Giuseppe Piazzi of Italy discovers the largest asteroid, Ceres.
58 years ago, in 1966:
Explorer 21 reenters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up.
50 years ago, in 1974:
Pioneer 10 begins the Pioneer Interstellar Mission.
12 years ago, in 2012:
The probe GRAIL B (Flow) enters orbit around the Moon.
5 years ago, in 2019:
New Horizons successfully flies by 2014 MU69 (Ultima Thule), making it the farthest object in the Solar System visited by a spacecraft to date.
2
65 years ago, in 1959:
Luna 1 is the first craft to reach Earth escape velocity or Trans Lunar Injection.
20 years ago, in 2004:
Stardust flies within 236km of Comet Wild 2 and captures particles in its aerogel collector.
3
62 years ago, in 1962:
OSCAR 1, the first amateur radio satellite, ceases communication.
38 years ago, in 1986:
Juliet and Portia, two moons of Uranus, are discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
25 years ago, in 1999:
The Mars Polar Lander is launched from Cape Canaveral.
11 years ago, in 2013:
Robert H. McNaught at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia discovers Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring).
4
LAST QUARTER
66 years ago, in 1958:
Sputnik 1 burns up after re-entering Earth's atmosphere.
65 years ago, in 1959:
Luna 1 misses the moon, and is the first craft to go into orbit around the sun.
61 years ago, in 1963:
Luna E-6 No.2 (Sputnik 25) is launched to perform a soft landing on the Moon, but the upper stage malfunctions.
35 years ago, in 1989:
4179 Toutatis, a lost asteroid (object 1934 CT), is rediscovered by French astronomer Christian Pollas at Caussols.
20 years ago, in 2004:
Mars Rover "Spirit" lands at Gusev Crater on Mars.
14 years ago, in 2010:
The Kepler space telescope's first five planetary discoveries, Kepler-4b, -5b, -6b, -7b and -8b, are announced.
5
119 years ago, in 1905:
At the Lick Observatory, Charles D. Perrine discovers Elara, the eighth largest moon of Jupiter.
55 years ago, in 1969:
Venera 5 is launched for Venus.
19 years ago, in 2005:
Mike Brown and his team at Palomar Observatory discover Eris, three times further out than Pluto.
12 years ago, in 2012:
After 16 years of observations, the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) is decommisioned by NASA.
6
46 years ago, in 1978:
Landsat 1 is deactivated, due to overheating.
9 years ago, in 2015:
NASA's Kepler space telescope discovers its 1,000th confirmed exoplanet.
7
414 years ago, in 1610:
Galileo sees three of the four "Galilean" moons of Jupiter for the first time through a telescope.
234 years ago, in 1790:
Caroline Herschel discovers her third comet, Comet C/1790 A1 (Herschel).
136 years ago, in 1888:
James Edward Keeler is the first to view what is known as the Encke Gap in Saturn's A ring, using the 36 inch telescope at Lick Observatory.
56 years ago, in 1968:
Surveyor 7 is launched for the Moon.
39 years ago, in 1985:
Sakigake (MS-T5), Japan's first deep space probe, is launched from the Kagoshima Space Center.
26 years ago, in 1998:
NASA's Lunar Prospector is launched for a low lunar polar orbit to study the Moon.
25 years ago, in 1999:
Beacon contact is lost with the Japanese probe Sakigake.
20 years ago, in 2004:
The Mars Express probe makes the first attempt to contact Beagle 2, but fails.
8
WANING CRESCENT
382 years ago, in 1642:
Galileo Galilei dies at age 77 in Arcetri, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Italy.
82 years ago, in 1942:
Theoretical physicist Stephen William Hawking is born in Oxford, England.
51 years ago, in 1973:
The Luna 21/Lunokhod 2 rover combo is launched to the Moon.
32 years ago, in 1992:
The Japanese probe Sakigake makes its first Earth swingby.
