Karl Ludwig Harding of Germany discovers the asteroid Juno.
156 years ago, in 1859:
First day of the Carrington Event; one of the most powerful geomagnetic solar storms on record.
53 years ago, in 1962:
The Sputnik 20 (Venera 2MV-1 No.2) atmospheric probe is launched for Venus, but its escape stage fails.
36 years ago, in 1979:
Pioneer 11 makes its closest approach to Saturn, at a distance of 12,800 miles (20,591 km) from the cloud tops.
10 years ago, in 2005:
The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) is placed into hibernation for the second time.
2
156 years ago, in 1859:
Second day of the Carrington Event; one of the most powerful geomagnetic solar storms on record.
45 years ago, in 1970:
Apollo 18 and 19 are cancelled due to budget cuts.
44 years ago, in 1971:
Luna 18 (USSR) is launched to the Moon; the seventh Soviet attempt to bring back soil from the surface.
40 years ago, in 1975:
Luna 22's (USSR) propellent is exhausted, ending its lunar orbit mission after 15 months.
27 years ago, in 1988:
The Phobos 1 probe has a computer malfunction en route to Mars, thus ending the mission.
This year:
On board the Soyuz TMA-18M mission to the ISS, Aidyn Aimbetov becomes the first Kazakh to visit space.
This year:
On board the Soyuz TMA-18M mission to the ISS, Andreas Mogensen becomes the first Dane to visit space.
3
57 years ago, in 1958:
Explorer 4's low-power transmitter fails.
39 years ago, in 1976:
The Viking 2 lander touches down at Utopia Planitia on Mars.
20 years ago, in 1995:
After 72 launches and a success rate of 100%, the Soyuz-U2 orbital carrier rocket makes its last flight.
13 years ago, in 2002:
J002E3, tentatively identified as being the S-IVB third stage of the Apollo 12 Saturn V rocket, is discovered by amateur astronomer Bill Yeung.
9 years ago, in 2006:
After a successful three year mission, SMART-1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-1) impacts the Moon as planned.
4
333 years ago, in 1682:
English astronomer Edmond Halley first observes the comet that will be named after him.
53 years ago, in 1962:
Mariner 2 performs the first rocket maneuver in deep space on its way to Venus.
51 years ago, in 1964:
NASA launches its first Orbital Geophysical Observatory (OGO-1).
14 years ago, in 2001:
NASA announces that they will extend the Chandra X-ray Observatory's current five year mission to ten years.
5
LAST QUARTER
53 years ago, in 1962:
The descent module of Korabl-Sputnik 1 (Sputnik 4) re-enters Earths atmosphere.
38 years ago, in 1977:
Voyager 1 is launched.
7 years ago, in 2008:
The Rosetta probe flies by asteroid Steins.
3 years ago, in 2012:
The Dawn probe leaves the orbit of the asteroid Vesta.
6
68 years ago, in 1947:
The U.S. Navy launches a German V-2 rocket at sea from the aircraft carrier USS Midway, where it splashes down 10 km (6 miles) away.
49 years ago, in 1966:
Star Trek premieres on CTV in Canada.
7
44 years ago, in 1971:
Luna 18 (USSR) goes into orbit around the Moon.
32 years ago, in 1983:
Landsat 3 is decommissioned.
27 years ago, in 1988:
A software problem, combined with a sensor problem, causes the Soyuz TM-5 to spend an extra day in orbit after undocking with Mir.
2 years ago, in 2013:
Comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) is discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy.
2 years ago, in 2013:
The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is launched on the maiden flight of the Minotaur V.
8
231 years ago, in 1784:
William Herschel discovers NGC 16, a lenticular galaxy located in the Pegasus constellation.
49 years ago, in 1966:
Star Trek premieres on NBC in America.
48 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 5 is launched for the Moon.
15 years ago, in 2000:
Blue Origin, a privately funded aerospace company, is founded by Jeff Bezos.
11 years ago, in 2004:
The Genesis spacecraft releases its solar wind sample return capsule, which lands on Earth.
9
WANING CRESCENT
123 years ago, in 1892:
Edward Barnard discovers the fifth moon of Jupiter, Amalthea, using the Lick 36-inch refractor.
40 years ago, in 1975:
Viking 2 is launched to Mars.
37 years ago, in 1978:
The Venera 11 probe is launched for Venus.
33 years ago, in 1982:
Conestoga I is launched by Space Services Inc. to an altitude of 192 miles (309 km), becoming the first privately owned and operated rocket to reach space.
