From: sharon@comlab.ox.ac.uk (Sharon Curtis)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: Calendar for 1993
Keywords: calendar, unix
Date: 30 Dec 92 11:02:10 GMT
Organization: Oxford University Computing Laboratory, UK
Originator: sharon@flint.comlab


Hi folks!
Here is an astronomical calendar for 1993 that I have compiled for
use with the calendar program that can be found on most unix systems.
Save this article and snip out the following data, and consult your
local manual pages for details of how to use the calendar program.

Many thanks to all the people who kindly gave me meteor shower
information, to the person who posted some of the sun/earth information
on here a few weeks ago, and to the person who posted a similar calendar
on here about two years ago, from which I got the historical information.

-----------------------8<------------------8<---------------------------

Jan. 1    Moon at first quarter
Jan. 8    Full moon
Jan. 15   Moon at last quarter
Jan. 22   New Moon
Jan. 30   Moon at first quarter
Feb. 6    Full moon
Feb. 13   Moon at last quarter
Feb. 21   New Moon
Mar. 1    Moon at first quarter
Mar. 8    Full moon
Mar. 15   Moon at last quarter
Mar. 23   New Moon
Mar. 31   Moon at first quarter
Apr. 6    Full moon
Apr. 13   Moon at last quarter
Apr. 21   New Moon
Apr. 29   Moon at first quarter
May. 6    Full moon
May. 13   Moon at last quarter
May. 21   New Moon
May. 28   Moon at first quarter
Jun. 4    Full moon
Jun. 12   Moon at last quarter
Jun. 20   New Moon
Jun. 26   Moon at first quarter
Jul. 3    Full moon
Jul. 11   Moon at last quarter
Jul. 19   New Moon
Jul. 26   Moon at first quarter
Aug. 2    Full moon
Aug. 10   Moon at last quarter
Aug. 17   New Moon
Aug. 24   Moon at first quarter
Sep. 1    Full moon
Sep. 9    Moon at last quarter
Sep. 16   New Moon
Sep. 22   Moon at first quarter
Sep. 30   Full moon
Oct. 8    Moon at last quarter
Oct. 15   New Moon
Oct. 22   Moon at first quarter
Oct. 30   Full moon
Nov. 7    Moon at last quarter
Nov. 13   New Moon
Nov. 21   Moon at first quarte
Nov. 29   Full moon
Dec. 6    Moon at last quarter
Dec. 13   New Moon
Dec. 20   Moon at first quarter
Dec. 28   Full moon

Jan. 3    Mars nearest Earth (at 58 million miles) until 1999
Jan. 4    Earth at perihelion, 3am UT, at a distance of 91,401,800 miles
Jan. 4    Latest sunrise of the year, northern hemisphere
Jan. 4    Gibbous moon 2.5 degrees south of the Pleiades
Jan. 7    Mars at opposition
Jan. 7    Latest morning twilight, northern hemisphere
Jan. 8    Mars 6 degrees north of the full moon
Jan. 14   Jupiter 7 degrees north of waning gibbous moon
Jan. 19   Venus at greatest eastern elongation of 47 degrees
Jan. 20   Vesta 0.1 degrees south of crescent moon
Jan. 25   Uranus in conjunction with Neptune, 1.1 degrees apart
Jan. 27   Venus 5 degrees south of crescent moon
Jan. 29   Jupiter stationary
Feb. 1    Moon 3 degrees south of Pleiades
Feb. 4    Mars 6 degrees north of gibbous moon
Feb. 9    Saturn in conjunctino with the sun
Feb. 10   Jupiter 6 degrees north of gibbous moon
Feb. 15   Mars stationary
Feb. 18   Neptune 2 degrees south of crescent moon
Feb. 18   Uranus 3 degrees south of crescent moon
Feb. 21   Mercury at greatest eastern elongation of 18 degrees
Feb. 23   Mercury 3 degrees south of crescent moon
Feb. 24   Venus at greatest brilliancy (mag -4.6)
Feb. 25   Venus 0.5 degrees north of crescent moon
Feb. 28   Moon 3.5 degrees south of Pleiades
Mar. 3    Mars 5 degrees north of gibbous moon
Mar. 8    Moon at perigee - closest full moon of 1993
Mar. 9    Venus stationary
Mar. 10   Jupiter 6 degrees north of moon
Mar. 17   Neptune 2 degrees south of crescent moon
Mar. 17   Uranus 3 degrees south of crescent moon
Mar. 20   Saturn 6 degrees south of crescent moon
Mar. 20   Vernal equinox, Spring begins at 14:41 UT
Mar. 21   Mercury 4 degrees south of crescent moon
Mar. 24   Venus 4 degrees south of crescent moon
Mar. 27   Crescent moon 3 degrees south of Pleiades
Mar. 30   Jupiter at opposition
Mar. 31   Mars 5 degrees north of moon
Apr. 1    Venus in inferior conjunction
Apr. 5    Mercury at greatest western elongation of 28 degrees
Apr. 6    Jupiter 7 degrees north of moon
Apr. 13   Neptune 3 degrees south of moon
Apr. 13   Uranus 4 degrees south of moon
Apr. 14   Mars 5 degrees south of Pollux in Gemini
Apr. 14   Mercury occults star SAO 147015 (mag. 7.3)
Apr. 16   Mercury 8 degrees south of Venus
Apr. 16   Saturn 7 degrees south of crescent moon
Apr. 19   Venus 0.5 south of crescent moon (morning occultation visible for U.S.A.
