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1966 In Science
The year 1966 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below. Astronomy and space exploration * February 3 – The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon. * March 1 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface. * March 16 – NASA spacecraft Gemini 8 (David Scott, Neil Armstrong) conducts the first docking in space, with an Agena target vehicle. * March 31 – The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first spacecraft to enter orbit around the Moon. * April 3 – Luna 10 is the first manmade object to enter lunar orbit. * May 25 – Explorer program: Satellite Explorer 32 (Atmosphere Explorer-B) is launched from the United States. * July 18 – Gemini 10 (John Young, Michael Collins) is launched from the United States. After docking with an Agena target vehicle, the astronauts then set a world altitude record o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for scientific reasoning is tens of thousands of years old. The earliest written records in the history of science come from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, knowledge of Greek conceptions of the world deteriorated in Western Europe during the early centuries (400 to 1000 CE) of the Middle Ages, but was preserved in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age and later by the efforts of Byzantine Greek scholars who brought Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Explorer 32
Explorer 32, also known as Atmosphere Explorer-B (AE-B), was a NASA satellite launched by the United States to study the Earth's upper atmosphere. It was launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta C1 launch vehicle, on 25 May 1966. It was the second of five "Atmosphere Explorer", the first being Explorer 17. Though it was placed in a higher-than-expected orbit by a malfunctioning second stage on its launch vehicle, Explorer 32 returned data for ten months before failing due to a sudden depressurization. The satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 22 February 1985. Background Explorer 32 was built by Goddard Space Flight Center, as a successor to Explorer 17, which it strongly resembled, to directly measure the temperature, composition, density, and pressure of the upper atmosphere. Its main differences from the prior satellite were the addition of a tape recorder for data storage, solar cells to charge onboard batteries, a magnetic torquer to stabilize the satellit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mullard Space Science Laboratory
The UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) is the United Kingdom's largest university space research group. MSSL is part of the Department of Space and Climate Physics at University College London (UCL), one of the first universities in the world to conduct space research. Since its establishment, MSSL has participated in 35 satellite missions, 10 of which are currently in operation, and in over 200 sounding rocket experiments. It takes its name from Mullard Limited, and is located in Holmbury St Mary in the Surrey Hills AONB, near the town of Dorking in the county of Surrey, England. History In 1957 Sir Harrie Massey of UCL directed the first Skylark rocket experiments. In 1962 Massey led a team from UCL, Imperial College London, the University of Birmingham and the University of Leicester that developed many of the instruments on Ariel 1, the world's first multinational spacecraft. By 1966 the demands had outgrown the laboratory space available in London and Massey ask ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1978 In Science
The year 1978 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below. Astronomy and space science * March 2 – Vladimír Remek becomes the first Czechoslovak in space and the first cosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States, onboard Soyuz 28. * June 22 – James W. Christy at the United States Naval Observatory discovers Charon, the first moon of Pluto identified. * October – It is first proposed that Janus and Epimetheus are two separate moons of Saturn sharing the same orbit. Computer science * February 16 – The first computer bulletin board system is created ( CBBS in Chicago, Illinois). * The RSA algorithm for public-key cryptography, based on the factoring problem, is first publicly described by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman. Geophysics * James Byerlee determines Byerlee's law which gives the stress circumstances in the Earth's crust at which fracturing along a geological fault takes place. History of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epimetheus (moon)
Epimetheus is an inner satellite of Saturn. It is also known as Saturn XI. It is named after the mythological Epimetheus, brother of Prometheus. Discovery Epimetheus occupies essentially the same orbit as the moon Janus. Astronomers assumed that there was only one body in that orbit (disbelieving that two moons could share nearly identical orbits without colliding), and accordingly had difficulty determining their orbital characteristics. Observations were photographic and spaced widely apart in time, so that while the presence of two objects was not obvious, the observations were difficult to reconcile with a reasonable orbit. Audouin Dollfus observed a moon on 15 December 1966, which he proposed to be named "Janus". On 18 December, Richard Walker made a similar observation which is now credited as the discovery of Epimetheus. However, at the time, it was believed that there was only one moon, unofficially known as "Janus", in the given orbit. Twelve years later, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IAU Circular
The International Astronomical Union Circulars (IAUCs) are notices that give information about astronomical phenomena. IAUCs are issued by the International Astronomical Union's Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) at irregular intervals for the discovery and follow-up information regarding such objects as planetary satellites, novae, supernovae, and comets. History The first series of IAUCs was published at Uccle during 1920–1922 when the IAU's first CBAT was located there; the first IAUC published in the present series was published in 1922 at Copenhagen Observatory after the transfer of the CBAT from Uccle to Copenhagen. At the end of 1964, the CBAT moved from Copenhagen to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it remains, on the grounds of the Harvard College Observatory (HCO). HCO had maintained a Central Bureau for the Western hemisphere from 1883 until the end of 1964, when its staff took on the IAU's CBAT; HCO had pub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audouin Dollfus
