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Astronomy

Astronomy (0001-)

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The science of space observation from Earth and from space in all wavelengths.
Timeline
    0036  CEAncient Chinese records recorded an August meteor shower that was later assumed to be the Perseids. The meteorites originated when the Swift-Tuttle comet passed so close to the sun that its ice head melted and left a stream of pea-sized particles.
    0066  CE5th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
    0141  CE6th predicted perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
c.    0150  CEClaudius Ptolemy of Alexandria, a Greek astronomer, wrote 'Geocentric'.
    0165  CEChinese astronomers record the first sunspots.
    0218  CE7th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
    0295  CE8th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
c.    0300  CECh'en Cho, Chinese astronomer.
    0374  CE9th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
    0451  CE10th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
 13 Mar 0607  CEThe 12th recorded passage of Halley's Comet occurred.
    0635  CEA Chinese scholar discovers that the tail of a comet always points away from the Sun.
    0760  CE14th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
    0837  CE15th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet - the best view of Halley's Comet in 2000 years
    1006  CEBrightest supernova in recorded history is observed by Chinese & Egyptians in constellation Lupus.
  4 Jul 1054  CEChinese and Arabian observers first documented the massive supernova of the Crab Nebula, It was reportedly six times brighter than Venus and was only outshone by the sun and moon and could be observed in broad daylight for 23 days.
   Apr 1066  CE18th recorded perihelion passage Haley's Comet and soon after it was depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry.
    1145  CE19th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
    1178  CEProposed time of origin of lunar crater Giordano Bruno 5 Canterbury monks report explosion on the moon (the only such observation known).
    1181  CESupernova observed by Chinese & Japanese astronomers in Cassiopia.
c.    1250  CEA supernova 650 light-years away should have been visible to observers on Earth according to scientists who analyzed evidence in 1998.
    1264  CEComet said to predict the death of Pope Urban IV is last seen.
    1345  CESaturn/Jupiter/Mars were in conjunction. It was thought to be the 'cause of plague epidemic'.
    1456  CE23rd recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
    1497  CENicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) first recorded astronomical observations.
    1512  CENicholas Copernicus first states his heliocentric theory in Commentariolus.
 26 Apr 1514  CENicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) made his first observations of Saturn. Copernicus later proposed that the sun is stationary and that the earth and the planets move in circular orbits around it.
    1514  CENicolaus Copernicus writes about heliocentric theory but does not yet publish it.
    1519  CEFerdinand Magellan describes the Magellanic Clouds in detail
    1531  CEHaley's comet caused panic in many parts of the world.
    1543  CENicholas Copernicus shows that his heliocentric theory simplifies planetary motion tables in De Revolutionibus de Orbium Coelestium suggesting that the sun is at the center of the universe
    1550  CELeonard Digges makes the first refracting telescope.
    1551  CEErasmus Rheinhold, German astronomer, published astronomical tables based on the numerical values provided by Nicolas Copernicus.
    1560  CEDanish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) becomes interested in astronomy
    1569  CETycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, built a quadrant measuring 5.8 meters, and a celestial globe with a diameter of 1.5 meters at Augsburg.
    1571  CEJohannes Kepler, by his own calculations, is conceived at 4:37 AM.
    1572  CEDanish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) discovers his supernova in Cassiopeia and cites it as evidence that the heavens are not changeless.
    1572  CETycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, discovered a nova in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It is described in detail in his book 'De Nova Stella'.
    1573  CETycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, published a monograph on his discovery of a new star. His observations were denied by Roman Catholic divines, but Tycho was Lutheran, independently rich, and lived in a Lutheran country whose king was a staunch Protestant, so he continued his work.
    1574  CETycho Brahe observes that a comet is beyond the moon.
    1575  CEKing Frederick of Denmark offers island of Hveen to Tycho Brahe.
    1576  CEThomas Digges (?-1595), building on work of his father Leonard Digges, modifies the Copernican astronomical model by removing its outer edge and replacing the edge with a star filled unbounded space.
    1576  CETycho Brahe given Hveen Island to build Uraniborg planetary Observatory.
    1576  CEThe basilica of San Petronio was erected by Egnatio Danti, a mathematician and Dominican friar who worked for Cosimo I dei Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The structure included a solar observatory. Danti also advised Pope Gregory on calendar reform.
    1577  CETycho Brahe observes that a comet passes through the orbits of other planets.
    1577  CETycho Brahe uses parallax to prove that comets are distant entities and not atmospheric phenomena.
    1579  CEThe cornerstone is laid for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory.
    1584  CEGiordano Bruno suggests that stars are suns with other Earth's in orbit.
  8 Jan 1587  CEJohannes Fabricus, astronomer who discovered sunspots, was born.
    1588  CETycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, had his financial support cut by a new Danish king and moved to Prague where his student, Johannes Kepler, aided him and to whom he left all his astronomical data.
    1590  CEDutch astronomer David Fabricus discovers the first star, Mira.
    1596  CEDavid Fabricius observes a variable star, Mira Ceta.
    1596  CETycho Brahe completes the best star catalogue of pre-telescopic times.
    1600  CETycho Brahe & Johannes Kepler meet for the first time outside of Prague.
    1604  CEJohannes Kepler, German astronomer, observes a supernova in Serpens with his naked eye.
    1608  CEDutch lensmaker Hans Lippershey develops the optical telescope and tried to patent it
    1608  CEPrototype of modern reflecting telescope completed by Jan Lippershey offered to the Dutch government.
    1609  CEGalileo Galilei builds his first optical refracting telescope and demonstrates his first telescope to the Venetian senate.
    1609  CEJohannes Kepler develops the notion of energy.
    1609  CEGerman astronomer, Johannes Kepler states his first and second empirical laws of planetary motion where planets move in an eliptical motion rather than the the circles envisioned by Copernicus.
    1609  CEThomas Harriot maps the moon using a telescope
  1 Jul 1610  CEGalileo Galilei discovers the first 3 Jupiter satellites, Io, Europa & Ganymede.
    1610  CEGalileo Galilei observes craters on the moon.
    1610  CEGalileo Galilei observes stars in the Milky Way.
    1610  CEGalileo Galilei observes the phases of Venus.
    1610  CEGalileo Galilei sees Saturn's rings but does not recognize that they are rings.
    1610  CEGerman astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) uses the dark night sky to argue for a finite universe
    1610  CEGalileo Galilei discovers Callisto, the fourth satellite of Jupiter.
    1610  CEGerman astronomer Simon Marius first discovers the Jupiter moons, but does not officially report it, Galileo does on 1 July 1610.
    1611  CEJohannes Kepler outlined the principles of the astronomical telescope.
    1611  CEJohn Fabricius dedicates earliest sunspot publication.
    1611  CEWord 'telescope' is first used (Prince Federico Cesi).
    1611  CEGalileo went to Rome to describe his observations to the pontifical court.
    1612  CESimon Marius, is the first to observe the Andromeda galaxy through a telescope.
    1613  CEGalileo Galilei uses sunspot observations to demonstrate the rotation of the Sun.
    1613  CEGalileo may have unknowingly viewed undiscovered planet Neptune.
    1616  CECopernicus' 'de Revolutionibus' placed on Catholic Forbidden index.
  8 Mar 1618  CEJohannes Kepler devised his Third Law of Planetary Motion.
    1619  CEJohannes Kepler postulates a solar wind to explain the direction of comet tails.
    1619  CEJohannes Kepler states his third empirical law of planetary motion.
 