Apr. 20   Venus stationary
Apr. 20   Mercury 8 degrees south of crescent moon
Apr. 22   Neptune stationary
Apr. 24   Crescent moon 3.5 degrees south of Pleiades
Apr. 25   Mars at aphelion
Apr. 26   Uranus stationary
Apr. 29   Mars 6 degrees north of moon
May. 3    Jupiter 7 degrees north of moon
May. 7    Venus at greatest brilliancy (mag -4.5)
May. 10   Neptune 3 degrees south of moon
May. 11   Uranus 4 degrees south of moon
May. 12   Mars within Beehive Cluster (M44)
May. 14   Saturn 7 degrees south of moon
May. 14   Pluto at oppostion
May. 18   Venus 6 degrees south of crescent moon
May. 21   73.6% partial solar eclipse, NE Europe, Canada and western US
May. 26   Juno 1.2 degrees south of crescent moon
May. 27   Mars 7 degrees north of moon
May. 30   Jupiter 7 degrees north of moon
Jun. 1    Jupiter stationary
Jun. 4    Total lunar eclipse starts 13:12 UT, visible from NA
Jun. 7    Neptune 3 degrees south of moon
Jun. 7    Uranus 4 degrees south of moon
Jun. 10   Venus greatest western elongation of 46 degrees
Jun. 10   Saturn 7 degrees south of moon
Jun. 11   Saturn stationary
Jun. 14   Jupiter at aphelion
Jun. 14   Earliest sunrise of year, northern hemisphere
Jun. 16   Venus 6 degrees south of crescent moon
Jun. 17   Mercury greatest elongation, 25 degrees, evening
Jun. 17   Earliest twilight of year, northern hemisphere
Jun. 17   Crescent moon 3.5 degrees south of the Pleiades
Jun. 21   Mercury 7 degrees south of Pollux
Jun. 21   Longest day of year, 15h01m at 40N, northern hemisphere
Jun. 21   Summer begins at 10:00 UT
Jun. 22   Mercury 4 degrees north of crescent moon
Jun. 22   Mars 0.8 degrees north of Regulus
Jun. 23   Juno 1.1 degrees north of crescent moon
Jun. 24   Latest evening twilight, northern hemisphere
Jun. 27   Latest sunset of the year, northern hemisphere
Jun. 27   Jupiter 7 degrees north of moon
Jul. 4    Earth at aphelion, 11pm UT, at a distance of 94,505,000 miles
Jul. 4    Neptune 3 degrees south of moon
Jul. 4    Uranus 4 degres south of moon
Jul. 7    Saturn 7 degrees south of moon
Jul. 12   Uranus and Neptune at opposition
Jul. 15   Crescent moon 4 degrees south of Pleiades
Jul. 15   Venus 3 degrees north of Aldebaran
Jul. 16   Venus 2 degrees south of crescent moon
Jul. 23   Mars 6 degrees north of crescent moon
Jul. 24   Jupiter 6 degrees north of crescent moon
Jul. 31   Neptune 3 degrees south of moon
Jul. 31   Uranus 4 degrees south of moon
Aug. 4    Mercury at greatest western elongation of 19 degrees
Aug. 4    Saturn 7 degrees south of moon
Aug. 6    Mercury 8 degrees south of Pollux
Aug. 11   Crescent moon 3.5 degrees south of Leiades
Aug. 15   Venus 2 degrees north of crescent moon
Aug. 19   Saturn at opposition
Aug. 20   Mars 5 degrees north of crescent moon
Aug. 21   Jupiter 6 degrees north of crescent moon
Aug. 22   Venus 7 degrees south of Pollux
Aug. 25   Pallas at opposition
Aug. 28   Neptune 3 degrees south of moon
Aug. 28   Uranus 4 degrees south of moon
Aug. 28   Vesta at opposition
