Origins of the SignificaThe original text version of the Significa was compiled by Tom Callen (then Program Resource Manager for the Albert Einstein Planetarium, National Air and Space Museum) for use as a staff resource on NASM's computer network. Fortunately, when it came time to write these web pages for Cosmonova, a copy still existed on one of the file servers at NASM. It was transmitted in pieces via e-mail from Washington, D.C. to Stockholm, Sweden with the help of Christopher Pratt of NASM's computer department. Once received, the original text files were then turned into this web page.Compiler's DisclaimerThe compiler of this page cannot vouch for the complete accuracy of the original sources these dates were gleaned from. Some events are listed twice, differing by one day, or more, depending on which source was used.A Note About the Significa's ContentsWhile you yourself may not see the significance of a particular event, it may in fact have significance to someone else.
Significa Category CodesEach entry in the Significa has a simple category code that tells you what type of an event it is associated with. They are as follows:(S) -- a Space-related event...(Y) -- an Astronomy-related event...(G) -- a General Interest event...(B/S), (B/Y), or (B/G) -- a Birth-related event within one of the categories...(D/S), (D/Y), or (D/G) -- a Death-related event within one of the categories...How to use the SignificaSelect a month name to go to that part of the calendar. If you happen to know the name of the person (such as William Herschel), the spacecraft (such as Sputnik), or the day of the month (such as April 21st) in question you can also try using your browser's FIND feature to locate the text directly once you are on the month's page. The names shown below following each month are American Indian references as to how some tribes knew them in their way of marking the year.
January 1st(Y) First asteroid (Ceres) discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi, 1801January 2nd(S) First spacecraft (Soviet Union) to orbit the sun, 1959(S) Soviet Union launches first moon probe, Luna 1, 1959January 3rdJanuary 4th(S) The Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 re-entered Earth's atmosphere and burned up, 1958January 5th(Y) Kiowa Indians record this as 'the night the stars (i.e. meteors) fell,' 1834(Y) Charles Perrine discovers Jupiter's Elara (VII), 1905(S) President Richard Nixon approves development of the space shuttle, 1972January 6thJanuary 7th(Y) Galileo discovers Jupiter's Io, Europa, and Callisto, 1610(S) Japan's MS-T5, later renamed Sakigake, launched for its Comet Halley encounter, 1985January 8th(D/Y) Galileo dies, 1642(B/Y) Theoretical physicist Stephen W. Hawking's birthday, 1942January 9th(Y) Thomas Henderson makes the first distance measurement to Alpha Centauri, 1839January 10th(Y) U.S. Army Signal Corp bounces radar off of the Moon for the first time, 1946January 11th(Y) William Herschel discovered Titania (III) and Oberon (IV), moons of Uranus, 1787January 12thJanuary 13th(Y) Galileo discovers Jupiter's Ganymede, the largest known moon in the solar system, 1610(S) "The New York Times" ridiculed the idea of reaching the Moon by rocket, 1920(S) NASA selected first group of women astronauts, 1978January 14th(D/Y) Edmond Halley dies, 1742(S) First docking between manned (Soviet) spacecraft, 1969January 15thJanuary 16thJanuary 17th(Y) First precise observation of the position of Mars, 272 B.C.(B/G) Benjamin Franklin born, 1706(D/Y) Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of the planet Pluto, died, 1997January18thJanuary 19th(G) First demonstration of an x-ray machine in the United States, 1896January 20th(B/S) Astronaut Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin's birthday (second man to walk on the moon, Apollo 11)January 21st(Y) Neptune became the farthest known planet from the sun (until 1999) due to the high eccentricity of Pluto's orbit, 1979January 22nd(S) USAF concludes that less than 1% of UFOs are unknown objects, 1959January 23rdJanuary 24th(S) 100th manned spaceflight (by the U.S.) made, 1985(Y) Voyager 2 made closest approach, the first flyby by a spacecraft, to Uranus, 1986January 25thJanuary 26thJanuary 27th(S) Apollo 201/1 fire during test on launch pad killed astronauts White, Grissom, and Chaffee, 1967January 28th(B/Y) Johannes Hevelius born, 1611(D/Y) Johannes Hevelius dies, 1687(S) NASA space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after launch, killing all seven crew members, 1986January 29th(Y) Galileo sighted Neptune, but failed to recognize it as a planet, 1613January 30thJanuary 31st(Y) Alvan G. Clark, Jr. discovers Sirius' white dwarf companion, 1862(Y) 200-inch/5-meter Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory takes first research photo, 1948(S) U.S. entered the Space Age with the launch of Explorer 1, 1958