Audouin Charles Dollfus (12 November 1924 – 1 October 2010) was a French astronomer and aeronaut, specialist in studies of the Solar System and discoverer of Janus, a moon of Saturn. Life and career Dollfus was born in Paris to aeronaut Charles Dollfus. Dollfus studied at the University of Paris, obtaining a doctorate in physical sciences in 1955. Beginning in 1946, Dollfus worked as an astronomer at the Meudon Observatory, following his advisor and mentor Bernard Lyot. In particular, he directed the Laboratory of Solar System Physics there. Until his death, he was an honorary astronomer at the Paris Observatory. Most of his work was carried out based on observations from the Pic du Midi Observatory, and his preferred research method is the use of polarized light as a diagnostic of the properties of Solar System objects. Through patient and persistent research and the development of new observational techniques, he was able to obtain many remarkable results. Dollfus publishe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moons Of Saturn
The moons of Saturn are numerous and diverse, ranging from tiny moonlets only tens of meters across to enormous Titan (moon), Titan, which is larger than the planet Mercury (planet), Mercury. Saturn has 83 natural satellite, moons with confirmed orbits that are not embedded in its Rings of Saturn, rings—of which only 13 have diameters greater than 50 kilometers—as well as dense rings that contain millions of embedded moonlets and innumerable smaller ring particles. Seven Saturnian moons are large enough to have collapsed into a relaxed, ellipsoidal shape, though only one or two of those, Titan and possibly Rhea (moon), Rhea, are currently in hydrostatic equilibrium. Particularly notable among Saturn's moons are Titan, the second-List of natural satellites, largest moon in the Solar System (after Jupiter's Ganymede (moon), Ganymede), with a Atmosphere of Titan#Composition, nitrogen-rich Earth-like Atmosphere of Titan, atmosphere and a landscape featuring dry river networks and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Janus (moon)
Janus is an inner satellite of Saturn. It is also known as Saturn X. It is named after the mythological Janus. History Discovery Janus was identified by Audouin Dollfus on 15 December 1966 and given the temporary designation . Previously, had photographed Janus on 29 October 1966 without realising it. On 18 December, Richard Walker observed an object in the same orbit as Janus, but whose position could not be reconciled with the previous observations. Twelve years later, in October 1978, Stephen M. Larson and John W. Fountain realised that the 1966 observations were best explained by two distinct objects (Janus and Epimetheus) sharing very similar orbits, Walker is now credited with the discovery of Epimetheus. ''Voyager 1'' confirmed this orbital configuration in 1980. (See co-orbital moon for a more detailed description of their unique arrangement.) Observational history Janus was observed on subsequent occasions and given different provisional designations. ''Pioneer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with their associated islands, the Americas cover 8% of Earth's total surface area and 28.4% of its land area. The topography is dominated by the American Cordillera, a long chain of mountains that runs the length of the west coast. The flatter eastern side of the Americas is dominated by large river basins, such as the Amazon, St. Lawrence River–Great Lakes basin, Mississippi, and La Plata. Since the Americas extend from north to south, the climate and ecology vary widely, from the arctic tundra of Northern Canada, Greenland, and Alaska, to the tropical rain forests in Central America and South America. Humans first settled the Americas from Asia between 42,000 and 17,000 years ago. A second migration of Na-Dene speakers followed later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonids
The Leonids ( ) are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel–Tuttle, which are also known for their spectacular meteor storms that occur about every 33 years. The Leonids get their name from the location of their radiant in the constellation Leo: the meteors appear to radiate from that point in the sky. Their proper Greek name should be Leonids ( grc, Λεοντίδαι, Leontídai, label=none), but the word was initially constructed as a Greek/Latin hybrid and it has been used since. The meteor shower peak should be on November 17, 2022, but any outburst is likely to be from the 1733 meteoroid stream. Earth moves through the meteoroid stream of particles left from the passages of a comet. The stream comprises solid particles, known as meteoroids, ejected by the comet as its frozen gases evaporate under the heat of the Sun when it is close enough – typically closer than Jupiter's orbit. The Leonids are a fast moving stream which encounter the path of Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lunar Orbiter 1
The 1966 Lunar Orbiter 1 robotic spacecraft mission, part of NASA's Lunar Orbiter program, was the first American spacecraft to orbit the Moon. It was designed primarily to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface for selection and verification of safe landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo missions. It was also equipped to collect selenodetic, radiation intensity, and micrometeoroid impact data. Mission Summary Mission controllers injected the spacecraft into a parking orbit around Earth on August 10, 1966, at 19:31 UTC. The trans-lunar injection burn occurred at 20:04 UTC. The spacecraft experienced a temporary failure of the Canopus star tracker (probably due to stray sunlight) and overheating during its cruise to the Moon. The star tracker problem was resolved by navigating using the Moon as a reference, and the overheating was abated by orienting the spacecraft 36 degrees off-Sun to lower the temperature. Lunar Orbiter 1 was injected into an elliptical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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