Aug. 31   Saturn 7 degrees south of moon
Sep. 7    Jupiter 0.9 degrees north of Mars
Sep. 7    Moon 4 degrees south of Pleiades
Sep. 14   Venus 6 degrees north of crescent moon
Sep. 16   Mars 2 degrees north of Spica
Sep. 17   Mercury 5 degrees north of crescent moon
Sep. 17   Uranus 1.1 degrees south of Neptune
Sep. 17   Jupiter 5 degrees north of crescent moon
Sep. 18   Mars 4 degrees north of crescent moon
Sep. 21   Venus 0.4 degrees north of Regulus
Sep. 23   Autumn begins at 1:22am UT
Sep. 24   Neptune 3 degrees south of moon
Sep. 24   Uranus 4 degrees south of moon
Sep. 24   Mercury 2 degrees south of Jupiter
Sep. 26   Mercury 1.1 degrees north of Spica
Sep. 27   Saturn 7 degrees south of gibbous moon
Sep. 27   Uranus stationary
Sep. 28   Uranus 1.1 degrees south of Neptune
Sep. 30   Neptune stationary
Sep. 30   Moon at apgoee - farthest Full Moon of 1993
Oct. 6    Mercury 2 degrees south of Mars
Oct. 14   Mercury at greatest eastern elongation of 25 degrees
Oct. 14   Venus 7 degrees north of crescent moon
Oct. 16   Mars 1.7 degrees north of crescent moon
Oct. 17   Mercury 1.7 degrees south of crescent moon
Oct. 18   Jupiter in conjunction with the sun
Oct. 21   Neptune 3 degrees south of moon
Oct. 21   Uranus 4 degrees south of moon
Oct. 22   Ceres at opposition
Oct. 24   Saturn 7 degrees south of moon
Oct. 28   Mercury 2 degrees south of Mars
Oct. 28   Saturn  stationary
Oct. 31   Neptune 1d6m NW of Uranus
Nov. 2    Venus 4 degrees north of Spica
Nov. 6    Mercury transits Sun for Asia, E Africa, Japan, Australia
Nov. 8    Venus 0.4 degrees north of Jupiter
Nov. 12   Jupiter 4 degrees north of crescent moon
Nov. 12   Venus 4 degrees north of crescent moon
Nov. 13   92.8% partial solar eclipse for Australia/Antarctica
Nov. 14   Venus 0.7 degrees south of Mercury
Nov. 18   Neptune 3 degrees south of crescent moon
Nov. 18   Uranus 4 degrees south of crescent moon
Nov. 20   Saturn 7 degrees south of moon
Nov. 22   Mercury at greatest western elongation of 20 degrees
Nov. 29   Total lunar eclipse, N and S America, total 06:02-06:50 UT
Dec. 4    Earliest end of evening twilight, northern hemisphere
Dec. 7    Earliest sunset of year, northern hemisphere
Dec. 10   Jupiter 4 degrees north of crescent moon
Dec. 12   Mercury 5 degrees north of Antares
Dec. 15   Neptune 3 degrees south of crescent moon
Dec. 15   Uranus 4 degrees south of crescent moon
Dec. 18   Saturn 7 degrees south of crescent moon
Dec. 18   Pallas 1.2 degrees south of crescent moon
Dec. 21   Shortest day of year, 9h20m at 40N, northern hemisphere
Dec. 22   Winter begins, 3:26am GMT
Dec. 27   Mars in conjunction with the Sun

Jan. 1    Quadrantids meteor shower begins, radiant 15h 30m +50
Jan. 3    Peak of Quadrantids at 11h UT, ZHR 95
Jan. 6    Quadrantids meteor shower ends
Apr. 12   Peak of Virginids, radiant 14h 04m -9, ZHR 5
Apr. 19   Lyrids meteor shower begins, radiant 18h 16m +34
Apr. 22   Peak of Lyrids at 03h UT, ZHR 15
Apr. 25   Lyrids meteor shower ends