9 years ago, in 2006:
The shuttle Atlantis (STS-115) is launched with the second port-side truss segment (P3/P4) and a pair of solar arrays (2A/4A) for the ISS.
8 years ago, in 2007:
The Cassini probe makes a flyby of one of Saturn's moons, Iapetus, and discovers one hemisphere is black and the other white.
10
231 years ago, in 1784:
William Herschel discovers NGC 23, a spiral galaxy in the Pegasus constellation.
157 years ago, in 1858:
George Mary Searle, an American astronomer and Catholic priest, discovers asteroid 55 Pandora.
10 years ago, in 2005:
At the Keck Observatory, Mike Brown and his team discover Dysnomia, a moon of the dwarf planet Eris.
4 years ago, in 2011:
The Delta II 7000H makes its last flight, launching the twin GRAIL probes to create a detailed gravity map of the Moon.
11
48 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 5 lands, and is the first craft to do a soil analysis on the Moon, or any other world beyond Earth.
44 years ago, in 1971:
Luna 18 (USSR) crashes into the Moon and contact is lost.
30 years ago, in 1985:
International Cometary Explorer (ICE, formerly ISEE-3) is the first craft to traverse the plasma tail of a comet (Giacobini-Zinner).
18 years ago, in 1997:
Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars and goes into orbit.
16 years ago, in 1999:
101955 Bennu, an Apollo group asteroid, is discovered by the LINEAR Project.
6 years ago, in 2009:
Discovery (STS-128) makes the last shuttle landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
12
56 years ago, in 1959:
Luna 2 is launched to the Moon.
53 years ago, in 1962:
The Sputnik 21 (Venera 2MV-2 No.1) probe is launched for Venus, but its third stage explodes.
49 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini XI is launched; reaches record altitude of 739 miles, completes 44 orbits.
45 years ago, in 1970:
Luna 16 (USSR) is launched to the Moon; the third Soviet attempt to bring back soil from the surface.
23 years ago, in 1992:
Aboard shuttle Endeavour (STS-47), Mae Jemison becomes the first African-American woman to fly in space.
23 years ago, in 1992:
Jan Davis and Mark Lee are the first married couple in space together, launching aboard the shuttle Endeavour (STS-47).
10 years ago, in 2005:
The Yohkoh (Solar-A) Solar Observatory burns up during reentry over South Asia.
13
NEW MOON
38 years ago, in 1977:
The shuttle Enterprise makes its second Approach and Landing Test (ALT-13) after being releasd from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
24 years ago, in 1991:
The Yohkoh (Solar-A) Solar Observatory takes its first picture of the Sun.
8 years ago, in 2007:
Japan launches its second lunar orbiter, SELENE (Kaguya).
8 years ago, in 2007:
The Google Lunar XPRIZE is announced during NextFest.
14
56 years ago, in 1959:
Luna 2 is the first craft to impact into the Moon.
44 years ago, in 1971:
Controllers have the last communication with the Lunokhod 1 moon rover.
41 years ago, in 1974:
Charles Kowal discovers one of Jupiter's moons, Leda.
37 years ago, in 1978:
The Venera 12 probe is launched for Venus.
14 years ago, in 2001:
Pirs, a Russian docking and airlock module for the ISS, is launched aboard a Soyuz-U/Progress M-SO1.
2 years ago, in 2013:
Japan launches Hisaki (SPRINT-A), an ultraviolet astronomy satellite, aboard the maiden flight of a four-stage Epsilon rocket.
This year:
The first observation of gravitational waves are made by the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors.
15
49 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini XI lands back on Earth.
47 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 5 is launched to circle the Moon and return to Earth; on board are 2 tortoises, flies, worms, plants, and other life.
25 years ago, in 1990:
The Magellan spacecraft begins its primary mission at Venus; mapping the surface with radar.
4 years ago, in 2011:
The Cassini probe captures five of Saturn's moons in one picture: Janus, Pandora, Enceladus, Mimas and Rhea.
4 years ago, in 2011:
The Kepler space telescope discovers the first planet around a double-star system, Kepler-16b.
16
167 years ago, in 1848:
William Bond, his son George, and William Lassell co-discover one of Saturn's moons, Hyperion.
66 years ago, in 1949:
Aboard a US-launched V-2, Albert III, a long-tailed macaque, dies when the rocket explodes ten seconds after launch.
19 years ago, in 1996:
Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-79) is the first shuttle mission to dock at the fully assembled Mir Space Station.