9
38 years ago, in 1986:
Cressida, a moon of Uranus, is discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
16 years ago, in 2008:
Supernova SN 2008D is detected as it occurs with NASA's Swift space observatory in galaxy NGC 2770.
10 years ago, in 2014:
Lituanica SAT-1 and LitSat-1, the two first Lithuanian satellites, are launched together, bound for the ISS.
10
414 years ago, in 1610:
Galileo noticies one of the three "Galilean" moons has disappeared; leading to his belief they were moons.
56 years ago, in 1968:
Surveyor 7 lands on the Moon in the lunar highland region.
56 years ago, in 1968:
The first Australian satellite, WRESAT, reenters the atmosphere and burns up over the Atlantic ocean.
55 years ago, in 1969:
Venera 6 is launched for Venus.
13 years ago, in 2011:
The Kepler space telescope's first evidence of a rocky planet, Kepler-10b, is announced.
6 years ago, in 2018:
NASA renames the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission to the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, in honor of mission PI Neil Gehrels, who died in 2017.
11
NEW MOON
237 years ago, in 1787:
William Herschel discovers two moons of Uranus, Oberon and Titania.
56 years ago, in 1968:
GEOS-2 (Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite); also known as GEOS-B & Explorer 36, is successfully launched for geodetic studies of the Earth.
49 years ago, in 1975:
Soyuz 17 is launched to the Salyut 4 space station.
16 years ago, in 2008:
Both mirrors of The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) see first light, viewing NGC 2770.
12
117 years ago, in 1907:
Sergei Korolev, the Soviet "chief designer", is born in Zhytomyr, Russian Empire.
51 years ago, in 1973:
Luna 21 (USSR) goes into orbit around the Moon.
34 years ago, in 1990:
NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) is finally recovered 69 months (5.8 years) after launch by Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-32).
21 years ago, in 2003:
CHIPSat (Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer satellite), the first of NASA's University-Class Explorers (UNEX) missions, is launched to study the million-degree gas in the local interstellar medium.
19 years ago, in 2005:
Deep Impact is launched for Comet Tempel 1.
13
414 years ago, in 1610:
Galileo discovers the fourth "Galilean" moon of Jupiter.
38 years ago, in 1986:
The Voyager 2 spacecraft discovers three moons of Uranus; Belinda, Desdemona and Rosalind.
31 years ago, in 1993:
The Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer (DXS) is successfully launched from the Shuttle Endeavor (STS-54).
30 years ago, in 1994:
NASA declares that Servicing Mission 1 to fix Hubble's flawed optics is a success, and shows the first sharper images.
14
WAXING CRESCENT
58 years ago, in 1966:
Sergei Korolev, Russia's "Chief Designer", dies at age 59 in Moscow, Russia.
55 years ago, in 1969:
Soyuz 4 is launched for a rendezvous with Soyuz 5.
19 years ago, in 2005:
The Huygens probe lands on Titan; first landing on an outer solar system body.
16 years ago, in 2008:
Messenger makes its first Mercury flyby.
14 years ago, in 2010:
The WISE space telescope starts its official sky survey.
15
55 years ago, in 1969:
Soyuz 5 is launched for a rendezvous with Soyuz 4.
51 years ago, in 1973:
Luna 21 lands on the Moon.
48 years ago, in 1976:
Helios-B (Helios 2) is launched to study solar plasma, the solar wind, cosmic rays and dust, and flies to within 44 million km of the Sun.
18 years ago, in 2006:
Stardust returns to Earth a capsule filled with the particles it captured in its aerogel collector from Comet Wild 2.
12 years ago, in 2012:
Fobos-Grunt reenters the atmosphere and burns up.
9 years ago, in 2015:
New Horizons begins its approach phase to Pluto.
16
55 years ago, in 1969:
Soyuz 5 docks with Soyuz 4; the two craft are joined for 4 hours, 35 minutes.