Apr. 28   Peak of Alpha Scorpiids, radiant 16h 32m -24, ZHR 5
May. 1    Eta Aquarids meteor shower begins, radiant 22h 27m +00
May. 3    Peak of more Alpha Scorpiids at 18h UT, radiant 16h 24m -25, ZHR 10
May. 5    Peak of Eta Aquarids at 21h UT, ZHR 30
May. 8    Eta Aquarids meteor shower ends
May. 13   Peak of yet more Alpha Scorpiids, radiant 16h 04m -24, ZHR 5
Jun. 9    Peak of Zeta Perseids at 10h, radiant 04h 08m +23, ZHR 40
Jun. 10   Peak of Ophiuchids, radiant 17h 56m -23, ZHR 5
Jun. 20   Peak of more Ophiuchids, radiant 17h 20m -20, ZHR 5
Jun. 28   Peak of Beta Taurids at 07h UT, radiant 05h 44m +19, ZHR 25
Jul. 8    Peak of Capricornids, ZHR 5
Jul. 9    Peak of Pegasids at 08h UT, radiant 22h 40m +15, ZHR 8
Jul. 15   Peak of more Capricornids, radiant 20h 44m -15, ZHR 5
Jul. 15   Delta Aquarids meteor shower begins
Jul. 21   Peak of Alpha Cygnids, radiant 21h 00m 48, ZHR 5
Jul. 25   Perseids meteor shower begins, radiant 03h 56m +58
Jul. 26   Peak of yet more Capricornids, raidant 21h 00m -15, ZHR 5
Jul. 28   Peak of South Delta Aquarids at 19h UT, ZHR 20
Jul. 29   Peak of Alpha Capricornids at 15h UT, radiant 20h 24m -10, ZHR 8
Jul. 31   Peak of Piscis Australids, radiant 22h 40m -30, ZHR 5
Aug. 6    Peak of Iota Aquarids, radiant 22h 10m, ZHR 8
Aug. 12   Peak of Perseids at 15h UT, ZHR 95
Aug. 12   Peak of N.Delta Aquarids at 07h UT, radiant 21h 44m -05, ZHR 20
Aug. 15   Delta Aquarids meteor shower ends
Aug. 18   Perseids meteor shower ends
Aug. 21   Peak of more Alpha Cygnids, radiant 21h 00m 48, ZHR 5
Aug. 31   Peak of Alpha Aurigids at 20h UT, radiant 05h 44m +42, ZHR 10
Sep. 9    Peak of Piscids, radiant 0h 36m +07, ZHR 10
Sep. 21   Peak of more Piscids, radiant 0h 24m +00, ZHR 5
Oct. 13   Peak of yet more Piscids, radiant 1h 44m 14, ZHR ??
Oct. 16   Orionids meteor shower begins, radiant 06h 22m +16
Oct. 20   Taurids meteor shower begins
Oct. 22   Peak of Orionids at 00h UT, ZHR 20
Oct. 26   Orionids meteor shower ends
Nov. 3    Peak of South Taurids at 00h UT, radiant 03h 24m +14, ZHR 15
Nov. 13   Peak of North Taurids at 00h UT, radiant 03h 55m +23, ZHR 15
Nov. 15   Leonids meteor shower begins, radiant 10h 11m +22
Nov. 17   Peak of Leonids at 13h UT, ZHR variable but approx 10
Nov. 19   Leonids meteor shower ends
Nov. 30   Taurids meteor shower ends
Dec. 7    Geminids meteor shower begins, radiant 07h 30m +33
Dec. 9    Peak of Puppids-Velids, radiant 9h 00m -48, ZHR 15
Dec. 14   Peak of Geminids at 00h UT, ZHR 90
Dec. 15   Geminids meteor shower ends
Dec. 21   Ursids meteor shower begins, radiant 14h 28m +75
Dec. 23   Peak of Ursids at 01h, ZHR 20
Dec. 25   Ursids meteor shower ends
Dec. 26   Peak of more Puppids-Velids, radiant 9h 20m -65, ZHR 15

Jan 1.  2003    Cassini drops a probe into the atmosphere of Titan.
Jan. 22 1998    CRAF flies past asteroid 449 Hamburga.
Feb. 1  2000    Cassini uses Jupiter's gravity to bend course toward Saturn.
Mar. 14 1997    Cassini flies past asteroid 66 Maja.
Mar. 31 2003    CRAF mission ends.