February 1st(S) NASA space shuttle Columbia breaks up during re-entry over the west coast of the United States, killing all seven crew onboard, 2003February 2ndFebruary 3rd(S) 1st successful soft lunar landing by the Soviet Union's Luna 9. It returned the first pictures from another celestial body, 1966February 4th(B/Y) Clyde Tombaugh born, 1906(S) 1st Japanese artificial satellite, Ohsumi, launched, 1970February 5th(Y) Maarten Schmidt of Palomar Observatory makes the first measurements of a quasar's redshift, 1963(S) Apollo 14 lands on the Moon, 1971(Y) Mariner 10 took first close-range photo of Venus, 1974February 6th(S) First (and probably last) time a golf ball was hit on the Moon, 1971February 7th(Y) Astronomical Society of the Pacific, first national astronomy organization in the U.S., founded, 1889(S) Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first, free-floating human satellite, 1984February 8th(B/G) Jules Verne born, 1828(G) First college credit course via television, Milwaukee, WI, 1951February 9th(S) Apollo 14 splashdown, 1971February 10th(Y) Comet Halley closest to the sun during 1985-86 apparition, 1986February 11th(B/G) Inventor Thomas Edison born, 1847(S) Japan becomes the fourth nation to launch an artificial satellite, Lambda 4S-5, 1970February 12thFebruary 13thFebruary 14th(S) The first geosynchronous satellite, Syncom 1, launched by the U.S., 1963February 15th(B/Y) Galileo Galilei born, 1564(G) Nine inches of snow fell on New Orleans, LA, 1895February 16th(Y) Gerard Kuiper discovers Uranus' Miranda(V), 1948; this was the last moon of the planet discovered until the Voyager 2 flyby of January, 1986February 17thFebruary 18th(Y) Clyde Tombaugh, 24 years of age, discovers Pluto on a photographic plate of part of the constellation Gemini taken in late January, 1930February 19th(B/Y) Polish cleric, physician and astronomer, Mikolaj Kopernik, better known as Nicolaus Copernicus, born, 1473(S) The Soviet Union launches the MIR space station into Earth orbit, 1986February 20th(S) John Glenn orbited the earth three times in Mercury "Friendship 7" becoming the first American to do so, 1962February 21st(D/Y) George Ellery Hale dies, 1938February 22nd(D/Y) Russell Porter dies, 1949February 23rd(Y) Supernova SN 1987A, the brightest (i.e. nearest) such event in 383 years, is seen naked eye near the Tarantula nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 1987February 24th(Y) Cambridge University graduate student, Jocelyn Bell, discovers the first pulsar, 1968(S) Mariner 6 launched, 1969February 25thFebruary 26th(S) First Apollo spacecraft, "Apollo 1," made a suborbital flight, 1966(Y) Last total eclipse of the Sun over the continental U.S. until August 21, 2017, 1979February 27th(Y) First performance of Gustav Holst's 'The Planets,' 1919(Y) Discovery of radio waves from the Sun, 1942February 28th(Y) A comet brighter than Venus was observed in daylight; its tail was 180 million miles long, 1943(S) First Earth polar orbit achieved by the U.S., 1959February 29th
March 1st(Y) First manmade object, the Soviet Union's Venera 3, reaches Venus' surface, 1966March 2nd(Y) Pioneer 10 launched toward Jupiter, 1972March 3rdMarch 4th(B/Y) Giovanni Schiaperelli born, 1835(Y) Voyager 1 discovered that Jupiter had a thin system of rings, 1979March 5th(S) Landsat 3 launched, 1978(Y) Voyager 1 probe flies past Jupiter, 1979March 6th(B/Y) Joseph Fraunhofer, pioneer optician and spectroscopist born, 1787(B/S) Mercury astronaut, Gordon Cooper, born, 1927(B/S) First woman in space, the Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova, born, 1937(Y) Soviet Union's VeGa 1 probe flies by Comet Halley, returning the first close-up pictures of such an object, 1986March 7th(B/Y) John Herschel born, 1792(B/Y) Henry Draper, pioneer stellar spectroscopist, born, 1837(Y) Comet Kohoutek discovered, 1973March 8th(Y) Japan's Planet-A probe, later renamed Suisei, flies by Comet Halley, 1986(Y) Linda Morabito of the Voyager 1 imaging team discovers active volcanoes on Jupiter's Io, 1979March 9th(B/S) First man in space, the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin, born, 1934(S) Voyager 1 returned the first images of active volcanism on another world -- Io -- one of Jupiter's largest moons, 1979(Y) Soviet Union's VeGa 2 probe flies by Comet Halley, 1986March 10thMarch 11th(Y) Dusky rings were discovered around Uranus by NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory, 1977March 12th(B/S) Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra born, 1923March 13th(Y) William Herschel discovers the planet Uranus in the constellation Gemini with a homemade, 6-inch reflector from his backyard garden in Bath, England, 1781(B/Y) Percival Lowell born, 1855(Y) European Space Agency's Giotto probe flies past Comet Halley, 1986(D/G) Hans von Ohain, inventor of the turbojet engine in aircraft, died, 1998March 14th(B/Y) Albert Einstein born, 1879(S) European Space Agency's Giotto makes closest passage (within 504 km/360 mi) of the nucleus of Comet Halley, 1986March 15th(S) NASA announces the Space Shuttle program, 1972March 16th(S) Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, 1926(S) Crew of Gemini 8 performs first docking in orbit, 1966March 17th(S) U.S.' Vanguard 1 placed in orbit, 1958March 18th(S) Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, on board the first 2-man capsule (Voskhod 2) makes first tethered space walk, 1965March 19th(Y) Pluto actually photographed for the first time, but it wasn't noticed until 1930 in another photograph, 1915March 20th(D/Y) Sir Isaac Newton dies, 1727March 21stMarch 22nd(S) Gemini 3 launched into Earth orbit with crewman Gus Grissom being the first American to go into space twice, 1965(Y) Spectacular Comet Hale-Bopp makes its closest approach (1.315 a.u./197 million km) to Earth, 1997(D/Y) Tony Jenzano, long