupiter for the first time. He named them and in turn the four are called the Galilean moons.
December 28, 1612
Galileo Galilei becomes the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star.
June 22, 1633
The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe.
September 20, 1633
Galileo Galilei is tried before the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for teaching that the Earth orbits the Sun.
November 24, 1639
Jeremiah Horrocks observes the transit of Venus, an event he had predicted.
March 25, 1655
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christian Huygens.
March 4, 1675
John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
July 11, 1735
Mathematical calculations suggest that it is on this day that dwarf planet Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last time before 1979.
November 5, 1743
Coordinated scientific observations of the transit of Mercury are organized by Joseph-Nicolas Delisle.
June 4, 1769
A transit of Venus is followed five hours later by a total solar eclipse, the shortest such interval in history.
January 11, 1787
William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus.
March 28, 1802
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man.
September 1, 1804
Juno, one of the largest main belt asteroids, is discovered by German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding.
May 15, 1836
Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse.
August 14, 1846
The Cape Girardeau meteorite, a 2.3 kg chondrite-type meteorite strikes near the town of Cape Girardeau in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.
July 29, 1851
Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
August 28, 1859
A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe, and even as far afield as Japan.
January 2, 1860
The discovery of the planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the Académie des Sciences in Paris.
May 14, 1861
The Canellas meteorite, an 859-gram chondrite-type meteorite, strikes the earth near Barcelona, Spain.
January 31, 1862
Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an eighteen inch telescope at Northwestern University.
August 18, 1868
French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen discovers helium.
November 19, 1881
A meteorite lands near the village of Grossliebenthal, southwest of Odessa, Ukraine.
January 3, 1888
The refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory, measuring 91 cm in diameter, is used for the first time. It was the largest telescope in the world at the time.
October 13, 1892
Edward Emerson Barnard discovers D/1892 T1, the first comet discovered by photographic means, on the night of October 13-14.
May 18, 1910
The Earth passes through the tail of Comet Halley.
June 16, 1911
A 772 gram stony meteorite strikes the earth near Kilbourn, Columbia County, Wisconsin damaging a barn.
March 19, 1915
Pluto is photographed for the first time but is not recognized as a planet.
January 1, 1925
The American astronomer Edwin Hubble announces the discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way.
February 18, 1930
While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.
June 24, 1938
Pieces of a meteor, estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded, land near Chicora, Pennsylvania.
March 16, 1942
The first V-2 rocket test launch. It explodes at lift-off.
May 10, 1946
First successful launch of a V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.
October 24, 1946
A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.
November 30, 1954
In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges Meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap in the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space.
October 7, 1958
The U.S. manned space-flight project is renamed Project Mercury.
January 2, 1959
Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the U.S.S.R.
July 7, 1959
14:28 UT Venus occults the star Regulus. This rare event is used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of the Venusian atmosphere.
January 21, 1960
Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia, aboard Little Joe 1B – an unmanned test of the Mercury spacecraft.
January 31, 1961
Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2 – Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
April 12, 1961
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space in Vostok 3KA-2 (Vostok 1).
May 5, 1961
The Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 3 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, making a sub-orbital flight of 15 minutes.
November 29, 1961
Project Mercury: Mercury-Atlas 5 Mission – Enos, a chimpanzee, is launched into space. The spacecraft orbited the Earth twice and splashed-down off the coast of Puerto Rico.
May 24, 1962
Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
June 14, 1962
The European Space Research Organisation is established in Paris – later becoming the European Space Agency.
July 10, 1962
Telstar, the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
May 15, 1963
Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut L. Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space.
June 16, 1963
Soviet Space Program: Vostok 6 Mission – Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
November 1, 1963
The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, with the largest radio telescope ever constructed, officially opens.
March 20, 1964
The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
July 31, 1964
Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
February 17, 1965
Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. The Mare Tranquillitatis or "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
October 21, 1965
Comet Ikeya-Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers from the sun.
November 26, 1965
In the Hammaguir launch facility in the Sahara Desert, France launches a Diamant-A rocket with its first satellite, Asterix-1 on board, becoming the third country to enter outer space.
February 3, 1966
The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon.
March 1, 1966
Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface.
March 16, 1966
Launch of Gemini 8, the 12th manned American space flight and first space docking with the Agena Target Vehicle.
November 15, 1966
Gemini program: Gemini 12 splashes down safely in the Atlantic Ocean.
April 24, 1967
Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.
October 10, 1967
The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force.
October 18, 1967
The Soviet probe Venera 4 reaches Venus and becomes the first spacecraft to measure the atmosphere of another planet.
January 7, 1968
Surveyor Program: Surveyor 7, the final spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifts off from launch complex 36A, Cape Canaveral.
September 15, 1968
The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship is launched, becoming the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.
February 8, 1969
Allende meteorite falls near Pueblito de Allende, Chihuahua, Mexico.
May 22, 1969
Apollo 10's lunar module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the moon's surface.
April 13, 1970
An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the spacecraft while en route to the Moon.
April 24, 1970
The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched.
January 5, 1972
U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the development of a space shuttle program.
October 27, 1973
The Cañon City meteorite, a 1.4 kg chondrite type meteorite, strikes in Fremont County, Colorado.
February 8, 1974
After 84 days in space, the crew of the first American space station Skylab return to Earth.