Apr. 8  1996    Cassini is launched by a Titan 4 rocket.
Jun. 13 1998    Cassini makes a second Earth fly-by.
Jul. 20 2001    CRAF fires a small penetrator into the comet's crust.
Jul. 6  1997    CRAF flies past Earth.
Aug. 14 2000    CRAF reaches Comet Kopff.
Aug. 22 1995    CRAF launched by Titan 4 rocket on trajectory toward cometary target.
Sep. 3  1993    Galileo Asteroid Ida Flyby
Oct. 2  2002    Cassini goes into orbit around Saturn.
Dec. 12 2002    CRAF and Comet Kopff make close approach to the sun.
Dec. 13 1995    Galileo Jupiter Encounter
Dec. 31 2006    Cassini mission ends.

Feb. 1  1957    Bart J. Bok becomes Director of Australia's Commonwealth Observatory at Mount Stromlo.  His work at Harvard Observatory made him a world leader in Milky Way studies.
Feb. 4  1865    J. N. Krieger, a German Selenographer whose lunar drawings are among the finest ever made, is born.
Feb. 6 1963    Swedish amateur Elis Dahlgren discovered a 4th magnitude nova in the constellation Hercules.
Feb. 7 1889    Astronomical Society of the Pacific holds its first meeting.  E. S. Holden elected president.
Feb. 8 1828    Jules Vern born.
Feb. 9 1913    A remarkable meteoric procession was observed from central Canada to Bermuda.
Feb. 12 1947   The great Sikhote-Alin meteorite fall in Eastern Siberia.  Eyewitnesses saw a daylight fireball as bright as the sun, and droplets of molten iron rained down over a wide area.
Feb. 13 1882   Thaddeus Banachiewicz, prominent Polish astronomer, was born.  He was particularly well known for his studies of the moon's motion, and for his organization of variable star observing.  He was also Director of Cracow Observatory
Feb. 15 1564   Galileo Galilei born.
Feb. 18 1930   Clyde Tombaugh recognizes the planet Pluto on Lowell Observatory photographs.
Feb. 18 1957   Henry Norris Russell, famous Princeton astrophysicist, died.  He was a master in the interpretation of the light curves of eclipsing variable stars, and in the analysis of astronomical spectra.
Feb. 19 1473   Nicolaus Copernicus born in Thorn, Poland.
Feb. 19 1901   Seeberg Observatory, in Gotha, Germany, destroyed by fire.  This historic observatory, founded in 1787, was one of the world's finest.  Baron von Zach, J. F. Encke, and B. von Lindenau were among its early staff.
Feb. 22 1787   J. H. Schroeter begins surveying the lunar surface.
Feb. 22 1838   Astronomer Pierre Janssen, discoverer of solar hydrogen, born.
Feb. 22 1960   S. A. Mitchell, a University of Virginia astronomer, died.  Famous for his many solar eclipse expeditions.
Feb. 23 1901   Nova Persei attains maximum light:  mag. +0.2.
Feb. 23 1956   Intense solar flare, visible in white light.
Feb. 24 1949   First rocket ship to reach outer space launched from White Sands Proving Ground, NM.
Feb. 27 1826   Wilhelm von Biela discovers the short period comet which bears his name.  This comet split in two in its 1845-1846 return, and was last seen on its 1852 return.
Feb. 27 1843   Perihelion passage of one of the greatest comets of modern times.  Visible to the naked eye at noon the following day.
Feb. 27 1897   Bernard Lyot, French astronomer who invented the corona- graph, was born.
Mar. 2 1840    H. W. Olbers, German amateur Astronomer, died at the age of 81.  He spent his evenings as a successful discoverer of comets and asteroids, measuring their positions and calculating their orbits.
Mar. 4 1774    William Herschel's first recorded observation of the Orion Nebula.
Mar. 4 1866    Norman Lockyer began his spectroscopic observations of the sun.  Codiscovered helium in the sun.
Mar. 8 1618    Johann Kepler discovers Third Law of Planetary Motion.
Mar. 8 1804    Alvan Clark, noted for his fine large telescope objectives, is born.  He founded the firm that built the Lick 36-inch and Yerkes 40-inch refractors.
Mar. 11 1811   Urbain Leverrier, French mathematical astronomer and director of Paris Observatory, is born.  Predicted the existence of Neptune (with J. C. Adams) before its optical discovery (in 1846).
