22 September
2003: On 22 September 2003, ESA's SMART-1 spacecraft was integrated with its Ariane 5G launcher at Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. This was done in preparation for launch on board ...
27 FEB. 2004
publication date
1997
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1846: On 23 September 1846, Neptune was first observed very near to the locations independently predicted by astronomers Adams and Le Verrier. They had made their calculations based on the positions of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus.
An international dispute arose between the English and French (though not, apparently between Adams and Le Verrier personally) over priority and the right to name the new planet; they are now jointly credited with Neptune's discovery. Subsequent observations have shown that the orbits calculated by Adams and Le Verrier diverge from Neptune's actual orbit fairly quickly. Had the search for the planet taken place a few years earlier or later it would not have been found anywhere near the predicted location.
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21 September
2003: On 21 September 2003, the NASA Galileo spacecraft ended its eight-year mission to Jupiter. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, directed the craft into Jupiter's atmosphere to burn ...
20 September
1873: On 20 September 1873, Giovanni Battista Donati died.An Italian astronomer, Donati was the first to observe the spectrum of a comet (Comet 1864 II on 5 August 1864). This ...
19 September
1988: On 19 September 1988, Israel launched its first satellite, 'Ofeq-1' on board a Shavit rocket from the Negev Desert, becoming the ninth country to launch a rocket into space.
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