  1621  CEGalileo perfects the telescope.
 
 
17 May 1630  CEItalian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi saw the belts on Jupiter's surface.
 
 
  1630  CEItalian Catholic Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi was the first to see 2 belts on Jupiter surface and one of the first to observe some spots
 
 
  1631  CEPierre Gassendi observes a transit of Mercury predicted by Kepler.
 
 
  1631  CEThe first predicted transit of Venus, pedicted by Kepler, is observed.
 
 
  1638  CEA lunar eclipse becomes the first astronomical event recorded by modern Americans.
 
 
  1639  CEJeremiah Horrocks observes a transit of Venus.
 
 
  1639  CEThe first observation of transit of Venus occurred. Only two people record the event.
 
 
  1641  CEWilliam Gascoigne invents telescope cross hairs.
 
 
  1642  CEChristiaan Huygens discovers Martian south polar cap.
 
 
  1644  CEPerplexed American Pilgrims in Boston reported America's first UFO sighting.
 
 
  1645  CEIsmael Boulliau dewcribes an inverse square law for central force acting on planets.
 
 
  1655  CEGiovanni Cassini discovers Jupiter's great red spot.
 
 
  1655  CEDutch physicist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) discovers Titan, Saturn's largest satellite.
 
 
8 Nov 1656  CEEdmond Halley, mathematician and astronomer who predicted the return of the comet which is named for him, was born.
 
 
  1656  CEDutch physicist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) identifies the Orion Nebula.
 
 
  1656  CEDutch physicist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) observes the rings of Saturn.
 
 
  1659  CEDutch physicist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) observes surface features on Mars.
 
 
  1659  CEChristien Huygens of Holland used a 2-inch telescope lens and discovered that the Martian day is nearly the same as an Earth day.
 
 
  1661  CEJohannes Hevelius observes 3rd transit of Mercury ever to be seen.
 
 
  1662  CEFlamsteed sees a solar eclipse, the first known astronomical observation.
 
 
  1663  CEJames Gregory designs a reflecting telescope that later becomes known as the Gregorian telescope
 
 
  1664  CERobert Hooke observes the great red spot of Jupiter
 
 
  1665  CEGiovanni Cassini determines the rotational speeds of Jupiter, Mars and Venus.
 
 
  1665  CEIsaac Newton deduces the inverse-square gravitational force law from the 'falling' of the Moon.
 
 
  1666  CEGiovanni Cassini (1625-1712) observes the Martian polar caps for the first time
 
 
  1667  CEJean Picard observes anomalies in star positions which are later explained as aberration.
 
 
  1668  CEIsaac Newton reinvents and then constructs the first optical reflecting telescope that is put to practical use.
 
 
  1671  CEItalian-born French astronomer Giovanni Cassini (1625-1712) makes the first accurate measurement of the distance to Mars and scale of solar system
 
 
  1671  CEItailian-born French astronommer Govanni Domenico Cassini (1625-1712) discovers Iapetus, satellite of Saturn.
 
 
  1672  CEGeminiano Montanari notices that the start Algol's brightness varies.
 
 
  1672  CEGiovanni Cassini discovers Rhea, the largest airless satelite of Saturn
 
 
  1672  CEJean Richer and Giovanni Cassini measure the astronomical unit (AU) to be about 138,370,000 km. This is the distance from the Earth to the the Sun.
 
 
  1672  CECassegrain designs a telescope which later becomes known as the Cassegrain telescope
 
 
  1672  CEChristian Huygens of Holland discovered white polar caps on Mars.
 
 
  1675  CEGiovanni Cassini postulates that the planet Saturn has separated rings which must be composed of small objects.
 
 
  1675  CEOle Romer uses the orbital mechanics of Jupiter's moons to estimate that the speed of light is about 227,000 km/s.
 
 
  1675  CEJohn Flamsteed appointed first Astronomer Royal of England.
 
 
  1675  CERoyal Greenwich Observatory established in England by Charles II to provide navigational information to sailors.
 
 
  1676  CEOle Christenseen Roemer, Danish astronomer, discovered that light travels at a finite, but very high speed. His calculation estimated the speed at 140,000 miles per second.
 
 
  1678  CEEdmund Halley publishes a catalog of 341 southern stars which was the first systematic southern sky survey.
 
 
  1678  CEBritish astronomer Edmund Halley receives MA from Queen's College, Oxford.
 
 
  1678  CETycho Brahe first sketches 'Tychonic system' of solar system.
 
 
  1679  CEEdmund Halley meets Johannes Hevelius in Danzig.
 
 
  1680  CEAn eclipse of the sun occurred in this year. The oral tradition of one African culture speaks of a strange darkness during chief Bo Kama Bomenchala's reign.
 
 
  1680  CEA supernova of the star Cassiopeia A occurred about this time and a remnant was observed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1999.
 
 
  1682  CELouis XIV & his court inaugurate Paris Observatory.
 
 
  1684  CEIsaac Newton proves that planets moving under an inverse-square force law will obey Kepler's laws.
 
 
  1686  CEGottfried Kirch notices that Chi Cygni's brightness varies.
 
 
  1686  CECassini reports seeing a satellite orbiting Venus.
 
 
6 Jul 1687  CEEnglish mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton (1642-1727) publishes his 'Principia Mathematica' proving the theory that the Sun is at the center of the Solar System
 
 
  1690  CEJohn Flamsteed observes Uranus without realizing it's undiscovered and catalogued it as 34 Tauri
 
 
  1692  CERichard Bentley (1662-?) examines why stars do not fall together under gravitation.
 
 
  1705  CEEdmund Halley publicly predicts the periodicity of Halley's comet from the three prevoius appearances and computes its expected path of return in 1758.
 