51 years ago, in 1973:
Luna 21 releases the Lunokhod 2 rover.
21 years ago, in 2003:
On board the ill-fated shuttle Columbia (STS-107), Ilan Ramon becomes the first Israeli citizen to visit space.
17
238 years ago, in 1786:
Comet 2P/Encke is first viewed by French astronomer Pierre Mechain.
55 years ago, in 1969:
Soyuz 4 returns to Earth.
48 years ago, in 1976:
The Communications Technology Satellite (Hermes), an experimental high-power direct broadcast communications satellite, is successfully launched.
19 years ago, in 2005:
2015 BP519 (Caju), an extreme trans-Neptunian with an inclined and highly eccentric orbit, is discovered by astronomers with the Dark Energy Survey at Cerro Tololo Observatory, Chile.
18
FIRST QUARTER
55 years ago, in 1969:
Soyuz 5 returns to Earth.
24 years ago, in 2000:
A large meteoroid explodes over the Tagish Lake area in northwestern British Columbia, Canada.
19
59 years ago, in 1965:
Gemini 2 (unmanned) is launched; suborbital flight to test heat shield.
57 years ago, in 1967:
The Luna 12 mission ends when contact is lost.
18 years ago, in 2006:
The New Horizons probe is launched to Pluto.
20
64 years ago, in 1960:
The maiden flight of the Soviet Molniya carrier rocket is launched.
55 years ago, in 1969:
Zond 1969A is launched as an uncrewed lunar test flight, but the second stage stuts down 25 seconds early, ending the mission.
46 years ago, in 1978:
Progress 1, a Soviet unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft, is launched on its maiden flight to Salyut 6.
38 years ago, in 1986:
Cordelia and Ophelia, two moons of Uranus, are discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
21
WAXING GIBBOUS
65 years ago, in 1959:
The Project SCORE communications satellite burns up in Earths atmosphere.
60 years ago, in 1964:
Relay 2, an experimental communications satellite, is launched.
32 years ago, in 1992:
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Kosmos 2175 is the first satellite to be launched by the Russian Federation.
24 years ago, in 2000:
NASA's two Crawler Transporters are added to the National Register of Historic Places.
10 years ago, in 2014:
Supernova SN 2014J is discovered in the 'Cigar Galaxy' (M82).
7 years ago, in 2017:
The dwarf planet Haumea is the first trans-Neptunian object discovered to have rings.
6 years ago, in 2018:
Rocket Lab's second Electron rocket, "Still Testing", is launched, and deploys three CubeSats and the Humanity Star.
22
56 years ago, in 1968:
First test of the Apollo Lunar Module in space (Apollo 5 - unmanned test flight).
55 years ago, in 1969:
The fifth Orbiting Solar Observatory, OSO-5 (OSO-F) is launched successfully.
49 years ago, in 1975:
Landsat 2 is launched.
46 years ago, in 1978:
Progress 1 docks with the Salyut 6 space station.
34 years ago, in 1990:
The first Argentinean satellite, LUSAT, is successfully launched.
32 years ago, in 1992:
Roberta Bondar, aboard the shuttle Discovery, becomes the first Canadian woman in space.
8 years ago, in 2016:
Blue Origin's New Shepard (NS2) makes its second sub-orbital spaceflight, with a successful reused booster launch and landing.
23
59 years ago, in 1965:
NASA's Crawler Transporter One moves under its own power for the first time.
38 years ago, in 1986:
Bianca, a moon of Uranus, is discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
26 years ago, in 1998:
The NEAR Shoemaker probe flies by Earth for a gravity assist to NEA Eros.
24 years ago, in 2000:
The Cassini space probe flies by and photographs asteroid 2685 Masursky.
21 years ago, in 2003:
Pioneer 10 sends its last signal to Earth.