time Director of the Morehead Planetarium at the University of North Carolina, Chapel, Hill and trainer of the American astronauts through the Apollo program in star pattern recognition, died, 1997March 23rd(Y) First (daguerreotype) photograph of moon taken, 1840(B/S) Werner von Braun born, 1912March 24thMarch 25th(Y) Christian Huygens discovers Saturn's giant moon, Titan, 1655(Y) The 200-inch mirror blank for the Hale telescope left Corning, NY for California, 1936(Y) 21-centimeter radio waves detected from Milky Way for the first time, 1951March 26thMarch 27th(Y) Asteroid Pallas discovered by Heinrich Olbers, 1802(Y) Asteroid Vesta discovered by Heinrich Olbers, 1807(Y) Mariner 7 launched toward Mars, 1969March 28th(S) Robert Goddard used gyroscopes to control a rocket, 1935(Y) U.S.' International Cometary Explorer (ICE), originally launched as the International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE-3), encounters Comet Halley, 1986March 29th(S) Robert Goddard dubbed 'moon man' for stating that humans may go to the moon someday, 1919(Y) Ten thousand people came to watch the 200-inch mirror for the Hale telescope pass through Indianapolis, 1936(Y) Mariner 10 makes its first flyby of Mercury returning the first close-up pictures of the planet nearest the sun, 1974March 30thMarch 31st(D/S) American astronomer, Lyman Spitzer, the first to propose an optical observatory in Earth orbit and father of the Hubble Space Telescope, died, 1997
April 1st(S) First weather satellite, Tiros 1, launched, 1960April 2nd(Y) First photo of sun taken, 1845April 3rd(S) Second flight by Robert Goddard of a liquid-fueled rocket, 1926(Y) Soviet's Luna 10 first spacecraft to orbit moon, 1966April 4th(S) First flight of space shuttle Challenger, 1983(Y) Largest group of sunspots ever on record, 1947April 5th(Y) Pioneer 11 spacecraft launched toward Jupiter and Saturn, 1979April 6th(Y) Greeks record a total eclipse of the sun, 648 B.C.(S) Early Bird, first geostationary commercial communications satellite launched, 1965April 7th(Y) Huge fireball lights up eastern Australia; many report that they could hear its passage, 1978April 8th(S) Unmanned Gemini test launch, 1964April 9th(S) NASA selects first 7 astronauts, 1959April 10th(Y) The 200-inch mirror blank for the Hale telescope arrives in Pasadena, California from Corning, New York, 1936April 11th(Y) Frank Drake begins first radio S.E.T.I. search, Project Ozma, at Green Bank, WV, 1960 (S) Launch of Apollo 13, 1970(Y) Comet Halley made its closest approach to the earth until its next apparition in 2061, 1986April 12th(D/Y) Charles Messier dies, 1817(S) Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man into orbit (once around) aboard Vostok 1, 1961(S) First launch of the space shuttle (Columbia, crewed by John Young and Robert Crippen, 36.5 orbits), 1981April 13th(Y) Best view of Comet Halley in 2,000 years occurred, 837 A.D.April 14th(B/Y) Christiaan Huygens born, 1629(Y) Flash of light seen in the moon crater Plato, 1948April 15th(G) World's first unsinkable luxury liner, the Titanic, sank at 2:27 a.m., 1912April 16thApril 17th(Y) Surveyor 3 lunar probe launched; it became the first spacecraft to sample the surface of the moon, 1967April 18th(D/Y) Albert Einstein dies, 1955(S) First space station, Salyut 1, launched by the Soviet Union, 1971April 19thApril 20th(S) First rocket belt flight made, 1961(S) Apollo 16 landed on the moon, 1972April 21st(Y) Comet Halley begins to fade, 1986April 22nd(Y) Chinese record Lyrid meteor shower, 687 B.C.April 23rd(B/Y) Max Planck, physicist and quantum mechanics pioneer born, 1858(B/S) Mercury astronaut Virgil Ivan 'Gus' Grissom born(S) First manned docking with a space station, Salyut 1, made by the Soviet Union, 1971April 24th(S) USAF used an orbiting satellite for the first time to transmit TV photographs, 1962(S) Soviet Union's Vladimir M. Komarov (Soyuz 1) became the first person to die in space, 1967(S) China launches its first satellite, Dongfanghong /China 1, becoming fifth nation to do so, 1970April 25th(S) An unmanned Mercury test exploded on the launch pad, 1961April 26th(Y) Polish cleric, physician and astronomer Mikolaj Kopernik (Nicholas Copernicus), made his first observations of Saturn, 1514(Y) The 'Great Debate' between Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis on spiral nebulae takes place in the Smithsonian's Baird Auditorium, Washington, D.C., 1920(S) First international satellite, Ariel 1, launched by the U.S. and the United Kingdom, 1962April 27thApril 28th(Y) Isaac Newton's 'Principia' published by Edmond Halley at his own expense, 1686April 29th(S) First launch of Atlantis space shuttle, flight 51-B, 1985April 30th(G) Discovery of element 101, mendelevium (Md), announced, 1955