17
WAXING CRESCENT
226 years ago, in 1789:
William Herschel discovers a moon of Saturn, Mimas.
45 years ago, in 1970:
Luna 16 (USSR) goes into orbit around the Moon.
39 years ago, in 1976:
The shuttle Enterprise is rolled out for a dedication ceremony with most of the original Star Trek cast on hand.
18
229 years ago, in 1786:
William Herschel discovers NGC 14, an irregular galaxy in the Pegasus constellation.
51 years ago, in 1964:
AS-102 (SA-7), is successfully launched, carrying the second 'boilerplate' version of the Apollo spacecraft.
50 years ago, in 1965:
Comet Ikeya–Seki (C/1965 S1, Great Comet of 1965) is discovered independently by Kaoru Ikeya and Tsutomu Seki.
47 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 5 circles the Moon and heads back to Earth.
38 years ago, in 1977:
Voyager 1 returns the first spacecraft photo of Earth and the Moon.
35 years ago, in 1980:
On board the Soyuz 38 mission to Salyut 6, Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez becomes the first Cuban, the first person of African heritage, and the first Latin American to visit space.
9 years ago, in 2006:
Supernova SN 2006gy is discovered in the galaxy NGC 1260.
9 years ago, in 2006:
On board the Soyuz TMA-9 mission to the ISS, Anousheh Ansari becomes the first Iranian and the first female space tourist to visit space.
9 years ago, in 2006:
The Large Binocular Telescope's (LBT) secondary mirror sees first light.
2 years ago, in 2013:
Orbital Sciences' Cygnus resupply ship demonstration mission is successfully launched to the ISS.
19
47 years ago, in 1968:
The first of the Intelsat III series of satellites, Intelsat III-1, is launched, but is destroyed by range safety after a gyroscope failure.
27 years ago, in 1988:
The first Israli satellite, Ofeq (Ofek) 1, is successfully launched.
This year:
The Long March 6 makes a successful maiden flight.
20
49 years ago, in 1966:
Surveyor 2 is launched for the Moon.
45 years ago, in 1970:
Luna 16 (USSR) lands on the Moon's surface and successfully collects a soil sample.
36 years ago, in 1979:
HEAO-3 (High Energy Astronomy Observatory 3) is lauched, carrying a high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer and two cosmic-ray instruments.
21
FIRST QUARTER
45 years ago, in 1970:
Luna 16 's upper stage lifts off from the Moon, and heads to Earth with its soil sample.
41 years ago, in 1974:
Mariner 10 makes its second Mercury flyby.
12 years ago, in 2003:
The Galileo spacecraft ends its mission and is sent into Jupiter, where it is crushed by atmospheric pressure.
3 years ago, in 2012:
The retired shuttle Endeavour is flown atop a 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to Los Angeles International Airport.
3 years ago, in 2012:
Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) is discovered by Vitaly Nevsky and Artyom Novichonok using the 0.4-meter reflector of the International Scientific Optical Network near Kislovodsk, Russia.
22
47 years ago, in 1968:
The Zond 5 reentry capsule lands on Earth; becoming the first spacecraft to circle the Moon and return to Earth, and all its cargo survives.
14 years ago, in 2001:
Deep Space 1 flies by Comet Borrelly.
11 years ago, in 2004:
Salacia, a trans-Neptunian object, is discovered by Henry Roe, Michael Brown and Kristina Barkume.
9 years ago, in 2006:
Japan launches Hinode (Solar-B), a Solar Observatory spacecraft.
1 year ago, in 2014:
The MAVEN probe goes into orbit around Mars.
23
169 years ago, in 1846:
Johann Galle discovers the planet Neptune, based on calculations by Urbain Le Verrier.
57 years ago, in 1958:
Intended for a lunar impact, the Soviets launch Luna E-1 No.1 (Luna 1958A), but the rocket disintegrates 92 seconds after launch.
49 years ago, in 1966:
Surveyor 2 loses control due to a malfunctioning thruster and crashes into the Moon.
38 years ago, in 1977:
The shuttle Enterprise makes its third Approach and Landing Test (ALT-14) after being releasd from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
6 years ago, in 2009:
The first Swiss satellite, SwissCube-1, is successfully launched.
24
WAXING GIBBOUS
45 years ago, in 1970:
Luna 16 successfully returns the capsule with the lunar soil sample to Earth.
7 years ago, in 2008:
The ESO (European Southern Observatory) announces the first optically active magnetar-candidate yet discovered, SWIFT J195509+261406, using the ESO's Very Large Telescope.