 
  1715  CEEdmund Halley calculates the shadow path of a solar eclipse.
 
 
  1715  CEEdmund Halley observes the total eclipse phenomenon called 'Baily's Beads'.
 
 
  1715  CEJohn Flamsteed observes Uranus for the 6th time.
 
 
  1716  CEEdmund Halley suggests a high-precision measurement of the Sun-Earth distance by timing the transit of Venus.
 
 
  1716  CEEdmund Halley suggests that aurorae are caused by 'magnetic effluvia' moving along the Earth's magnetic field lines.
 
 
  1718  CEEdmund Halley discovers stellar proper motions by comparing his astrometric measurements with those of the Greeks.
 
 
  1719  CEThe first recorded display of Aurora Borealis in US, was seen in New England.
 
 
  1720  CEEdmund Halley appointed as the second Astronomer Royal of England.
 
 
  1728  CEJames Bradley discovers the aberration of starlight and uses it to determine that the speed of light is about 283,000 km per second.
 
 
  1733  CEChester Moor Hall invents the achromatic lens refracting telescope.
 
 
  1742  CEColin Maclaurin discovers his uniformly rotating self-gravitating spheroids.
 
 
  1743  CEComet C/1743 C1 approaches within 0.0390 AUs of Earth.
 
 
  1744  CEJames Bradley announces discovery of Earth's motion of nutation.
 
 
  1750  CEThomas Wright postulates that Milky Way could be due to slab like distribution of stars.
 
 
  1753  CEFrench King Louis XV observes transit of Mercury at Mendon Castle.
 
 
  1755  CEImmanuel Kant postulated a theory that the universe was formed from a spinning nebula in an infinite hierarchy.
 
 
25 Dec 1758  CEJohann Palitzsch observes the return of Halley's comet
 
 
  1758  CECharles Messier observes the Crab Nebula and begins his stellar catalog.
 
 
  1759  CE27th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
 
 
  1760  CEComet C/1760 A1 (Great comet) approaches within 0.0682 AUs of Earth.
 
 
  1761  CERussian poet/scientist Mikhail Lomonosov discovers the atmosphere of Venus.
 
 
  1765  CECharles Messier catalogs M41 (galactic cluster in Canis Major).
 
 
  1766  CEJohann and Titius find the Titius-Bode rule for planetary distances.
 
 
  1771  CECharles Messier publishes his first list of nebulae.
 
 
  1771  CEMessier presents his original list of 45 M-objects to French Academy.
 
 
  1772  CEJohann Bode publicizes the Titius-Bode rule for planetary distances.
 
 
  1774  CEMessier adds M51, the spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, to his catalog.
 
 
  1774  CEThe first sighting of Orion nebula by William Herschel.
 
 
  1777  CEMessier adds M53, a globular cluster in Coma Berenice, to his catalog.
 
 
  1778  CEDavid Rittenhouse observes a total solar eclipse in Philadelphia.
 
 
  1779  CECharles Messier adds M57, the Ring Nebula in Lyra, to his catalog.
 
 
  1779  CECharles Messier catalogs M56, the globular cluster in Lyra, to his catalog.
 
 
  1780  CEWilliam Herschel discovers first binary star, Xi Ursae Majoris.
 
 
13 Mar 1781  CEWilliam Herschel sees what he first thinks is a 'comet' during a telescopic survey of the northern sky
 
 
  1781  CECharles Messier publishes his catalogue of nebulae.
 
 
  1781  CEHeinrich Olbers shows that Uranus is a planet not a comet.
 
 
  1781  CEAndre Mechain discovers M80, a globular cluster in Scorpio.
 
 
  1782  CEJohn Goodricke notices that the brightness variations of the star Algol are periodic and proposes that it is partially eclipsed by a body moving around it.
 
 
  1782  CEWilliam Herschel publishes a catalog of double stars.
 
 
  1782  CEWilliam Herschel explains the sun's motion through space.
 
 
  1783  CEHerschel reports seeing a red glow near lunar crater Aristarchus.
 
 
  1783  CEWilliam Herschel announces star Lambda Herculis as apex.
 
 
  1784  CEEdward Piggot discovers the first Cepheid variable star.
 
 
  1785  CECaroline Herschel becomes the first woman discoverer of a comet.
 
 
  1787  CEThe moons of Uranus, Titan and Oberon, were discovered by William Herschel.
 
 
  1787  CEWilliam Herschel discovers Enceladus, a moon of Saturn.
 
 
  1789  CEWilliam Herschel finishes a 49-inch optical reflecting telescope which was located in Slough in England.
 
 
  1789  CESir William Herschel discovers Saturn's moon Enceladus.
 
 
  1789  CEWilliam Herschel discovers Mimas, satellite of Saturn.
 
 
  1791  CEMessier catalogs M83, a spiral galaxy in Hydra.
 
 
  1796  CEPierre Laplace states his nebular hypothesis for the formation of the solar system from a spinning nebula of gas and dust.
 
 
  1800  CEWilliam Herschel discovers infrared radiation from the Sun.
 
 
1 Jan 1801  CEGiuseppe Piazzi in Palermo discovered Ceres, the first asteroid. He observed it for 11 degrees of its orbit before it disappeared behind the Sun.
 
 
  1801  CEJohann Ritter discovers ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
 
 
  1802  CEHeinrich Olbers discovers the second asteroid Pallas.
 
 
  1802  CEWilliam Herschel postulates that double stars are bodies in mutual orbit.
 
 
  1803  CEMeteorites fall in L'Aigle, France.
 
 
  1814  CEGerman physicist Joseph von Fraunhofer maps the dark lines in the solar spectrum
 
 
  1820  CERoyal Astronomical Society founded in England.
 
 
  1821  CEAlexis Bouvard detects irregularities in the orbit of Uranus.
 
 
  1825  CEPierre Laplace completes his study of gravitation, the stability of the solar system, tides, the precession of the equinoxes, the libration of the Moon and Saturn's rings in 'Mécanique Céleste' (Celestial Mechanics).
 