May 1st(Y) A colt in New Concord, OH was killed by a meteorite, 1860(B/S) Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter's birthday(Y) Gerard P. Kuiper discovers Neptune's moon Nereid, 1949May 2nd(A) First non-stop transcontinental flight from New York to San Diego began, 1923May 3rdMay 4th(S) First on-the-road Spacemobile lecture given by NASA, 1961May 5th(S) Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space by making a 15.5 minute suborbital flight on board Freedom 7, 1961May 6th(S) Flight of Space Shuttle mission 51-B ends, 1985(Y) Venus will transit the sun, 2012May 7thMay 8th(S) American Telstar 2 satellite used to broadcast the first transatlantic color TV picture, 1963May 9th(S) Launch of Soviet Union's Luna 5, the first spacecraft to attempt a soft landing on the moon (it failed), 1965May 10th(Y) Comet Halley's closest approach to Earth during the 1910 apparition, 1910May 11th(D/Y) John Herschel dies, 1871(Y) Albert Einstein presented his General Theory of Relativity, 1916(Y) Earth transited the sun as seen from Mars, 1984May 12thMay 13thMay 14th(S) Skylab -- the United States' first space station -- launched, 1973May 15th(B/Y) French astronomer Nicolas de Lacaille born, 1713(S) Astronaut Gordon Cooper makes the last Mercury program flight in Faith 7 with 22 orbits, 1963May 16thMay 17th(Y) First observation of cloud belts in Jupiter's atmosphere, 1630(B/Y) Norman Lockyer, discoverer of helium born, 1835May 18th(S) Apollo 10 launched, 1969(G) Mt. St. Helens erupted, 1980May 19th(Y) Near total darkness at noon over New England, which was never scientifically explained, 1780May 20th(S) Pioneer Venus launch, 1978May 21stMay 22ndMay 23rd(Y) West Coast of U.S. sees total lunar eclipse and Comet Halley, 1910May 24th(D/Y) Mikolaj Kopernik (Nicholas Copernicus) dies, 1543(S) Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the earth (3 times) in Aurora 7, 1962May 25th(Y) First known prediction of a solar eclipse, 585 B.C.(S) President Kennedy announces national goal of landing a man on the moon, 1961May 26th(B/S) Astronaut, and first U.S. woman in space, Sally Ride's birthdayMay 27th(S) President Kennedy announces the Apollo program goal of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade, 1961(Y) ASTRONOMY magazine founded by Stephen Walther, 1973May 28th(S) Chimps Able and Baker flew in space, 1961May 29th(Y) Solar eclipse used to test Einstein's Theory of Relativity photographed from Principe Island by Arthur Eddington, 1919May 30th(S) Surveyor 1 launched, 1966May 31st
June 1st(Y) Lick Observatory dedicated, 1888(G) Paul Garber joined the staff of the Smithsonian Institution, 1920(Y) 200-inch/5-meter Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory dedicated, 1948June 2ndJune 3rd(G) An iceberg was sighted off the coast of Florida at 30 N. latitude, 1934(Y) 200-inch Hale telescope dedicated at Mt. Palomar, 1948(S) Gemini astronaut Edward White made the first U.S. spacewalk, 1965June 4th(S) USAF Majors James McDivitt and Edward White set a U.S. space endurance record of 97 hrs, 30 sec, 1965(S) Soviet's Venera 9 sends first TV pictures from surface of Venus, 1975(S) An ESA 'Ariane 5,' launched from French Guyana and carrying four Swedish scientific satellites, had to be destroyed 40 seconds after launch when it began to stray off course, 1996June 5thJune 6th(S) Soviet Union's manned Soyuz 11 launched into Earth orbit to rendezvous with the Salyut 1 space station, transferring its crew onboard, 1963June 7thJune 8th(D/Y) Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens dies, 1695(S) First flight of U.S. research aircraft, the X-15, 1957(G) Barnevelt, WI was wiped out by a tornado, 1984June 9th(G) Snow fell in Salem, MA, 1816(S) American Robert Goddard patented the first rocket-powered aircraft design, 1931June 10th(G) First recorded observation of a tornado in the U.S. from Connecticut, 1682June 11th(S) Soviet Union is first to use a balloon to explore another planet (Venus), 1985June 12thJune 13th(Y) Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to escape the solar system, 1983June 14th(S) U.S.' Mariner 4 becomes the first spacecraft to return close-up pictures of Mars, 1965(S) Mariner 5 launched, 1967(Y) On this date, Pioneer 10 was 3,410,939,980 miles from Earth at noon CDT, 1985June 15th(G) Benjamin Franklin flew a kite during a thunderstorm, 1752(S) Apollo-Soyuz Test Project begins, 1975June 16th(S) Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space (Vostok 6), 1963June 17thJune 18th
(Y) Monks in Canterbury, England report seeing the moon hit by a meteor, 1178
(S) Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space during STS-7, 1983 June 19th(S) VanCraft Knitwear in Rhode Island began research on space suit components for American astronauts, 1961June 20th(S) First flight (Germany) of a liquid-fueled rocket plane, 1939(Y) Longest duration for a solar eclipse, 7 minutes 8 seconds, observed from the Philippines, 1955June 21st(S) Patent issued to Andrew Lanergan of Boston, MA, for a rocket, 1859June 22nd(Y) Royal Greenwich Observatory founded, 1675(Y) James Christy discovers Pluto's moon, Charon, from the United States Naval Observatory's Flagstaff, Arizona station, 1978June 23rd(G) All time high temperature for Nevada, 122F, recorded in Overton 1954(S) Soviet Union's Soyuz 11 crew dies during reentry through Earth's atmosphere following successful rendezvous mission with Salyut 1 space station, 1971June 24thJune 25th(B/S) German rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth born, 1894(S) Pilot Kenneth Arnold uses the term 'flying saucer' to describe several mysterious objects he saw skimming over a mountain range, 1947June 26th(B/Y) French astronomer Charles Messier born, 1730June 27th(S) American X-15 research plane velocity record of 6,606 km/hr set, 1962(S) Shuttle Columbia carries first military payload into space, 1982June 28th(D/Y) American astronomer Maria Mitchell dies, 1889(B/S) Hermann J. Oberth, father of German rocketry born, 1894June 29th(B/Y) George Ellery Hale, American solar astronomer and driving force behind the creation of several major American observatories in the 20th century, born, 1868(S) Transit 4A, first (U.S.) nuclear powered satellite launched, 1961June 30th(Y) Tunguska impact event in Siberia, 1908
