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Yuri's Night - World Space Party





New Horizons has been in space for 6644 days. (Launch Date: Jan 19, 2006)

It's been 3181 days
since New Horizons'
closest approach
to Pluto on
July 14, 2015.


It's been 1914 days
since New Horizons'
closest approach
to 2014 MU69 on
January 1, 2019.



Questions? Comments?
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1961 Tasco 12TE


Tasco 4.5 Lunagrosso


New Horizons Message Initiative December, 2016

  January 2017  

February, 2017

     Current Date  

9th day of Spring


84 days until Summer


Sunday


Monday


Tuesday


Wednesday


Thursday


Friday


Saturday


 1

     216 years ago, in 1801:

Giuseppe Piazzi of Italy discovers the largest asteroid, Ceres.

     51 years ago, in 1966:

Explorer 21 reenters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up.

     43 years ago, in 1974:

Pioneer 10 begins the Pioneer Interstellar Mission.

     5 years ago, in 2012:

The probe GRAIL B (Flow) enters orbit around the Moon.

 2            WAXING CRESCENT 

     58 years ago, in 1959:

Luna 1 is the first craft to reach Earth escape velocity or Trans Lunar Injection.

     13 years ago, in 2004:

Stardust flies within 236km of Comet Wild 2 and captures particles in its aerogel collector.

 3

     55 years ago, in 1962:

OSCAR 1, the first amateur radio satellite, ceases communication.

     31 years ago, in 1986:

Juliet and Portia, two moons of Uranus, are discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

     18 years ago, in 1999:

The Mars Polar Lander is launched from Cape Canaveral.

     4 years ago, in 2013:

Robert H. McNaught at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia discovers Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring).

 4

     59 years ago, in 1958:

Sputnik 1 burns up after re-entering Earth's atmosphere.

     58 years ago, in 1959:

Luna 1 misses the moon, and is the first craft to go into orbit around the sun.

     54 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.

     28 years ago, in 1989:

4179 Toutatis, a lost asteroid (object 1934 CT), is rediscovered by French astronomer Christian Pollas at Caussols.

     13 years ago, in 2004:

Mars Rover "Spirit" lands at Gusev Crater on Mars.

     7 years ago, in 2010:

The Kepler space telescope's first five planetary discoveries, Kepler-4b, -5b, -6b, -7b and -8b, are announced.

 5            FIRST QUARTER 

     112 years ago, in 1905:

At the Lick Observatory, Charles D. Perrine discovers Elara, the eighth largest moon of Jupiter.

     48 years ago, in 1969:

Venera 5 is launched for Venus.

     12 years ago, in 2005:

Mike Brown and his team at Palomar Observatory discover Eris, three times further out than Pluto.

     5 years ago, in 2012:

After 16 years of observations, the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) is decommisioned by NASA.

 6

     39 years ago, in 1978:

Landsat 1 is deactivated, due to overheating.

     2 years ago, in 2015:

NASA's Kepler space telescope discovers its 1,000th confirmed exoplanet.

 7

     407 years ago, in 1610:

Galileo sees three of the four "Galilean" moons of Jupiter for the first time through a telescope.

     227 years ago, in 1790:

Caroline Herschel discovers her third comet, Comet C/1790 A1 (Herschel).

     129 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.

     49 years ago, in 1968:

Surveyor 7 is launched for the Moon.

     32 years ago, in 1985:

Sakigake (MS-T5), Japan's first deep space probe, is launched from the Kagoshima Space Center.

     19 years ago, in 1998:

NASA's Lunar Prospector is launched for a low lunar polar orbit to study the Moon.

     18 years ago, in 1999:

Beacon contact is lost with the Japanese probe Sakigake.

     13 years ago, in 2004:

The Mars Express probe makes the first attempt to contact Beagle 2, but fails.

 8

     375 years ago, in 1642:

Galileo Galilei dies at age 77 in Arcetri, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Italy.

     75 years ago, in 1942:

Theoretical physicist Stephen William Hawking is born in Oxford, England.

     44 years ago, in 1973:

The Luna 21/Lunokhod 2 rover combo is launched to the Moon.

     25 years ago, in 1992:

The Japanese probe Sakigake makes its first Earth swingby.

 9            WAXING GIBBOUS 

     31 years ago, in 1986:

Cressida, a moon of Uranus, is discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

     9 years ago, in 2008:

Supernova SN 2008D is detected as it occurs with NASA's Swift space observatory in galaxy NGC 2770.

     3 years ago, in 2014:

Lituanica SAT-1 and LitSat-1, the two first Lithuanian satellites, are launched together, bound for the ISS.