 
  1825  CEUS President John Adams suggests the establishment of a US observatory.
 
 
  1826  CEM Biela, an Austrian officer, discovers Biela's Comet.
 
 
  1834  CECarl Jacobi discovers 'uniformly rotating self-gravitating ellipsoids'.
 
 
  1835  CEGeorge B Airy begins 46-year term as England's Astronomer Royal.
 
 
  1836  CEFrancis Baily observes 'Baily's Beads' during annular solar eclipse.
 
 
2 Jan 1839  CEFrench photographer Louis Daguerre takes the first photograph of the Moon.
 
 
  1839  CEJohn Herschel takes the first glass plate photograph.
 
 
  1839  CEThomas Henderson measures first stellar parallax (Alpha Centauri).
 
 
  1840  CEJohn W. Draper of New York invents astronomical photography and makes the first US celestial photograph of the Moon.
 
 
  1840  CEDraper takes first successful photo of the Moon (a daguerrotype).
 
 
  1842  CELord Rosse successfully casts a 72 inch (183 cm) mirror for a telescope.
 
 
  1842  CEThe US Naval Observatory is authorized by an act of Congress.
 
 
  1843  CEHeinrich Schwabe announces his discovery of the sunspot cycle and estimates its period to be about ten years.
 
 
  1843  CEJohn Adams predicts the existence and location of Neptune from irregularities in the orbit of Uranus.
 
 
  1844  CEFriedrich Bessel explains the wobbling motions of the starts Sirius and Procyon by suggesting that they have dark companions.
 
 
  1845  CELord Rosse discovers a nebula with a distinct spiral shape.
 
 
  1845  CELord Rosse finishes the Birr Castle 72-inch optical reflecting telescope located in Parsonstown in Ireland.
 
 
  1845  CEUrbain Leverrier observes a precession of Mercury's orbit.
 
 
  1845  CEH.L. Fizeau and J Leon Foucault take the first photo of Sun.
 
 
  1845  CEWilliam Parsons, Earl of Rosse, first uses 72 inch (183 cm) reflecting telescope.
 
 
  1846  CEJohann Galle located the planet Neptune by following predictions by John Adams and Urbain le Verrier.
 
 
  1846  CEJohn Adams and Urbain le Verrier predict the position of Neptune.
 
 
  1846  CEJohann Galle discovers Neptune.
 
 
  1846  CEUrbain Leverrier predicts the existence and location of Neptune from irregularities in the orbit of Uranus.
 
 
  1846  CEJohann Gottfried Galle and Heinrich d'Arrest discover Neptune.
 
 
  1846  CENeptune's moon Triton discovered by William Lassell.
 
 
  1847  CEMaria Mitchell discovers a non-naked-eye comet.
 
 
  1848  CELord Rosse studies M1 and names it the 'Crab Nebula'.
 
 
  1848  CEA. Graham discovers asteroid #9 'Metis'.
 
 
  1848  CEBond (US) and Lassell (England) independently discover Hyperion, a moon of Saturn.
 
 
  1849  CEEdouard Roche finds the limiting radius of tidal destruction and tidal creation for a body held together only by its self gravity and uses it to explain why Saturn's rings do not condense into a satellite.
 
 
  1849  CEWilliam Bond obtains the first photograph of Moon through a telescope.
 
 
  1851  CEWilliam Lassell discovers Ariel and Umbriel, satellites of Uranus.
 
 
  1852  CEIn Ireland, Edward Sabine showed a link between sunspot activity and chnages in the earth's magnetic field.
 
 
  1853  CEOrigin of Carrington rotation numbers for measuring the rotation of the Sun.
 
 
  1855  CEWilliam Parsons observes spiral galaxies.
 
 
  1856  CEJames Clerk Maxwell demonstrates that a solid ring around Saturn would be torn apart by gravitational forces and argues that Saturn's rings consist of a multitude of tiny satellites.
 
 
  1857  CEFrederick Laggenheim takes first photo of a solar eclipse.
 
 
  1858  CEThe Donati Comet is first seen and named after it's discoverer.
 
 
  1858  CEDonati's comet becomes the first to be photographed.
 
 
  1859  CEUrbain Le Verrier discovers the anomolous perihelion shift of Mercury.
 
 
  1859  CEG R Kirchoff describes the chemical composition of the Sun.
 
 
  1859  CERichard C Carrington and R Hodgson make the first observation of a solar flare.
 
 
  1859  CEThe first sighting of Vulcan, a planet thought to orbit inside Mercury.
 
 
  1859  CEWilhelm Tempel discovers the diffuse nebula around Pleid star Merope.
 
 
  1861  CEF.G.W. Spörer discovers the variation of sunspot latitudes during a solar cycle.
 
 
  1861  CELeipzig Observatory discovers the short-period (6.2 years) Comet d'Arrest.
 
 
  1862  CEAlvan Clark observes Sirius B.
 
 
  1862  CEAnders Angstrom observed hydrogen in the sun.
 
 
  1862  CELord Kelvin attempts to find the age of the Earth by examining its cooling time and estimates that the Earth is between 20 to 400 million years old.
 
 
  1862  CETelescope maker Alvin Clark discovers a dwarf companion of Sirius.
 
 
  1863  CERichard Carrington discovers the differential nature of solar rotation.
 
 
  1863  CEWilliam Huggins observes that stellar spectra indicate that stars are made of same elements as found on Earth.
 
 
  1864  CEJohn Herschel publishes the General Catalog of nebulae and star clusters.
 
 
  1864  CEThe spectrum of a comet is observed for the first time, by Giovanni Donati.
 
 
  1864  CEWilliam Huggins discovers the chemical composition of nebulae when he studies the spectrum of the Orion Nebula and shows that it is a cloud of gas.
 
 
  1866  CEGiovanni Schiaparelli realizes that meteor streams occur when the Earth passes through the orbit of a comet that has left debris along its path.
 
 
  1866  CEWilliam Huggins studies the spectrum of a nova and discovers that it is surrounded by a cloud of hydrogen.
 
 
  1868  CEPierre-Jules-César Janssen and Norman Lockyer discover an unidentified yellow line in solar prominence spectra during an eclipse and suggest it comes from a new element which they name 'Helium'.
 