April 1, 1976
Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect is first reported by the astronomer Patrick Moore.
September 3, 1976
Viking program: The Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars.
February 18, 1977
The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden "flight" sitting on top of a Boeing 747.
March 10, 1977
Rings of Uranus: Astronomers discover rings around Uranus.
September 30, 1977
Due to US budget cuts and dwindling power reserves, the Apollo program's ALSEP experiment packages left on the Moon are shut down.
January 24, 1978
Soviet satellite Cosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor onboard, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
March 5, 1978
The Landsat 3 is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
June 22, 1978
Charon, a satellite of the dwarf planet Pluto, is discovered.
February 7, 1979
Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered.
March 5, 1979
Voyager 1's closest approach to Jupiter, 172,000 miles.
September 1, 1979
The American space probe Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn when it passes the planet at a distance of 21,000 km.
April 14, 1981
STS-1 – The first operational space shuttle, Columbia (OV-102) completes its first test flight.
June 27, 1982
Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the final research and development flight mission, STS-4.
April 7, 1983
During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first space shuttle spacewalk.
September 5, 1984
STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle Discovery lands after its maiden voyage.
October 11, 1984
Aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk.
March 4, 1986
The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Comet Halley and the first images ever of its nucleus.
September 7, 1988
Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan in space, returns aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz TM-5 after 9 days on the Mir space station.
August 25, 1989
Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Neptune, the outermost planet in the Solar System.
March 25, 1992
Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returns to Earth after a 10-month stay aboard the Mir space station.]
March 4, 1994
Space shuttle STS-62 (Columbia 16) launches into orbit.
April 21, 1994
The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan.
July 16, 1994
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collides with Jupiter. Impacts continue until July 22nd.
February 9, 1995
Space Shuttle astronauts Bernard A. Harris, Jr. and Michael Foale become the first African American and first Briton, respectively, to perform spacewalks.
February 22, 1995
The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.
March 14, 1995
Space Exploration: Astronaut Norman Thagard becomes the first American astronaut to ride to space on-board a Russian launch vehicle.
March 22, 1995
Cosmonaut Valeriy Polyakov returns after setting a record for 438 days in space.
October 6, 1995
51 Pegasi is discovered to be the first major star apart from the Sun to have a planet (and extrasolar planet) orbiting around it.
January 30, 1996
Comet Hyakutake is discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake.
February 14, 1996
China launches a Long March 3 rocket, carrying the Intelsat 708 satellite. The rocket flies off course 3 seconds after liftoff and crashes into a rural village.
April 4, 1996
Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.
March 9, 1997
Comet Hale-Bopp: Observers in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia are treated to a rare double feature as an eclipse permits Hale-Bopp to be seen during the day.
October 15, 1997
The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.
October 29, 1998
Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off on STS-95 with 77-year old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space.
October 29, 1998
ATSC HDTV broadcasting in the United States is inaugurated with the launch of STS-95 space shuttle mission.
May 29, 1999
Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station.
February 14, 2000
The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.
February 12, 2001
NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touchdown in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
November 27, 2001
A hydrogen atmosphere is discovered on the extrasolar planet Osiris by the Hubble Space Telescope, the first atmosphere detected on an extrasolar planet.
March 1, 2002
The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800 kilometers (500 miles) above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500 kilograms (9.5 tons).
May 28, 2002
The Mars Odyssey finds signs of large ice deposits on the planet Mars.
January 16, 2003
The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
February 1, 2003
Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
July 6, 2003
The 70-metre Eupatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message Cosmic Call 2 to 5 stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri, HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris that will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, 2044 and 2049 respectively.
September 21, 2003
Galileo mission terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, where it is crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes.
October 21, 2003
Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in its discovery by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz.
November 14, 2003
Astronomers Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz discover 90377 Sedna, a Trans-Neptunian object.
December 25, 2003
The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, released from the Mars Express Spacecraft on December 19, disappears shortly before its scheduled landing.
February 13, 2004
The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces the discovery of the universe's largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093. Astronomers named this star "Lucy" after The Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".
June 12, 2004
A 1.3 kilogram chondrite type meteorite strikes a house in Ellerslie, New Zealand causing serious damage but no injuries.
October 4, 2004
SpaceShipOne wins Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight. By being the first private craft to fly into space.
December 25, 2004
Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005.
December 27, 2004
Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet.
January 5, 2005
Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, is discovered by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz using images originally taken on October 21, 2003, at the Palomar Observatory.
October 12, 2005
The second Chinese human spaceflight Shenzhou 6 launched carrying Fèi Jùnlóng and Niè Hǎishèng for five days in orbit.
March 4, 2006
Final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network. No response is received.
June 21, 2006
Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix & Hydra.
August 24, 2006
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is considered a Dwarf Planet.
January 12, 2007
Comet McNaught reaches perihelion becoming the brightest comet in more than 40 years.
November 5, 2007
China's first lunar satellite, Chang'e 1 goes into orbit around the Moon.
March 19, 2008
GRB 080319B: A cosmic burst that is the farthest object visible to the naked eye is briefly observed on this day.
September 27, 2008
CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese person to perform a spacewalk while flying on Shenzhou 7.
September 28, 2008
SpaceX launches the first ever private spacecraft, the Falcon 1 into orbit.
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