July 1stJuly 2nd(Y) European Space Agency's Giotto probe launched for its Comet Halley encounter, 1985July 3rdJuly 4th(Y) Crab Nebula supernova in the constellation Taurus first seen on Earth, recorded by American Indians and Chinese astronomers, 1054July 5thJuly 6th(Y) Edmond Halley publishes Isaac Newton's Principia at his own expense, 1687July 7th(S) Robert Goddard received patent for two-stage rocket, 1914(Y) Launch of first Soviet spacecraft to Mars' larger moon, Phobos, 1988July 8thJuly 9th(Y) Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Jupiter, 1979July 10th(S) 1st private, transoceanic communications satellite, Telstar 1, launched, 1962(S) 1st private, transoceanic communications satellite, Telstar 1, is 25 years old, 1987July 11th(S) America's first spacestation, Skylab, re-enters Earth's atmosphere and crashes into Indian Ocean and part of Australia, 1979July 12th(Y) Launch of second Soviet spacecraft to Mars' larger moon, Phobos, 1988July 13thJuly 14th(Y) Mariner 4 became the first spacecraft to photograph another planet as it flys by Mars, 1965July 15th(S) First joint American/Soviet mission, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) launched into Earth orbit. The U.S. crew included Mercury astronaut Donald "Deke" Slayton making his first flight, 1975July 16th(Y) Vega, photographed from Harvard College Observatory, becomes the first star other than the sun to be photographed, 1850(S) Apollo 11 launched on its way to making the first manned lunar landing, 1969(S) Landsat 4 launched, 1982(S) 25th Anniversary Ceremony of Apollo 11's launch held at Kennedy Space Center, 1994July 17th(Y) First photograph of a star, Vega, taken, 1850(S) Maj. Robert White became first pilot to earn astronaut wings for flight in winged aircraft, 1962(S) First docking between American and Soviet spacecraft during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, 1975July 18th(S) First Soviet-American link-up in space during Apollo/Soyuz mission, 1975(S) 1st Indian artificial satellite, RS-1, launched, 1980July 19th(B/Y) Edward Pickering, pioneer spectroscopist and Director of Harvard College Observatory (1876-1919) born, 1846July 20th(S) American Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11, becomes the first person to set foot on another world, Earth's moon, 1969(Y) Viking 1 lands on Mars at Chryse Planitia, returning the first pictures from that planet's surface, 1976July 21st(S) Maj. Virgil I. 'Gus' Grissom, USAF, made the second sub-orbital Mercury flight, 1961July 22ndJuly 23rd(S) First Earth resources technology satellite, Landsat 1, launched, 1972(Y) Possible (later confirmed) ring discovered around Neptune, 1984July 24th(S) First rocket -- a German V-2 -- launched from Cape Canaveral, 1950July 25thJuly 26th(S) 1st geosynchronous satellite, Syncom 2, launched, 1963(S) Apollo 15 launched, 1971July 27thJuly 28th(Y) First photo of a total solar eclipse taken 1851(S) Ranger 7 sends back first close-up pictures of the moon, 1967(G) Congress approved metrification of the U.S., 1966(S) Crew of Skylab 3 launched, 1973July 29th(S) President Eisenhower signs into law the "NASA Act of 1958," 1958July 30th(S) First close-up photos of the moon by Ranger 7, 1964?(S) Apollo 15 lands on the moon, 1971July 31st(Y) First close-up photos of the moon by Ranger 7, 1964?
August 1st(G) Summer is half over...(B/Y) U.S. astronomer Maria Mitchell born, 1818August 2ndAugust 3rd(Y) First variable star discovered, 1596August 4th(Y) Huge solar flare observed, 1972(S) First satellite launched into lunar orbit from manned spacecraft (Apollo 15), 1971August 5th(B/S) Apollo 11 astronaut and first man on the moon Neil Armstrong's birthday, 1930August 6thAugust 7th(Y) Astronomer Johannes Kepler's mother was arrested for witchcraft, 1620(S) 1st satellite to photograph the earth, Explorer 6, launched, 1959August 8thAugust 9thAugust 10th(S) Launch of first U.S. Lunar Orbiter, 1966August 11th(Y) Deimos, Mars' smaller moon, was discovered by Asaph Hall of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., 1877(S) Soviet's Vostok 3 sends back first TV pictures from a manned spacecraft, 1962August 12th(S) U.S.' Echo 1 launched, 1960(S) U.S.' International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE-3), later renamed the International Cometary Explorer (ICE) launched, 1978August 13th(Y) A.J. Angström born, 1814(S) First test glide of the space shuttle Enterprise, 1977August 14th(B/S) Soviet cosmonaut Valeriy Ryumin's birthday; he has spent 362 days in space, more than any other person to date (as of 1988)August 15th(G) UFO sighted by three California patrolmen, 1960August 16thAugust 17th(Y) Phobos, Mars' larger moon, was discovered by Asaph Hall of the U.S.N.O., Washington, D.C., 1877(S) Soviets launch world's first hybrid solid/liquid propelled rocket, 1933August 18th(Y) The element Helium (He) was discovered in the spectrum of the sun, 1868(Y) Japan's Planet-A probe, later renamed Suisei, launched for its encounter with Comet Halley, 1985August 19th(B/Y) First Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, born, 