 
  1868  CEWilliam Huggins observes doppler shifts of stellar spectra.
 
 
  1870  CEJules Janssen, flies in a balloon in order to study a solar eclipse.
 
 
  1871  CEJules Janssen discovers dark lines in solar corona spectrum.
 
 
  1872  CEHenry Draper invents astronomical spectral photography and photographs the spectrum of Vega.
 
 
  1877  CEAsaph Hall discovers Mars' moon Deimos.
 
 
  1877  CEAsaph Hall discovers Mars' moon Phobos.
 
 
  1880  CEHenry Draper takes that first photograph of the Orion Nebula.
 
 
  1880  CEV Knorre discovers asteroid #215, Oenone.
 
 
  1882  CESimon Newcomb observes a 43 minutes of arc per century excess precession of Mercury's orbit.
 
 
  1882  CEThe atmosphere of Venus is detected during transit.
 
 
  1885  CE13,000 meteors are seen in 1 hour near Andromeda.
 
 
  1889  CEAstronomical Society of Pacific holds first meeting in San Francisco
 
 
  1889  CEJohn Herschel uses camera obscura to photograph 48 inch (120 cm) telescope
 
 
  1890  CEAlbert Michelson proposes the stellar interferometer.
 
 
  1890  CEJohn Dreyer publishes the New General Catalog of nebulae and star clusters.
 
 
  1891  CEThe Astronomical Society of France is inaugurated.
 
 
  1891  CEWilliam Huggins describes the astronomical application of spectrum.
 
 
  1892  CEAlmalthea, the 5th moon of Jupiter, is discovered by EE Barnard at Lick.
 
 
  1892  CEThe first successful auroral photograph made
 
 
  1893  CEEdward Maunder discovers the 1645--1715 Maunder sunspot minimum.
 
 
  1894  CEVenus is both a morning star and evening star.
 
 
  1897  CEAlvan Clark finishes the Yerkes 40-inch optical refracting telescope of the University of Chicago. It is located in Williams Bay in Wisconsin in the US.
 
 
  1899  CEPhoebe, a moon of Saturn is discovered by Pickering.
 
 
  1900  CEGiacobini discovers a comet. It will later be the first comet visited by spacecraft.
 
 
  1900  CESolar eclipse occurs
 
 
  1904  CEEdward Maunder plots the first sunspot 'butterfly diagram'.
 
 
  1905  CEPercival Lowell postulates a ninth planet beyond the orbit of Neptune, later discovered to be Pluto.
 
 
  1905  CECharles Perrine announces the discovery of Jupiter's 7th satellite, Elara.
 
 
  1906  CEKarl Schwarzschild explains solar limb darkening.
 
 
  1906  CEMax Wolf discovers the Trojan asteroid Achilles.
 
 
  1908  CEHenrietta Leavitt discovers the Cepheid period-luminosity relation.
 
 
  1908  CEPasiphae, a satellite of Jupiter, was discovered by Melotte.
 
 
  1910  CEEjnar Hertzsprung and Henry Russell study the relation between magnitudes and spectral types of stars.
 
 
  1910  CEHalley's Comet closest approach to Earth in 29th recored pass and causes panic. Its perihelion was at 87.9 million km.
 
 
  1912  CEHenrietta Leavitt postulates period to luminosity relationship for Cepheid variable stars.
 
 
  1912  CEVesto Melvin Slipher observes the blue-shift of the andromeda galaxy.
 
 
  1912  CESmallest earth-moon distance this century, which was 356,375 km center-to-center.
 
 
  1914  CEEjnar Hertzsprung measured distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud using Cepheid variable stars.
 
 
  1914  CEWalter Adams determines an incredibly high density for the star Sirius B.
 
 
  1915  CEPluto photographed for the first time (although unknown at the time)
 
 
  1917  CEMount Wilson 100-inch optical reflecting telescope begins operation located on Mount Wilson in California in the US
 
 
  1918  CENova Aquila, brightest nova since Kepler's nova of 1604, discovered
 
 
  1919  CEArthur Eddington leads a solar eclipse expedition which claims to detect gravitational deflection of light by the Sun.
 
 
  1920  CEAnderson, Michelson and Pease measure the size of star Betelgeuse using stellar interferometry.
 
 
  1920  CEHarlow Shapely and Heber Curtis debate whether or not the spiral nebulae lie within the Milky Way.
 
 
  1920  CEH Shapley & H.D. Curtis hold the 'great debate' on the nature of nebulae.
 
 
  1922  CEVesto Slipher summarizes his findings on the spiral nebulae's systematic redshifts.
 
 
17 Jan 1923  CEThe origin of Brown lunation numbers. A lunation begins at the dark moon (astronomical conjunction of Sun and Moon), and the next dark moon marks the beginning of the next lunation. Lunations are numbered -1, 0, 1, 2, ... in temporal order.
 
 
  1923  CEEdwin Hubble resolves the Shapely-Curtis debate by finding Cepheids in Andromeda.
 
 
  1923  CEEdwin Hubble identifies the Cepheid variable star.
 
 
  1924  CEEdwin Hubble measured the distance to other galaxies using Cepheid variables proving that they lie outside our own.
 
 
  1924  CELudwik Siberstein claimed a redshift law for nebulae.
 
 
  1924  CEEdwin Hubble announces existence of other galactic systems.
 
 
  1924  CEMars' closest approach to Earth since the 10th century.
 
 
  1924  CES Belyavskij discovers asteroid #1031 Arctica.
 
 
  1924  CEV Albitzkij discovers asteroid #1022 Olympiada.
 
 
  1925  CEVesto Melvin Slipher shows that red-shifts of galaxies suggest a distance/velocity relationship
 
 
  1930  CEClyde Tombaugh discovers the 9th planet, Pluto, at Lowell Observatory.
 
 
  1930  CEKarl Jansky builds a 30-meter long rotating aerial radio telescope
 
 
  1930  CESeth Nicholson measures the surface temperature of the Moon
 
 
  1930  CEComet 73P/1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann 3) approaches 0.0617 AUs of Earth
 
 
  1930  CEThe 9th planet is named "Pluto".
 
 
  1932  CEKarl Jansky discovers radio noise from the center of the Milky Way and is the first to study radio astronomy
 
 
  1932  CEApollo asteroid discovered, with a perigee of 2 million miles
 
 
  1934  CEGrote Reber discovers a discrete radio source in Cygnus
 
 
  1934  CE5.08-m (200") Mt Palomar Observatory mirror is cast
 
 
  1936  CEEdwin Hubble introduces the spiral - barred spiral - elliptical and irregular galaxy classifications
 
 
  1936  CEPalomar 18-inch Schmidt optical reflecting telescope begins operation which is located in Palomar California in the US
 