 10

     407 years ago, in 1610:

Galileo noticies one of the three "Galilean" moons has disappeared; leading to his belief they were moons.

     49 years ago, in 1968:

Surveyor 7 lands on the Moon in the lunar highland region.

     49 years ago, in 1968:

The first Australian satellite, WRESAT, reenters the atmosphere and burns up over the Atlantic ocean.

     48 years ago, in 1969:

Venera 6 is launched for Venus.

     6 years ago, in 2011:

The Kepler space telescope's first evidence of a rocky planet, Kepler-10b, is announced.

 11

     230 years ago, in 1787:

William Herschel discovers two moons of Uranus, Oberon and Titania.

     49 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.

     42 years ago, in 1975:

Soyuz 17 is launched to the Salyut 4 space station.

     9 years ago, in 2008:

Both mirrors of The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) see first light, viewing NGC 2770.

 12            FULL MOON 

     110 years ago, in 1907:

Sergei Korolev, the Soviet "chief designer", is born in Zhytomyr, Russian Empire.

     44 years ago, in 1973:

Luna 21 (USSR) goes into orbit around the Moon.

     27 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).

     14 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.

     12 years ago, in 2005:

Deep Impact is launched for Comet Tempel 1.

 13

     407 years ago, in 1610:

Galileo discovers the fourth "Galilean" moon of Jupiter.

     31 years ago, in 1986:

The Voyager 2 spacecraft discovers three moons of Uranus; Belinda, Desdemona and Rosalind.

     24 years ago, in 1993:

The Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer (DXS) is successfully launched from the Shuttle Endeavor (STS-54).

     23 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

     51 years ago, in 1966:

Sergei Korolev, Russia's "Chief Designer", dies at age 59 in Moscow, Russia.

     48 years ago, in 1969:

Soyuz 4 is launched for a rendezvous with Soyuz 5.

     12 years ago, in 2005:

The Huygens probe lands on Titan; first landing on an outer solar system body.

     9 years ago, in 2008:

Messenger makes its first Mercury flyby.

     7 years ago, in 2010:

The WISE space telescope starts its official sky survey.

 15            WANING GIBBOUS 

     48 years ago, in 1969:

Soyuz 5 is launched for a rendezvous with Soyuz 4.

     44 years ago, in 1973:

Luna 21 lands on the Moon.

     41 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.

     11 years ago, in 2006:

Stardust returns to Earth a capsule filled with the particles it captured in its aerogel collector from Comet Wild 2.

     5 years ago, in 2012:

Fobos-Grunt reenters the atmosphere and burns up.

     2 years ago, in 2015:

New Horizons begins its approach phase to Pluto.

 16

     48 years ago, in 1969:

Soyuz 5 docks with Soyuz 4; the two craft are joined for 4 hours, 35 minutes.

     44 years ago, in 1973:

Luna 21 releases the Lunokhod 2 rover.

     14 years ago, in 2003:

On board the ill-fated shuttle Columbia (STS-107), Ilan Ramon becomes the first Israeli citizen to visit space.

 17

     231 years ago, in 1786:

Comet 2P/Encke is first viewed by French astronomer Pierre Mechain.

     48 years ago, in 1969:

Soyuz 4 returns to Earth.

     41 years ago, in 1976:

The Communications Technology Satellite (Hermes), an experimental high-power direct broadcast communications satellite, is successfully launched.

     12 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

     48 years ago, in 1969:

Soyuz 5 returns to Earth.

     17 years ago, in 2000:

A large meteoroid explodes over the Tagish Lake area in northwestern British Columbia, Canada.

 19            LAST QUARTER 

     52 years ago, in 1965:

Gemini 2 (unmanned) is launched; suborbital flight to test heat shield.

     50 years ago, in 1967:

The Luna 12 mission ends when contact is lost.

     11 years ago, in 2006:

The New Horizons probe is launched to Pluto.

 20

     57 years ago, in 1960:

The maiden flight of the Soviet Molniya carrier rocket is launched.

     48 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.

     39 years ago, in 1978:

Progress 1, a Soviet unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft, is launched on its maiden flight to Salyut 6.

     31 years ago, in 1986:

Cordelia and Ophelia, two moons of Uranus, are discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

 21

     58 years ago, in 1959:

The Project SCORE communications satellite burns up in Earths atmosphere.

     53 years ago, in 1964:

Relay 2, an experimental communications satellite, is launched.

     25 years ago, in 1992:

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Kosmos 2175 is the first satellite to be launched by the Russian Federation.

     17 years ago, in 2000:

NASA's two Crawler Transporters are added to the National Register of Historic Places.

     3 years ago, in 2014:

Supernova SN 2014J is discovered in the 'Cigar Galaxy' (M82).