Mar. 13 1781   William Herschel discovers Uranus with a 6 inch homemade reflector.
Mar. 13 1855   Percival Lowell, of Martian "canals" fame, born.  Lowell misinterpreted the Italian word "canali" (channels) as canals.
Mar. 13 1930   Announcement of the finding of Pluto on Lowell Observatory plates by Clyde Tombaugh.
Mar. 13 1933   R. T. A. Innes, famous discoverer of southern double stars, died at the age of 71.
Mar. 14 1835   Giovanni Schiaparelli, of Martian "canali" fame, born.
Mar. 14 1879   Albert Einstein born.
Mar. 14 1936   "The whole procedure of [shooting rockets into space] ...  presents difficulties of so fundamental a nature, that we are forced to dismiss the notion as essentially impractic- able, in spite of the author's insistent appeal to put aside pre
Mar. 15 1713   Nicholas Lacaille was born.  He named many of the Southern Hemisphere constellations.
Mar. 15 1964   Periodic comet Schwassmann-Wachmann suddenly brightened by six magnitudes, from 18 to 12.
Mar. 16 1750   Caroline Herschel, sister of William Herschel, was born.  An astronomer in her own right, she discovered 8 comets.
Mar. 17 1725   Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter were so near to each other in the sky as to be visible in the same telescopic field of view.
Mar. 17 1846   F. W. Bessel, who determined the distance to the star 61 Cygni, died.  Director of Koenigsberg Observatory in Germany, he revolutionized the art of precise astronomical measurements.
Mar. 18 1934   A great fireball, widely seen in Western Canada, exploded over Alberta.
Mar. 19 1045BC Babylonian Astronomers note history's first recorded Lunar Eclipse.
Mar. 20 1727   Isaac Newton born.
Mar. 22 1799   F. W. A. Argelander, German astronomer who catalogued and charted 324,000 stars and founded the science of variable star study, was born.
Mar. 25 1655   Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Saturn's moon Titan, with a non-achromatic refractor 12 feet long.
Mar. 25 1960   Ralph Wilson, expert in stellar positions, proper motions, and radial velocities, died.
Mar. 26 1859   Lescarbault's supposed discovery of an intra-Mercurial planet, Vulcan.
Mar. 27 1749   Pierre Simon de Laplace, astronomer and mathematician, born.
Mar. 28 1802   Amateur astronomer Olbers discovers the asteroid Pallas.  It was his first.
Mar. 29 1807   Amateur astronomer Olbers discovers the brightest asteroid, Vesta, at Bremen.  It was his second.
Mar. 30 1961   P. J. Melotte, discoverer of Jupiter's eighth satellite, died.  He discovered the satellite in 1908, on photographs taken with the 30-inch reflector at Greenwich Observatory.
Mar. 30 1977   5 rings discovered around the planet Uranus.
Apr. 1 1949    Gerald Kuiper discovered Neried, a moon of Neptune.
Apr. 1 1951    Ralph Wilson retired from the staff of Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories.  He was an expert in stellar positions, proper motions, and radial velocities.
Apr. 2 1780    William Herschel discovered that Xi Ursae Majoris is a double star.  This visual binary has completed three orbital revolutions since then.
Apr. 2 1925    Johann Palisa, vice-director of Vienna Observatory, died.  He discovered 120 asteroids by visual searches during the years 1872 through 1923.
Apr. 6 1852    Sir Edward Sabine, British expert in terrestrial magnetism, announces that the 11 year sunspot cycle coincides with the geomagnetic cycle.
Apr. 6 1960    Andrew McKellar, Canadian astrophysicist noted for his work on comet spectra, died.
Apr. 9 1960    Pieter van Rhijn, Dutch investigator of galactic structure, died at the age of 74.
Apr. 9 1970    Transit of Mercury across the Sun's disk, widely observed in the U.S.
May. 11 1871   Sir John Herschel died.  He was noted for his discoveries of double stars, clusters, and nebulae.  He was the only son of Sir William Herschel.
May. 11 1956   Walter S. Adams, noted for his work in stellar spectroscopy, died.  He was the director of Mount Wilson Observatory from 1923 through 1945.
May. 12 1866   Irish amateur astronomer John Birmingham discovered a 2nd magnitude nova in Corona Borealis.  T Coronae Borealis erupted again in 1946.
May. 15 1836   Francis Bailey observed "Bailey's Beads" during an annular eclipse of the sun.  Unbeknownst to him, Samuel Williams of Harvard had observed the same phenomenon in Maine during the total eclipse of 1780.