 
  1936  CE10,000 watch the 200" mirror blank passing through Indianapolis
 
 
  1936  CE200" mirror blank arrives in Pasadena
 
 
  1936  CE200" telescope lens shipped, Corning Glass Works, New York-Cal Tech
 
 
  1937  CEFritz Zwicky states that galaxies could act as gravitational lenses
 
 
  1937  CEGrote Reber builds a 31-foot radio telescope
 
 
  1938  CEFritz Zwicky discovers clusters of galaxies
 
 
  1939  CEGrote Reber discovers the radio source Cygnus A
 
 
  1942  CEGrote Reber developed a radio map of the sky
 
 
  1942  CEJ.J.L. Duyvendak - Nicholas Mayall and Jan Oort deduce that the Crab Nebula is a remnant of the supernova observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054
 
 
  1942  CEJ S Hey discovers radio emissions from the Sun
 
 
  1943  CECarl Seyfert identifies six spiral galaxies with unusually broad emission lines
 
 
  1945  CEArther C Clark proposes relay satellites in geosynchronous orbit.
 
 
  1946  CEJames Hey Discovery of radio source Cygnus A
 
 
  1947  CEBernard Lovell and his group complete the Jodrell Bank 218-foot non-steerable radio telescope
 
 
  1947  CEDaytime fireball & meteorite fall seen in eastern Siberia
 
 
  1947  CELargest recorded sunspot (7,000) observed
 
 
  1947  CEThe first telescope lens 200" (508 cm) in diameter completed
 
 
  1948  CE200" (5.08 m) Hale telescope dedicated at Palomar Observatory
 
 
  1948  CEA flash of light is observed in the crater Plato on the Moon
 
 
  1948  CEMiranda, famous moon of Uranus, photographed for 1st time
 
 
  1949  CEJ.G. Bolton - G.J. Stanley and O.B. Slee identify NGC 4486 (M87) and NGC 5128 as extragalactic radio sources
 
 
  1949  CEPalomar 200-inch optical reflecting telescope begins regular operation which is located in Palomar California
 
 
  1949  CEPalomar 48-inch Schmidt optical reflecting telescope begins operation which is located in Palomar California
 
 
  1949  CEGerard Kuiper discovers Nereid, (2nd satellite of Neptune)
 
 
  1949  CEWalter Baade discovers asteroid (#1566) Icarus inside orbit of Mercury
 
 
  1950  CEJan Oort suggests the presence of a cometary Oort cloud explaining the origin of comets
 
 
  1951  CEH.I. Ewen and Edward Purcell observe the 21 cm hyperfine line of neutral interstellar hydrogen
 
 
  1951  CESmith and Baade identify a radio galaxy
 
 
  1951  CEE Purcell & EM Ewen detect 21-cm radiation at Harvard physics lab
 
 
  1952  CEWalter Baade distinguishes between Cepheid I and Cepheid II variable stars
 
 
  1953  CEGeactuerard de Vaucouleurs discovers that the galaxies within approximately 200 million light years of the Virgo cluster are confined to a giant supercluster disk
 
 
  1954  CEWalter Baade and Rudolph Minkowski identify the extragalactic optical counterpart of the radio source Cygnus A
 
 
  1955  CEMartin Ryle develops radio telescope interferometry
 
 
  1956  CECompletion of the Palomar sky survey with the Palomar 48-inch Schmidt optical reflecting telescope
 
 
  1956  CEHerbert Friedman detects evidence for extrasolar X-rays
 
 
  1956  CELyman Spitzer predicts coronal gas around the Milky Way
 
 
  1957  CEBernard Lovell and his group complete the Jodrell Bank 250-foot steerable radio telescope
 
 
  1958  CEJames van Allen discovers radiation belt
 
 
  1959  CEMIT detect the first radar echo from Venus
 
 
  1959  CERadar 1st bounced off sun, Stanford Calif
 
 
  1959  CEThe first known radar contact is made with Venus
 
 
  1960  CEAllan Sandage optically studies 3C48 and observes an unusual blue quasi stellar object
 
 
  1960  CEMatthews and Sandage makes the first optical identification of a quasar
 
 
  1960  CEOwens Valley 27-meter radio telescopes begin operation which is located in Big Pine California
 
 
  1960  CEThomas Matthews determines the radio position of 3C48 to within 5 inches.
 
 
  1960  CEProject Ozma begins at Green Bank radio astronomy center.
 
 
  1960  CEUS National Observatory at Kitt Peak, Arizona dedicated.
 
 
  1961  CEChushiro Hayashi publishes his work on the Hayashi track of fully convective stars.
 
 
  1961  CEH. Babcock proposes the magnetic coiling sunspot theory.
 
 
  1962  CEA.S. Bennett publishes the Revised 3C Catalog of 328 radio sources.
 
 
  1962  CECyril Hazard, M.B. Mackey and A.J. Shimmins use lunar occultations to determine a precise position for 3C273 and deduce that it is a double source.
 
 
  1962  CEGiacconi, Gursky, Paolini and Rossi detect cosmic X-rays.
 
 
  1962  CERiccardo Giacconi, Herbert Gursky, F. Paolini and Bruno Rossi formally discover the X-ray background.
 
 
  1962  CE8 of 9 planets align for first time in 400 years.
 
 
  1962  CEThe Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn are aligned within 16 degrees of each other.
 
 
  1962  CEThe first quasar located by radio.
 
 
  1962  CEUS National Radio Astronomy Observatory comissiones a 300' (91m) radio telescope.
 
 
  1963  CEArecibo 300-meter radio telescope begins operation---located in Arecibo - Puerto Rico
 
 
  1963  CESchmidt - Greensite and Sandage show that quasars are distant
 
 
  1963  CEMaarten Schmidt discovers enormous red shifts in quasars
 
 
  1964  CERyle 1-mile radio interferometer begins operation which is located in Cambridge in England
 
 
  1965  CEArno Penzias, Robert Wilson, Bernie Burke, Robert Dicke and James Peebles discover the cosmic microwave background radiation.
 