1646August 20th(Y) Viking 1 launched on way to Mars, 1975(Y) Voyager 2 launched on way to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, 1977August 21st(S) American Gordon Cooper became the first man to make a second orbital spaceflight (Gus Grissom's first flight was sub-orbital, his second orbital), 1965(Y) First unmanned telescope in space, 1972(Y) Next total eclipse of the sun over the continental U.S., 2017August 22ndAugust 23rd(S) First images of Earth from the vicinity of the moon made by U.S.' Lunar Orbiter 7, 1966August 24th(G) Lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth, -127F, taken in Antarctica, 1960(S) Voyager 2 made the first close-up pictures of the planet Neptune during the spacecraft's flyby on its way out of the solar system, 1989August 25th(D/Y) Sir William Herschel, discoverer of Uranus, dies, 1822(S) Voyager 2 flies past Saturn, 1981(S) Voyager 2 scheduled to flyby Neptune, 1989August 26th(G) First telecast of a baseball game, played between the Reds and the Dodgers, 1939August 27th(S) Mariner 2 launched, 1962(S) President Reagan announced 'Teacher in Space' Project, 1984August 28th(Y) Sir William Herschel discovers Saturn's Enceladus (II), 1789August 29th(S) Shuttle Discovery makes first flight, 1984August 30th(Y) 13,000 meteors seen in 1 hour near constellation Andromeda, 1885August 31st(S) Air Corps pilots flew 5 miles above earth's surface to photograph eclipse of the sun, 1932 (Y) Comet Howard-Koomur-Michels collided with the sun, 1979
September 1st(Y) First solar flare observed, 1859(G) Last known passenger pigeon died, 1914(Y) Pioneer 11 makes first spacecraft flyby of Saturn, 1979September 2nd(G) Calendar Adjustment Day; September 2 was adjusted to become September 14, 1752 (Y) Asteroid Juno discovered, 1894(Y) The Soviet Union loses contact with its Mars-bound Phobos 1 probe, 1988September 3rd(Y) Viking 2 landed on Mars at Utopia Planitia, 1976September 4th September 5th(S) Fragments of the Soviet's Sputnik 4 landed in Manitowoc, WI, 1962(S) Voyager 1 launched to Jupiter and Saturn, 1977September 6th(Y) Asteroid Aurora discovered, 1867(Y) Founding of the American Astronomical Society (originally called the Astronomical and Astrophysical Society of America), 1899September 7thSeptember 8th(G) T.V. series STAR TREK premiered, 1966September 9th(Y) E.E. Barnard discovers Jupiter's Amalthea(V), the first new moon of the Jovian system discovered since Galileo sighted the four largest in 1610, 1892(Y) Viking 2 launched on way to Mars, 1975(S) Space Services launches Conestoga 1 booster, 1982September 10th(B/Y) James E. Keeler, pioneer American astrophysicist, born, 1857September 11th(B/Y) Astronomer Sir James Jeans born, 1877(B/Y) Soviet cosmonaut G. Titov's birthday; the second human in space(Y) The International Cometary Explorer (ICE) becomes the first spacecraft to encounter a comet (Giacobini-Zinner), 1985September 12th(Y) Charles Messier began his famous catalogue with M1, the Crab Nebula in Taurus, 1758 (S) The Soviet Union's Luna 2 became the first craft to impact the moon, 1959?(S) Gemini 12 docks with Agena target vehicle, 1966September 13th(G) Highest temperature on Earth-- +136F-- recorded in Libya, 1934(Y) Soviet's Luna 2 becomes first manmade object to hit moon, 1959September 14th(S) The Soviet Union's Luna 2 became the first craft to impact the moon, 1959?(Y) Charles Kowal discovers Jupiter's Leda (XIII), first addition to the Jovian system since Ananke (XII) in 1951, 1974September 15thSeptember 16th(D/Y) Astronomer Sir James Jeans dies, 1946September 17th(Y) William Herschel discovers Saturn's Mimas (I), 1789(B/S) Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, father of Soviet rocketry born, 1857(G) MIT's 'Solectria V' won the first solar-powered car race to be held in the U.S., 1988September 18th(B/Y) Léon Foucault born, 1819(S) President Richard Nixon advocates manned expedition to Mars before the end of the 20th century, 1969September 19th(Y) Saturn's Hyperion (VII) discovered by George Bond, 1848September 20th(S) First recovery of test animals from a rocket flight, 1951September 21st(G) H.G. Wells born, 1866September 22ndSeptember 23rd(Y) Neptune discovered in constellation Aquarius by Johann Galle at Berlin Observatory, 1846(G) Premiere of TV's Jetsons cartoon series, 1962September 24th(B/S) Astronaut John Young's birthday(S) First robot return of a lunar sample (3 ounces worth), made by Soviet's Luna 16, 1970September 25thSeptember 26th(Y) Blue moon observed, due to dust in the earth's atmosphere raised by forest fires in Canada, 1950September 27thSeptember 28th(D/Y) Edwin P. Hubble dies, 1953(S) Alouette, the first Canadian satellite, launched, 1962September 29th(S) U.S. returns to space after the 1986 Challenger disaster with the launch of shuttle Discovery, 1988September 30th(Y) Orion nebula photographed for the first time by Henry Draper, 1880