       This year:

The dwarf planet Haumea is the first trans-Neptunian object discovered to have rings.

 22

     49 years ago, in 1968:

First test of the Apollo Lunar Module in space (Apollo 5 - unmanned test flight).

     48 years ago, in 1969:

The fifth Orbiting Solar Observatory, OSO-5 (OSO-F) is launched successfully.

     42 years ago, in 1975:

Landsat 2 is launched.

     39 years ago, in 1978:

Progress 1 docks with the Salyut 6 space station.

     27 years ago, in 1990:

The first Argentinean satellite, LUSAT, is successfully launched.

     25 years ago, in 1992:

Roberta Bondar, aboard the shuttle Discovery, becomes the first Canadian woman in space.

      1 year ago, in 2016:

Blue Origin's New Shepard (NS2) makes its second sub-orbital spaceflight, with a successful reused booster launch and landing.

 23

     52 years ago, in 1965:

NASA's Crawler Transporter One moves under its own power for the first time.

     31 years ago, in 1986:

Bianca, a moon of Uranus, is discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

     19 years ago, in 1998:

The NEAR Shoemaker probe flies by Earth for a gravity assist to NEA Eros.

     17 years ago, in 2000:

The Cassini space probe flies by and photographs asteroid 2685 Masursky.

     14 years ago, in 2003:

Pioneer 10 sends its last signal to Earth.

     8 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            WANING CRESCENT 

     42 years ago, in 1975:

The Salyut 3 space station burns up in Earth's atmosphere after 213 days in orbit.

     39 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.

     31 years ago, in 1986:

Voyager 2 is the first probe to visit Uranus.

     27 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.

     16 years ago, in 2001:

Progress M1-5 is launched to be used to deorbit the Mir space station.

     8 years ago, in 2009:

The two solar probes, STEREO A and B, are exactly 90 degrees apart from each other.

 25

     53 years ago, in 1964:

Echo 2, a metalized balloon passive-communications satellite, is launched.

     34 years ago, in 1983:

The first infrared telescope, IRAS, is launched.

     23 years ago, in 1994:

Clementine is launched to the Moon; first U.S. Lunar mission in over two decades.

     13 years ago, in 2004:

Mars Rover "Opportunity" lands at Terra Meridiani on Mars.

 26

     68 years ago, in 1949:

The 200-inch Hale Telescope sees "first light".

     55 years ago, in 1962:

Ranger 3 is launched to the Moon, but misses it and settles into a heliocentric orbit.

     39 years ago, in 1978:

The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite, designed to take ultraviolet spectra, is launched.

     12 years ago, in 2005:

At the Keck Observatory, a Caltech team discovers Hiʻiaka, the largest moon of the dwarf planet Haumea.

 27

     109 years ago, in 1908:

Pasiphae, the largest retrograde moon of Jupiter, is discovered by Philibert Jacques Melotte.

     50 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).

     16 years ago, in 2001:

Progress M1-5 becomes the last spacecraft to dock with the Mir space station.

 28            NEW MOON 

     68 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.

     51 years ago, in 1966:

NASA's Crawler Transporter One successfully transports a mobile launcher one mile to the Vehicle Assembly Building.

     31 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

     53 years ago, in 1964:

The Saturn I SA-5 (a Saturn I with a second stage) is successfully launched into orbit.

     28 years ago, in 1989:

Phobos 2 enters orbit around Mars.

 30

     53 years ago, in 1964:

Ranger 6 is launched to the Moon.

     48 years ago, in 1969:

ISIS-I, a Canadian research satellite to explore the ionosphere, is launched.

     15 years ago, in 2002:

NASA's Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) re-enters the Earth's atmosphere.

 31            WAXING CRESCENT 

     232 years ago, in 1785:

NGC 2359 (Thor’s Helmet), a bright nebula in the constellation Canis Major, is discovered by William Herschel.

     59 years ago, in 1958:

The first successful U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, is launched and discovers the Van Allen radiation belts.

     56 years ago, in 1961:

Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) is launched with Ham the chimp.

     55 years ago, in 1962:

OSCAR 1, the first amateur radio satellite, burns up in re-entry.

     51 years ago, in 1966:

Luna 9 is launched to the Moon.

     49 years ago, in 1968:

After 183 days, Lunar Orbiter 5 is deliberately crashed into the Moon.

     46 years ago, in 1971:

Apollo 14 launch to land on the moon.

     21 years ago, in 1996:

Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2) is discovered by Yuji Hyakutake.

     16 years ago, in 2001:

NASA's Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) is deactivated.

     3 years ago, in 2014:

The Curiosity rover captures images of the Earth setting over Gale crater.