 
  1965  CEGerry Neugebauer and Robert Leighton begin a 2.2 micron sky survey with a 1.6-meter telescope on Mount Wilson
 
 
  1965  CEOwens Valley 40-meter radio telescope begins operation which is located in Big Pine California
 
 
  1965  CEPegasus 1 launched to detect micro-meteors
 
 
  1966  CEX-ray source Cygnus X-1 discovered
 
 
  1966  CEAudouin Dollfus discovers 10th satellite of Saturn, Janus
 
 
  1966  CEDaylight meteor seen from Utah to Canada. Only known case of a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere & leaving it again
 
 
  1966  CELeonids meteor shower peaks (150,000+ per hour)
 
 
  1966  CEOAO 1, the 1st orbiting astronomical observatory, launched
 
 
  1967  CEFirst VLBI images using a 183 km baseline
 
 
  1967  CEJ.R. Harries - Ken McCracken - R.J. Francey and A.G. Fenton discover the first X-ray transient (Cen X-2)
 
 
  1967  CEJocelyn Bell and Anthony Hewish discover radio pulses from a pulsar
 
 
  1968  CEThe first pulsar discovered (CP 1919 by Jocelyn Burnell at Cambridge)
 
 
  1968  CEPhotograph of Earth from the moon.
 
 
  1969  CEDavid Staelin - E.C. Reifenstein - William Cocke - Mike Disney and Donald Taylor discover the Crab Nebula pulsar thus connecting supernovae - neutron stars and pulsars
 
 
  1969  CELewis Snyder - David Buhl - Ben Zuckerman and Patrick Palmer find interstellar formaldehyde
 
 
  1969  CEObservations start at Big Bear Solar Observatory which is located in Big Bear in California
 
 
  1969  CEMeteorite weighing over 1 ton falls in Chihuahua, México
 
 
  1969  CEUniversity of Arizona reports 1st optical id of pulsar (in Crab Nebula)
 
 
  1970  CEArno Penzias and Robert Wilson find interstellar carbon monoxide
 
 
  1970  CECerro Tololo 158-inch optical reflecting telescope begins operation which is located in Cerro Tololo in Chile
 
 
  1970  CEGeorge Carruthers observes molecular hydrogen in space
 
 
  1970  CEKitt Peak National Observatory 158-inch optical reflecting telescope begins operation which is located near Tucson in Arizona
 
 
  1970  CELaunch of Uhurufirst dedicated X-ray satellite
 
 
  1970  CEAustralia's 1st amateur radio satellite (Oscar 5) launched (California).
 
 
  1971  CEBolton - Murdin and Webster identify Cygnus X-1 as a black hole candidate
 
 
  1971  CEIdentification of Cygnus X-1/HDE 226868 as a binary black hole candidate system
 
 
  1971  CERiccardo Giacconi - Herbert Gursky - Ed Kellogg - R. Levinson - E. Schreier and H. Tananbaum discover 4.8 second X-ray pulsations from Cen X-3
 
 
  1972  CELaunch of the Copernicus ultraviolet satellite
 
 
  1972  CETom Bolton identifies Cygnus X-1 as a black hole
 
 
  1972  CEUS orbiting astronomy observatory Copernicus launched
 
 
  1973  CEComet (Lubos) Kohoutek discovered at Hamburg Observatory
 
 
  1973  CEObservers aboard Concorde jet observe 72-min solar eclipse.
 
 
  1974  CEThe Anglo-Australian 153-inch optical reflecting telescope begins operation which is located in Siding Springs in Australia
 
 
  1974  CEB.L. Fanaroff and J.M. Riley distinguish between edge-darkened (FR I) and edge-brightened (FR II) radio sources
 
 
  1974  CELaunch of the Ariel V X-ray satellite
 
 
  1974  CEMariner 10 passes by and photographs Mercury
 
 
  1974  CERussell Hulse and Joseph Taylor discover the binary pulsar PSR1913+16
 
 
  1974  CECharles Kowal discovers Leda, 13th satellite of Jupiter
 
 
  1975  CEFranz-Ludwig Deubner makes the first accurate measurements of the period and horizontal wavelength of the five-minute solar oscillations
 
 
  1975  CEGerald Smith - Frederick Landauer and James Janesick use a CCD to observe Uranus which is the first astronomical CCD observation
 
 
  1975  CEVenera 9 returns the first pictures of the surface of Venus
 
 
  1975  CEStar in Cygnus goes nova becoming 4th brightest in sky
 
 
  1976  CEThe OSO-8 X-ray satellite shows that X-ray bursts have blackbody spectra
 
 
  1976  CEThe Vela and ANS X-ray satellites discover X-ray bursts
 
 
  1976  CE1,774 kg (largest observed) stony meteorite falls in Jilin, China
 
 
  1977  CEJames Elliot discovers the rings of Uranus during a stellar occultation experiment on the Kuiper Airborne Observatory
 
 
  1977  CELaunch of the HEAO-1 X-ray satellite
 
 
  1977  CETifft - Gregory - Joeveer - Einasto and Thompson discover clusters chains and voids in galaxy dustributions
 
 
  1977  CERings of Uranus discovered during occultation of SAO
 
 
7 Jul 1978  CEThe discovery of the first moon of Pluto, Charon, was announced by Captain J.C. Smith of the US Naval Observatory.
 
 
  1978  CELaunch of the Einstein X-ray satellite (HEAO-2) which produced the first X-ray photographs of astronomical objects
 
 
  1978  CELaunch of the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite
 
 
  1978  CEMultiple Mirror 176-inch equivalent optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation which was located in Amado in Arizona
 
 
  1978  CETaylor and Hulse find evidence for gravitational radiation of a binary pulsar
 
 
  1978  CEVera Rubin - Kent Ford - N. Thonnard and Albert Bosma measure the rotation curves of several spiral galaxies and find significant deviations from what is predicted by the Newtonian gravitation of visible stars
 
 
  1978  CEJames Christy's discovery of Pluto's moon Charon announced
 
 
  1978  CEPluto's moon Charon discovered by James Christy
 
 
  1978  CEThe first dedicated oceanographic satellite, SEASAT 1, launched
 
 
  1979  CECanada-France-Hawaii 140-inch optical reflecting telescope begins operation which is located at Mauna Kea in Hawaii
 