October 1st(Y) Yerkes Observatory dedicated, 1897(S) NASA is formally inaugurated, 1958(Y) NRAO's 300-foot radio telescope at Green Bank WV goes into service, 1962October 2nd(G) Phineas Fogg's wager day from novel 'Around the World in 80 Days,' 1872October 3rd(S) First time a rocket, launched by Germany, reached outer space, 1942October 4th(S) Soviet Union's Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite, launched, 1957October 5th(B/S) Robert Goddard, father of astronautics and American rocketry, born, 1882(Y) Edwin Hubble identifies Cepheid variable star in M-31, 1923October 6thOctober 7th(B/Y) Niels Bohr born, 1885(Y) Soviet Union's Luna 3 returns first photographs the farside of the moon, 1959(G) Hong Kong Space Museum opened, 1980October 8th(B/Y) Eijnar Hertzsprung born, 1873October 9th(Y) Bell Laboratory's Karl Jansky announced discovery of radio waves coming from the center of the Milky Way, 1933(S) Soviets Lunik (Luna 3) sends back first lunar farside picture, 1959October 10th(Y) William Lassell makes discovery of Neptune's first satellite, Triton (I), 1846October 11th(S) USAF launched 'Pioneer 1' lunar probe, which attained a height of approximately 80,000 miles, 1958(S) First manned Apollo flight, Apollo 7, launched, 1968October 12thOctober 13th(D/Y) Tyco Brahe dies, 1601(S) British Interplanetary Society founded, 1933October 14th(S) Chuck Yeagar makes the first supersonic flight in the Bell X-1 "Glamorous Glennis," 1947October 15thOctober 16th(Y) Comet Halley recovered telescopically for 1985-86 apparition, 1982October 17th(G) New York City received transatlantic radio broadcast, 1907October 18th(S) Soviet's Luna 3 photographs the moon's farside, 1959(S) Soviet's Venera 4 becomes first spacecraft to probe Venus' atmosphere, 1967October 19th(S) Robert Goddard's Dream Day; this was the day Goddard climbed a cherry tree and dreamed of space travel. He always remembered that day and celebrated it each year, 1899October 20th(D/Y) Astronomer Harlow Shapley dies, 1972October 21stOctober 22nd(Y) First recorded solar eclipse, considered to be an attack on the sun by a dragon, China, 2136 B.C.(Y) Soviet Union's Venera 9 takes first photos from surface of Venus, 1975October 23rdOctober 24th(Y) William Lassell discovers Uranus' Ariel (I) and Umbriel (II), 1851October 25th(Y) Giovanni Cassini discovers Saturn's Iapetus (VIII), 1671(B/Y) Henry Norris Russell born, 1877October 26th(Y) Archbishop Ussher said that in the year 4004 B.C. the world was created, 17??October 27th(Y) An eclipse was observed from Boston, 1780(S) First launch of a Saturn 1 rocket, 1961October 28th(Y) Closest known approach to Earth by an asteroid, Hermes, 1937(S) First English artificial satellite, Prospero, launched, making Britain the sixth nation to do so 1971October 29th(B/Y) Edmond Halley born (old calendar), 1656(S) America's Enos the chimp orbited the earth twice, 1961(S) Mercury "Friendship 7" astronaut (three orbit flight, 1962) and U.S. Senator, John Glenn (age 77 years), goes into orbit again on board STS-95, 1998October 30th(G) Orson Welles creates widespread panic with the Mercury Theater on the Air's radio broadcast adaptation of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds," 1938October 31st(B/S) Astronaut Michael Collins' (Gemini 10, Apollo 11) birthday(S) First successful launch of German V2/A4 rocket, 1942
November 1st(G) Fusion occurred for the first time on Earth, 1952(Y) Chiron, farthest know asteroid (at the time), discovered, 1977November 2nd(B/Y) Harlow Shapley born, 1885November 3rd(Y) An Alabama woman was bruised by a falling meteor, 1955(S) First animal, dog Laika, flown in space by the Soviet Union aboard Sputnik 2, 1957(S) Mariner 10 launched for its first encounter with Mercury, 1973November 4thNovember 5th(S) First photo showing one full side of the earth taken, 1967November 6th(Y) Supernova observed in Cassiopeia by Tycho Brahe and others, 1572November 7th(Y) First observance of the transit of Mercury, 1631(S) American rocket pioneer, Robert Goddard, demonstrated tube-launched, solid-fuel rockets, 1918November 8th(B/Y) Edmond Halley born (new calendar), 1656(S) First mom in space, Anna Fisher, 1984November 9th(B/Y) Benjamin Banneker born, 1731November 10th(Y) Transit of Earth as seen from Mars, 2084November 11th(B/Y) Vesto Melvin Slipher of Lowell Observatory, first measurer of galaxy redshifts, born, 1875November 12th(Y) Voyager 1 passes by Saturn, 1980(S) American space shuttle, Columbia, becomes the first manned spacecraft flown twice, 1981(Y) Pluto crosses into the Southern Hemisphere, the only time it has been observed to do so in its 248-year orbit since its discovery in 1930, 1987November 13th(B/Y) James Clerk Maxwell, British pioneer theoretician in electromagnetism, born(Y) Mariner 9 becomes the first man-made object to orbit another planet-- Mars, 1971November 14th(S) Apollo 12 launched, 1969November 15th(D/Y) Johannes Kepler dies, 1630(B/Y) William Herschel born, 1738(Y) NRAO's 300-foot radio telescope at Green Bank WV collapses after 26 years of service, 1988. Last known photograph of the structure before the collapse was taken by Geoff Chester of the Smithsonian Institution's Albert Einstein Planetarium.November 16th(S) Last visit by a crew to Skylab space station, 1973(S) First intentional interstellar message sent from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, toward globular cluster M13, 1974November 17th(Y) Leonid meteor shower peaks, with 150,000 meteors per hour observed, 1966November 18th(G) Adoption of uniform time zone plan, 1883(B/S) Astronaut Alan Shepard's birthdayNovember 19th(Y) The 200-inch mirror for the Hale telescope arrives atop Mt. Palomar, 1947(S) Apollo 12 lands on the moon, 1969November 20th(B/Y) Edwin P. Hubble born, 1889November 21stNovember 22nd(D/Y) Arthur