May. 16 1934   Aristarch Belopsky, Russian astrophysicist noted for his work at Pulkovo Observatory on the sun and stellar spectra, died.
May. 19 1877   German selenographer Hermann Klein of Cologne observed a seemingly new lunar crater, which became famous as Hyginus N.  Currently regarded as previously overlooked feature.
May. 21 1860   Arthur Auwers detected a nova (T Scorpii) inside M-80 (a globular cluster).
May. 21 1897   The Yerkes 40-inch refractor sees first light, accompanied by G. E. Hale, E. E. Barnard, and F. Ellerman.
May. 24 1822   First predicted return of Encke's Comet to perihelion.  Though seen in 1786, 1795, and 1805, it was not recognized as periodic until 1818.
May. 30 1933   W. L. Elkin, former director of Yale Observatory, died at the age of 79.  He measured stellar parallaxes and made precise measurements of the relative positions of stars in open clusters.
Jun. 1 1898    James E. Keeler became director of Lick Observatory.  He proved that Saturn's rings are composed of a swarm of tiny particles by spectroscopic observations.
Jun. 2 1858    Donati's comet, among the finest of the century, discovered by G. B. Donati at Florence, Italy.
Jun. 3 1948    Dedication of the 200-inch Hale telescope at Palomar.
Jun. 4 1961    G. A. Davis Jr., an expert on Arabic star names, died.
Jun. 5 1819    John Couch Adams, co-discoverer of Neptune, was born at Laneast, Cornwall.
Jun. 8 2004    Transit of Venus across the sun.  This will be the first since December 6, 1882.
Jun. 9 1803    Sir William Herschel announced the existence of binary stars at a meeting of the Royal Society.
Jun. 9 1901    French Selenographer C. M. Gaudibert died.
Jun. 10 1952   Test photos taken through the 200-inch Hale telescope reveal stars of photographic magnitude 23.
Jun. 11 1986   Chesley Bonestell, the dean of astronomical artists, died at the age of 98.
Jun. 15 1770   Charles Messier discovered a comet that came to within 1.4 million miles of the Earth on July 1st of that year.  The comet was known as Lexell's Comet, after the person who computed its orbit.
Jun. 18 1799   William Lassell, noted English amateur astronomer known for building a highly successful 48-inch reflector, was born.
Jun. 22 1903   Astronomer Carl Hubbell is born.
Jun. 22 1978   James W. Christy discovers Charon, moon of Pluto, on U.S. Naval Observatory photos.
Jun. 25 1960   Walter Baade, expert on galaxies, died.  In 1952 he demonstrated that intergalactic distances had been underestimated by a factor of at least two.
Jun. 26 1949   Walter Baade discovered the unusual asteroid Icarus, whose perihelion lies well inside the orbit of Mercury.
Jun. 30 1861   The Earth passed through the tail of a great comet.
Jun. 30 1908   Tunguska meteorite fall in central Siberia.  Many Astronomers believe it was a small comet.
Oct. 1  1962   The 300 foot radio telescope at Green Bank, West Virginia becomes operational.
Oct. 3  1911   The "Earth-grazing" asteroid 719 Albert discovered by J.  Palisa at Vienna Observatory.  It was lost after a few days
Oct. 4  1957   Russia orbits the first artificial satellite, Sputnik.
Oct. 9  1933   A great meteor shower with recorded rates of up to 350 meteors per minute was observed coming from a radiant in the constellation Draco.
Oct. 10 1846  Neptune's larger satellite Triton discovered by English amateur astronomer William Lassell.
Oct. 11 1758  H. W. M. Olbers, German amateur who made many observations, cometary and asteroid orbit calculations, and discoveries, was born.
Oct. 11 1852  The first verified case of a nebula that varies in brightness (NGC1555, associated with the star T Tauri) was found by J. R. Hind of London.
Oct. 1  1608  Evangelista Torricelli "discovered" outer space.  He accomplished this by inventing the mercury barometer, which which he used to calculate the height of the atmosphere.
Oct. 17 1963  Saturn's shadow eclipsed its outer satellite Iapetus.
Oct. 19 1859  The faint diffuse nebula surrounding Merope in the Pleiades discovered by Wilhelm Tempel.
Oct. 19 1955  Eugene J. Delporte died at the age of 73.  He drew up the internationally adopted constellation boundaries for the northern half of the heavens.