1 year ago, in 2014:
Using the data from three of NASA's space telescopes; Hubble, Spitzer and Kepler, astronomers discover clear skies and steamy water vapor on exoplanet HAT-P-11b.
1 year ago, in 2014:
India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, is successfully inserted into orbit around Mars.
25
55 years ago, in 1960:
Pioneer P-30 (Atlas-Able 5A, Pioneer Y) is launched for a lunar orbit, but the mission fails due to a second stage malfunction.
42 years ago, in 1973:
After 59 and a half days in orbit, the crew of Skylab 3 return to Earth.
23 years ago, in 1992:
The Mars Observer is launched from Cape Canaveral.
This year:
The Long March 11 makes a successful maiden flight.
26
22 years ago, in 1993:
The first Portuguese satellite, PoSAT-1, is successfully launched.
17 years ago, in 1998:
25143 Itokawa, classified as near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous asteroid, is discovered by the LINEAR project.
15 years ago, in 2000:
TiungSAT-1, the first Malaysian microsatellite, is successfully launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
8 years ago, in 2007:
Deep Impact's orbit is adjusted toward Comet Hartley 2.
27
48 years ago, in 1967:
Soyuz 7K-L1 No.4L (Zond 1967A) is launched to perform a circumlunar flyby, but fails to achieve Earth orbit.
42 years ago, in 1973:
Soyuz 12, a manned test flight of the newly redesigned 2-person Soyuz 7K-T (in wake of the Soyuz 11 tragedy), is launched.
18 years ago, in 1997:
Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner sends its last data transmission.
12 years ago, in 2003:
SMART-1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-1), is launched by the ESA to orbit the Moon.
8 years ago, in 2007:
NASA's solar powered ion engined Dawn spacecraft is launched to the asteroids Vesta and Ceres.
7 years ago, in 2008:
China becomes the third country to independently carry out an EVA during the Shenzhou 7 mission by Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang.
5 years ago, in 2010:
Cassini begins the Solstice Mission extension.
28
FULL MOON
64 years ago, in 1951:
Seth Barnes Nicholson discovers on of Jupiter's moons, Ananke.
53 years ago, in 1962:
Alouette I makes Canada the third nation to build and the fourth nation to launch a satellite (and still orbiting).
46 years ago, in 1969:
The Murchison meteorite, a carbonaceous chondrite, falls to Earth near the town of Murchison, Victoria, in Australia.
44 years ago, in 1971:
Luna 19 (USSR) is launched to the Moon.
7 years ago, in 2008:
SpaceX's fifth launch of Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid fueled rocket to reach Earth orbit.
This year:
India launches their first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, Astrosat.
29
131 years ago, in 1884:
243 Ida, a minor planet in the inner asteroid belt, is discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory.
44 years ago, in 1971:
The seventh Orbiting Solar Observatory, OSO-7 (OSO-H) is launched successfully to investigate the Sun in the UV spectrum.
42 years ago, in 1973:
Soyuz 12 lands on Earth after a successful mission.
38 years ago, in 1977:
The Salyut 6 space station is launched.
27 years ago, in 1988:
The shuttle Discovery (STS-26R) lifts off, the first shuttle flight since the Challenger disaster.
11 years ago, in 2004:
Asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within 932,000 miles (1.5 million km) of Earth.
11 years ago, in 2004:
The Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne makes its first flight for the Ansari X PRIZE.
6 years ago, in 2009:
Messenger makes its third Mercury flyby.
4 years ago, in 2011:
China launches its first prototype space station, Tiangong-1, with a Long March 2F/G rocket.
2 years ago, in 2013:
Orbital Sciences' Cygnus resupply ship demonstration mission is docked with the ISS.
2 years ago, in 2013:
SpaceX's Falcon 9 v1.1 launches from Vandenberg AFB on its maiden flight, successfully releasing the Canadian satellite CASSIOPE.
2 years ago, in 2013:
2013 SY99, a trans-Neptunian object, is discovered by the Outer Solar System Origins Survey using the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory.
30
135 years ago, in 1880:
Using an 11 inch Clark Brothers photographic refractor, Henry Draper is the first person to photograph the Orion Nebula.
20 years ago, in 1995:
NASA terminates routine contact with Pioneer 11.
5 years ago, in 2010:
The Russian (previously Soviet) Molniya-M carrier rocket makes its final flight.
It's been 3818 days