S. Eddington dies, 1944(Y) Conjunction of Venus, Mars, Saturn and the Moon, 1987November 23rd(S) First European Space Agency satellite, Meteosat 1, launched, 1977November 24th(S) Apollo 12 splashdown, 1969November 25th(S) First Soviet liquid fueled rocket flew 240 feet, 1933November 26th(S) France became the third nation to enter the Space Age, with the launching of their Asterix 1/A-1 satellite, 1965November 27th(B/Y) Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer and chemist born, 1701(Y) First falling meteor photo taken, 1885(S) Soviet Union becomes the first country to impact an object into the planet Mars, 1971November 28th(S) Mariner 4 launched, 1964November 29th(B/Y) C.J. Doppler, Austrian physicist, born, 1803(S) Mercury 5 launched into Earth orbit with chimpanzee passenger, Enos, onboard, 1961 (S) Wresat 1, first Australian satellite, launched, 1967November 30th
December 1st(S) McDonnell Douglas awarded U.S. Space Station contract, 1987December 2nd(Y) Corning Glass casts the mirror blank for 200-inch Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory, 1934(G) The atom was split for the first time by man, 1942(Y) First soft landing on the Red Planet by the Soviet Union's Mars 3 probe, 1971December 3rd(Y) Pioneer 10 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter, returning close-up pictures, 1973December 4th(S) Lt Col Frank Borman and James Lovell launched on Gemini 7 and began the longest Gemini flight, 320 hours, 1965(S) U.S.'s Pioneer Venus Orbiter becomes the first spacecraft to orbit Venus, 1978December 5th(Y) Pioneer 11 became the second probe to fly by Jupiter, 1974(S) Shuttle Challenger lifts off with largest crew (7), 1984December 6th(S) First U.S. attempt to orbit a satellite; it only got a few feet off the ground, 1957December 7th(S) Apollo 17, the sixth and last lunar landing, launched, 1972December 8th(G) A Bird Banding Society of America was formed, 1909December 9th(G) Phoenix, AZ received 3-inches of snowfall for the first time since 1937, 1985December 10thDecember 11th(B/Y) Annie Jump Cannon, pioneer classifier of stellar spectra at Harvard College Observatory, born 1863(S) Last time humans set foot on the Moon, Apollo 17, 1972December 12thDecember 13th(B/Y) Russell Porter born, 1871(Y) A.A. Michelson at Mt. Wilson Observatory measures the size of a star for the first time, 1920December 14th(B/Y) Tycho Brahe born, 1546(Y) Mariner 2 makes first flyby of Venus, 1962December 15th(Y) First soft landing and return of signals on another planet, Venus, by Soviet's Venera 7, 1970(Y) Soviet Union launches VeGa 1 spacecraft for flybys of Venus and Comet Halley, 1984December 16th(B/Y) Edward Emerson Barnard born, 1857(Y) First successful landing on Venus by Soviet Venera probe, 1970December 17th(Y) First prize of 100,000 francs announced in Paris for the first communications with extraterrestrials, Martians excluded as they were considered too easy, 1900(G) Wright Flyer, built by Wilbur and Orville Wright, makes the first powered, heavier-than-air, sustained flight at Kill Devil Hill, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 1903December 18th(S) First time a human voice-- albeit from pre-recorded tape-- was beamed from space during 'Project Score;' it was a Christmas greeting from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1958?(S) United Nation's 'Moon Treaty' opened for signature, 1979December 19th(S) President Eisenhower's Christmas message relayed by orbiting USAF satellite, 1958?December 20th(Y) Giacobini discovered a comet (Giacobini-Zinner) that was destined to be the first ever visited by a spacecraft (ICE, on September 11, 1985)(D/Y) Planetary astronomer and science popularizer, Carl Sagan, died, 1996December 21st(S) First manned flight to the Moon, Apollo 8, 1968(Y) Soviet Union launches VeGa 2 spacecraft for flybys of Venus and Comet Halley, 1984 (S) Soviet cosmonoauts onboard the MIR space station set a space endurance record of 365 days, 1988December 22nd(Y) Astronomer Jules Janssen escaped besieged Paris by balloon in order to study an eclipse of the sun; unfortunately all his efforts were for naught as it was cloudy that day, 1870(S) SR-71 long range reconnaissance aircraft made its first flight, 1964December 23rd(Y) Giovanni Cassini discovers Saturn's Rhea (V), 1672(G) The transistor was invented, 1947(S) First U.S. case of space motion sickness reported, 1965December 24th(S) U.S.'s Apollo 8 becomes the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon, 1968(S) First launch of European Space Agency's Ariane booster, 1979December 25th(B/Y) Sir Isaac Newton born, 1642 (old calendar)December 26thDecember 27th(B/Y) Johannes Kepler born, 1571December 28th(B/Y) Arthur S. Eddington born, 1882(S) U.S. announced study to launch an Earth satellite, 1948?December 29th(S) U.S. announced that it was working on placing objects in orbit, 1948?December 30th(Y) First picture of a comet -- Kohoutek -- taken by astronauts in space while on board Skylab space station, 1973(S) Soviet cosmonaut Romanenks records 326 days in space, 1987December 31st(D/Y) Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed dies, 1719(Y) Edwin Hubble expanded our concept of the universe by announcing the existence of distant galaxies, 1924(B/Y) Robert G. Aiken, discoverer of 3,100 double stars, born, 1864
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