- May 11
- 1 min
In this month - October
12 October 1915 Scottish born astronomer Robert Innes announced the discovery of the nearest star to our Sun, Proxima Centauri at a...
Skywatchers Blog posts
Did you know?
Search
Elizabeth Cocking
- Jul 31
- 4 min
In this month: August 2022
13th August 1898 The asteroid Eros is discovered by German astronomer Gustav Witt. With an approximate diameter of 16.8 kilometres and...
Elizabeth Cocking
- Apr 30
- 4 min
In this month: May 2022
Historical astronomical events, and people who were born this month and have influenced our understanding of the cosmos. 18th May 1991...
Elizabeth Cocking
- Feb 28
- 3 min
In this month: March 2022
5th March 1616 On this day in 1616 the Roman Catholic Church adds "" (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) by Nicolaus...
Elizabeth Cocking
- Jan 31
- 4 min
In this month: February 2022
Astronomical happenings from the past and the birthdays of astronomers past and present. 19th February 1787 The first observation is...
Elizabeth Cocking
- Jul 31, 2021
- 4 min
In this month: August 2021
15th August 1977 The Wow! signal is received by the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University. The original record, preserved by...
Elizabeth Cocking
- Dec 31, 2020
- 3 min
In this month: January
Elizabeth Cocking continues this astronomical blog post sequence in 2021. Each month she looks back on astronomical happenings, and the...
Elizabeth Cocking
- Nov 30, 2020
- 2 min
In this month: December
23rd December 1672 Rhea, the second-largest moon of Saturn and the ninth-largest moon in the Solar System, is discovered by Giovanni...
Elizabeth Cocking
- Sep 30, 2020
- 3 min
In this month: October
NASA becomes operational (1958) ; Luna 3 photographs the far side of the Moon (1959) : the Parker solar probe approaches the Sun (2018)
Elizabeth Cocking
- Dec 31, 2019
- 2 min
In this month: January
7 January 1610 Galileo discovers four moons orbiting the planet Jupiter. Looking at what he thought were a group of stars, he noted the...