15th August 1977 The Wow! signal is received by the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University. The original record, preserved by...

21st April 1702 Maria Kirch discovers a previously unknown comet becoming the first woman to make such a discovery. Dubbed the "Comet...

Elizabeth Cocking continues this astronomical blog post sequence in 2021. Each month she looks back on astronomical happenings, and the...

Each month astronomical events and the births of people in history connected to astronomy are featured. Brush up on your knowledge!

NASA becomes operational (1958) ; Luna 3 photographs the far side of the Moon (1959) : the Parker solar probe approaches the Sun (2018)

13th August 1898 The asteroid Eros is discovered by the German astronomer Gustav Witt at the Urania Observatory in Berlin, and...

13 May 1861 John Tebbutt discovers the Great Comet of 1861, also known as Comet C/1861 J1, one of the most brilliant comets known. He...

7 March 1831 The Royal Astronomical Society receives its Royal charter from King William IV. The society was founded in 1820 as the...

The long and short of it….. the orbital period of comets can range from long period comets like Comet McNaught, 92,700 years, to Comet...

13th June 1983 Pioneer 10 becomes the first human-made object to pass outside Pluto's orbit and leave the solar system. It was the...