Oct. 21 1914  Adam Massinger, a Heidelberg astronomer who specialized in photographing galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters, died in battle at Ypres.
Oct. 22 1942  Vienna selenographer Karl Muller died.  He was an expert on lunar history and nomenclature, and co-authored the IAU atlas of the moon (1935).
Oct. 22 2137BC   First recorded solar eclipse, in China.
Oct. 24 1851  William Lassell discovered two inner satellites of the planet Uranus:  Ariel and Umbriel.
Oct. 28 1959  Walther Bauersfeld, inventor of the first modern projection planetarium, died at the age of 80.  He was the chairman of the board of directors of Carl Zeiss, Oberkochen, West Germany.
Oct. 29 1937  K. Reinmuth discovered the unusual asteroid Hermes.  Two days later, the asteroid passed within a half a million miles of Earth.  At closest approach, Hermes appeared like an 8th magnitude star moving 5 degrees per hour.
Oct. 29 1951  Robert G. Aitken, discoverer of over 3,100 visual double stars, died.
Oct. 31 1961  The Governor-General of Australia officially commissioned the 210 foot radio telescope at Parkes, New South Wales.
Dec. 1  1935   Bernhard Schmidt, highly talented astronomical optician who invented the Schmidt telescope, died.
Dec. 2  1924   Hugo von Seeliger died.  He pioneered work in statistical studies of stars.  Was also director of Munich Observatory.
Dec. 2  1934   Successful casting of the pyrex blank for the 200 inch Hale reflector, under direction of G. V. McCauley at the Corning Glass Works.
Dec. 3  1714   Uranus discovered by John Flamsteed (first time).
Dec. 5  1879   William Abney's photographic chart of the infrared solar spectrum presented to the Royal Society.  Dr. Abney prepared emulsions sensitive to wavelengths as great as 12,000 A - a feat not duplicated for many years.
Dec. 6  1882   Transit of Venus visible from the U.S.
Dec. 6  1957   Attempted launching of the first American artificial satellite, Vanguard I.  Blew up ignominiously on the launch pad.
Dec. 7  1905   Gerard P. Kuiper born at Harencarspel, Netherlands.
Dec. 8  1845   Amateur Astronomer K. L. Hencke discovers the fifth minor planet (asteroid), subsequently named Astraea.
Dec. 12 1871   Total eclipse of the sun observed in India.  Jules Janssen discovered dark lines in the coronal spectrum during this eclipse.
Dec. 13 1871   Russell Porter is born.
Dec. 13 1920   F. G. Pease measured the diameter of Betelgeuse with a 20 foot interferometer attached to the 100 inch Mt Wilson reflector.
Dec. 14 1564   Danish astronomer and mathematician Tycho Brahe is born.
Dec. 14 1881   William R. Birt, noted British selenographer, died.
Dec. 14 1962   Mariner 2 flew by Venus at a distance of 21,594 miles from its surface.
Dec. 15 1859   G. R. Kirchhoff described the chemical composition of the sun from spectroscopic observations.
Dec. 17 1807   Meteorite fell at Weston, Connecticut.  President Jefferson is said to have commented, "I could more easily believe that two Yankee professors would lie than that stones would fall from heaven."
Dec. 22 1870   Total solar eclipse well oberved from Sicily.  C. A. Young discovered the flash spectrum at this eclipse.  To observe this eclipse, Jules Janssen escaped by balloon from Paris, which was under siege by Germany.  He was clouded out.
Dec. 23 1672   Giovanni Cassini discovers Rhea, moon of Saturn.
Dec. 23 1963   Rudolf Kuhn, Munich astronomer known for publicizing Astronomy on German television, was killed in an automobile accident.
Dec. 24 1957   The Zurich daily daily sunspot number reached 355, an all- time record (Ditto Dec 25)
Dec. 25 1642   Isaac Newton is born.
Dec. 27 1571   Johannes Kepler is born.
Dec. 28 1882   Sir Arthur S. Eddington, a great English astrophysicist, was born.
Dec. 28 1973   Comet Kohoutek reaches perihelion.
Dec. 29 1845   Herrick and Bradley at Yale University noted the separation of Biela's comet into two parts.
Dec. 30 1963   One of the darkest total eclipses of the moon on record was visible from North America.
Dec. 31 1864   Robert G. Aitken was born.  He discovered over 3,100 visual double stars with the Lick 36-inch and 12-inch refractors.
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