 
  1979  CELaunch of the Ariel VI cosmic-ray and X-ray satellite
 
 
  1979  CELaunch of the Hakucho X-ray satellite (ASTRO-A)
 
 
  1979  CEUKIRT 150-inch infrared reflecting telescope begins operation which is located at Mauna Kea in Hawaii
 
 
  1979  CEVoyager 1 and Voyager 2 send back images of Jupiter and its system
 
 
  1979  CEComet Howard-Koomur-Michels collides with the Sun
 
 
  1979  CENeptune becomes farthest planet from the sun in our solar system and remains that way for 20 years.
 
 
  1979  CEThe first extraterrestrial volcano discovered (Jupiter's satellite Io)
 
 
  1979  CEThe first recorded occurrence-comet hits sun (energy=1 mil hydrogen bombs)
 
 
  1980  CECompletion of construction of the VLA which is located in Socorro in New Mexico
 
 
  1980  CELaunch of the Solar Maximum Mission satellite
 
 
  1980  CEEarth satellites record gamma rays from remnants of supernova N-49
 
 
  1980  CEVery Large Array (VLA) radio telescope network dedicated
 
 
  1982  CEMount Palomar Observatory is the first to detect Halley's comet on its 13th return.
 
 
  1982  CESygyzy: all 9 planets aligned on same side of Sun
 
 
  1983  CELaunch of the EXOSAT X-ray satellite
 
 
  1983  CELaunch of the IRAS satellite
 
 
  1983  CELaunch of the Tenma X-ray satellite (ASTRO-B)
 
 
  1983  CEComet C/1983 H1 (IRAS-Araki-Alcock) approaches 0.0312 AUs of Earth
 
 
  1984  CETransit of Earth as seen on Mars
 
 
  1985  CEInternational Cometary Explorer measures solar wind ahead of Halley's Comet.
 
 
  1986  CEGeller - Huchra and Lapparent develop the bubble structure of galaxy distributions
 
 
  1986  CEHalley's Comet reaches 30th perihelion (closest approach to Sun)
 
 
  1987  CEIan Shelton discovers supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
 
 
  1987  CELaunch of the Ginga X-ray satellite (ASTRO-C)
 
 
  1987  CEAnnouncement of possible Martian tornadoes
 
 
  1987  CEAstronomers at University of California see 1st sight of birth of a galaxy
 
 
  1987  CESupernova 1987A in LMC is first seen. It is the first naked-eye supernova since 1604.
 
 
  1988  CE91 m radio telescope dish at Green Bank, WV collapses
 
 
  1989  CEIdentification of GS2023+338/V404 Cygni as a binary black hole candidate system
 
 
  1989  CELaunch of the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite.
 
 
  1989  CELaunch of the Granat gamma-ray and X-ray satellite
 
 
  1989  CELaunch of the Hipparcos satellite
 
 
  1989  CEAstronomers discover a pulsar in remnants of Supernova 1987A (LMC).
 
 
  1989  CEComet Churyunov-Gerasimenko at perihelion
 
 
  1989  CEComet du Toit at perihelion
 
 
  1989  CEComet Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 at perihelion
 
 
  1989  CEComet Tempel 1 at perihelion
 
 
  1989  CEConjunction of Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and the Moon.
 
 
  1989  CEThe first complete ring around Neptune discovered
 
 
  1989  CETotal eclipse of the Moon.
 
 
  1990  CEFirst observations made with Astro-1
 
 
  1990  CELaunch of the Hubble Space Telescope.
 
 
  1990  CELaunch of the ROSAT X-ray satellite the first imaging X-ray sky survey
 
 
  1990  CEMichael Rowan-Robinson and Tom Broadhurst discover that the IRAS galaxy F10214+4724 is the brightest known object in the universe
 
 
  1990  CEAn annular eclipse is visible over Antarctica and the South Atlantic.
 
 
  1990  CEHubble space telescope is placed into orbit by shuttle discovery.
 
 
  1990  CEHubble Space Telescope sends its first photograph's from space.
 
 
  1991  CELaunch of the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory satellite
 
 
  1992  CEMather and Smoot discover angular fluctuations in cosmic background radiation with COBE
 
 
  1992  CEThe COBE satellite discovers anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background. This are 'ripples' from the big bang attributed to the first structures to form in the Universe.
 
 
  1993  CEKeck 10-meter optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation which is located at Mauna Kea in Hawaii
 
 
  1993  CELaunch of the Asca X-ray satellite (ASTRO-D)
 
 
  1993  CEStart of the 20 cm VLA FIRST survey
 
 
  1993  CE10 meter meteor comes within 150,000 km of Earth (1993KA).
 
 
  1993  CETransit of Mercury
 
 
  1993  CEType II supernova detected in M81 (NGC 3031)
 
 
  1994  CEHubble Space Telescope discovers evidence for black hole at the centre of galaxy M87.
 
 
  1994  CELarge meteorite falls near Kusaie, Pacific Ocean
 
 
  1995  CEMayor and Queloz discover first extra-solar planet orbiting an ordinary star
 
 
  1995  CEMost distant galaxy yet discovered is found by scientists using Keck telescope in Hawaii. It is estimated to be 15 billion light years away.
 
 
  1996  CEComet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) approaches within 0.1018 AUs of Earth
 
 
  1996  CEThe first surface photos of Pluto, as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope.
 
 
23 Mar 1997  CEComet Hale-Bopp's Closest Approach to Earth (1.315 AU).
 
 
  1997  CEComet Hale-Bopp crosses Mars' orbit.
 
 
  1997  CEComet Hale-Bopp directly above the Sun (1.04 AU).
 
 
  1997  CEComet Shoemaker-Holt 2 Closest Approach to Earth (1.9245 AU)
 
 
  1997  CEThe first Comet of 1997 Discovered Comet 1997 A1
 
 
  1998  CETotal solar eclipse in Venezuela and the Pacific Ocean.
 
 
  1999  CEDue to its eccentric orbit, Pluto once again becomes the farthest planet from the sun in our solar system.
 
 
21 Oct 2003  CEA new planet-sized object, designated 2003 UB313, was discovered in data obtained from an ongoing survey using the 48 inch (1.2 m) Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory. It had a diameter of 3,000km, larger than that of the (then) 9th planet, Pluto.
 
 
22 Nov 2005  CEA paper is is published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters formally describing the discovery of the planet-sized object (2003 UB313), which is bigger than Pluto.
 
 
24 Aug 2006  CECharon, the first moon of Pluto, fails to gain the official staus of "Planet".
 
 
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