15 years ago, in 2009:
The Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSat, Ibuki), the world's first satellite for greenhouse gas monitoring, is launched by JAXA from the Tanegashima Space Center.
24
49 years ago, in 1975:
The Salyut 3 space station burns up in Earth's atmosphere after 213 days in orbit.
46 years ago, in 1978:
Cosmos 954, a secret Soviet-navy satellite, re-enters the atmosphere and spreads radioactive debris over 124,000 sq km over northern Canada.
38 years ago, in 1986:
Voyager 2 is the first probe to visit Uranus.
34 years ago, in 1990:
Japan launches the Hiten moon probe; the first moon probe launched by a country other than the U.S.A. or the U.S.S.R.
23 years ago, in 2001:
Progress M1-5 is launched to be used to deorbit the Mir space station.
15 years ago, in 2009:
The two solar probes, STEREO A and B, are exactly 90 degrees apart from each other.
25
FULL MOON
60 years ago, in 1964:
Echo 2, a metalized balloon passive-communications satellite, is launched.
41 years ago, in 1983:
The first infrared telescope, IRAS, is launched.
30 years ago, in 1994:
Clementine is launched to the Moon; first U.S. Lunar mission in over two decades.
20 years ago, in 2004:
Mars Rover "Opportunity" lands at Terra Meridiani on Mars.
26
75 years ago, in 1949:
The 200-inch Hale Telescope sees "first light".
62 years ago, in 1962:
Ranger 3 is launched to the Moon, but misses it and settles into a heliocentric orbit.
46 years ago, in 1978:
The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite, designed to take ultraviolet spectra, is launched.
19 years ago, in 2005:
At the Keck Observatory, a Caltech team discovers Hiʻiaka, the largest moon of the dwarf planet Haumea.
27
116 years ago, in 1908:
Pasiphae, the largest retrograde moon of Jupiter, is discovered by Philibert Jacques Melotte.
57 years ago, in 1967:
Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee lose their lives when a fire sweeps through the command module (Apollo 1).
23 years ago, in 2001:
Progress M1-5 becomes the last spacecraft to dock with the Mir space station.
28
75 years ago, in 1949:
The first flight for X-ray research is made with a U.S. launched V-2, and it detects X-rays from the Sun.
58 years ago, in 1966:
NASA's Crawler Transporter One successfully transports a mobile launcher one mile to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
38 years ago, in 1986:
The shuttle Challenger (STS-51-L) explodes after lift-off, killing all 7 aboard, including the first civilian to go to space.
29
WANING GIBBOUS
60 years ago, in 1964:
The Saturn I SA-5 (a Saturn I with a second stage) is successfully launched into orbit.
35 years ago, in 1989:
Phobos 2 enters orbit around Mars.
30
60 years ago, in 1964:
Ranger 6 is launched to the Moon.
55 years ago, in 1969:
ISIS-I, a Canadian research satellite to explore the ionosphere, is launched.
22 years ago, in 2002:
NASA's Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) re-enters the Earth's atmosphere.
31
239 years ago, in 1785:
NGC 2359 (Thor’s Helmet), a bright nebula in the constellation Canis Major, is discovered by William Herschel.
66 years ago, in 1958:
The first successful U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, is launched and discovers the Van Allen radiation belts.
63 years ago, in 1961:
Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) is launched with Ham the chimp.
62 years ago, in 1962:
OSCAR 1, the first amateur radio satellite, burns up in re-entry.
58 years ago, in 1966:
Luna 9 is launched to the Moon.
56 years ago, in 1968:
After 183 days, Lunar Orbiter 5 is deliberately crashed into the Moon.
53 years ago, in 1971:
Apollo 14 launch to land on the moon.
28 years ago, in 1996:
Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2) is discovered by Yuji Hyakutake.
23 years ago, in 2001:
NASA's Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) is deactivated.
10 years ago, in 2014:
The Curiosity rover captures images of the Earth setting over Gale crater.
It's been 3483 days
