By John Loci
Next Month in Astronomy History
1, 5509 BC
Day of Creation according to the Byzantine Empire
1, 1804
German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding discovers one of the largest main belt asteroids, Juno.
1, 1859
The first solar flare is observed.
1, 1882
The first observations of the Great September comet of 1882 are made at the Gulf of Guinea and at the Cape of Good Hope.
1, 1979
Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn as it passes at 21,000 km
2, 1752
The British Calendar Act of 1751 decrees that the day after September 2, 1752 shall be September 14, 1752, as Britain converts from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar.
2, 1764
English Astronomer Royal, Rev. Nathaniel Bliss, dies.
2, 1804
Karl Harding discovers the 3rd ever asteroid which is named Juno, after Jupiter's wife.
3, 1976
The Viking 2 spacecraft lands on Mars and take the first color photos of the surface
4, 1682
English astronomer Edmund Halley observes the comet which will bear his name.
4, 1990
A single small meteorite falls through the porch of a house in Burnwell, Pike County, Kentucky.
5, 1907
An entire family was reportedly crushed by a meteorite in Hsin-p ai Wei, Weng-li, China
6, 3761 BC
Origin of the Hebrew Calendar
6, 1997
Brett J. Gladman, Philip D. Nicholson, Joseph A. Burns, and John J. Kavelaars using the 200-inch Hale telescope discovers the Uranian moons: Caliban and Sycorax.
7, 1251 BC
A solar eclipse marks the birth of Hercales in Thebes.
8, 1966
"The Man Trap" was the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series to air on NBC
9, 1892
Edward Barnard or the Lick Observatory discovers Jupiter's innermost satellite, Amalthea. The was the first Jovian moon discovered since Galileo's four Galilean moons.
10, 1858
Rev. George Mary Searle discovers the asteroid 55 Pandora.
11, 1760
Disgraced French astronomer, Louis Godin, dies. In 1735, Louis Godin determined the length of a degree of the meridian in the neighborhood of the equator. This would also determine whether the earth's diameter were greater at the equator than at the poles, as had been theorized by Isaac Newton.
12, 1789
William Herschel discovers Saturn's moon Mimas.
13, 1994
The Ulysses probe passes the Sun's South Pole
14, 1752
The British Calendar Act of 1751 decrees that the day after September 2, 1752 shall be September 14, 1752, as Britain converts from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar.
14, 1959
The Soviet Luna 2 crashes into the Moon becoming the first manmade object to reach it.
14, 1974
Charles Kowal at the Mount Palomar Observatory discovers the Jovian (Jupiter) Moon, Leda.
15, 1749
According to mathematical calculations, Pluto moves outside Neptune's orbit to remain the outermost planet until 1979.
16, 1680
English Astronomer John Flamesteed observes a star, 3 Cassiopeiae, that astronomers were unable to corroborate. 300 years later, the American astronomical historian William Ashworth suggested that what Flamsteed may have seen was the most recent supernova in the galaxy's history,
16, 1848
William & George Bond and William Lassell discovers the Saturnian moon, Hyperion.
16, 1969
A small meteorite hits the roof of a house, in Suchy Dul, Nachod district, Czechoslovakia.
17, 1764
British deaf-mute astronomer, John Goodricke, is born. John Goodricke discovered that some variable stars were periodic.
18, 1965
Tsutomu Seki and Kaoru Ikeya independently discovered Comet Ikeya-Seki within about 15 minutes of each other.
19, 1848
William Boyd discovers Saturn's moon, Hyperion.
20, 1954
The first program compiled from FORTRAN runs. Because of its ability to handle imaginary numbers, FORTRAN was the favorite computer language for electronic engineers and astronomers.
21, 2001
Deep Space 1 flies within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly
22, 1792
The French Revolutionary Convention decreed, on October 5, 1793, that the year (starting on September 22, 1792 - the autumnal equinox, and the day after the proclamation of the new republic) would be divided into 12 months of 30 days, named after corresponding seasonal phenomena (e.g. seed, blossom, harvest).
23, 1848
Johann Galle of the Berlin Observatory discovers the planet Neptune within 1° of the position mathematically predicted by the French astronomer, Urbain Le Verrier.
23, 1873
French astronomer Jean Chacornac, discoverer of six asteroids, dies.
23, 1999
The Mars Climate Observer burns up as it goes into orbit around the Red Planet.
24, 1975
Guido Pizarro takes a 60 minute exposure on which Richard M. West will discover Comet West on November 5, 1975
25, 3760 BC
One possible date of Creation by the Jewish calendar
26, 1868
German mathematician and theoretical astronomer, August Ferdinand Mšbius, dies. August Mšbius is most famous for the invention of the Mšbius Strip.
27, 1905
Albert Einstein publishes the paper "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" in Annalen der Physik. This paper revealed the relationship between energy and mass.
27, 1918
British radio astronomer, Sir Martin Ryle, is born. Martin Ryle was the first radio astronomer to publish interferometric astronomical measurements at radio wavelengths.
27, 2003
First European mission to the Moon was launched aboard an Ariane-5 rocket.
28, 1605
French astronomer, Ismael Boulliau, is born. He suggested that the force of gravity follows an inverse-square law. (Isaac Newton made this idea precise in his 1687 work, the Principia.)
28, 1858
Donati's Comet becomes the first comet to be photographed
28, 1951
Seth Nicholson at Mount Wilson Observatory discovers the Jovian (Jupiter) Moon, Ananke.
28, 1953
American astronomer, Edwin Powell Hubble, dies. Hubble first discovered that galaxies existed outside the Milky Way. The Hubble Space Telescope is named for him.
28, 1969
A meteorite falls on Murchison, Australia.
29, 2004
Asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within 4 lunar distances of Earth.
30, 1929
German auto maker Fritz von Opel flies in the first manned rocket-power flight.
30, 1975
Charles T. Kowal and Elizabeth Roeme discovers the Jovian (Jupiter) Moon, Themisto.
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