The year 2009 involved numerous significant scientific events and discoveries, some of which are listed below. 2009 was designated the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations.[1]

List of years in science (table)
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22 July 2009: the longest-lasting total solar eclipse of the 21st century occurs.

Events, discoveries and inventions

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January

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February

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March

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April

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  • 3 April – Dr. Yinfa Ma develops a method for pre-cancer screening that uses urine samples for detection. Ma hopes to be able to predict types of cancer as well as severity.[17]
  • 4 April – A new method developed by Cornell biological engineers offers an efficient way to make proteins for use in medicine or industry without the use of live cells.[18]
  • 5 April – Japanese engineers build a childlike robot, the Child-robot with Biomimetic Body, or CB2, and report that it is slowly developing social skills by interacting with humans and watching their facial expressions, mimicking a mother-baby relationship.[19]

July

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  • 22 July – A total solar eclipse – the longest-lasting total eclipse of the 21st century – takes place.[22]
  • 23 July – Two teams of Chinese researchers create live mice from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.[23]

September

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  • 3 September – Saturn's rings cross the plane of the Earth's orbit. This was the first such crossing since May 22, 1995, and another will not occur until March 23, 2025.[24]
  • 29 September – NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft makes its final flyby of Mercury, decreasing velocity enough for its orbital capture in 2011.[25]

October

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  • 1 October – Paleontologists announce the discovery of an Ardipithecus ramidus fossil skeleton, deeming it the oldest fossil skeleton of a human ancestor yet found.[26]
  • 20 October – European astronomers discover 32 new exoplanets.[27]

December

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Prizes

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Abel Prize

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Nobel Prize

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Deaths

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2009 to be International Year of Astronomy, UN declares". CBC News. December 21, 2007. Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  2. ^ "The gold standard: researchers use nanoparticles to make 3-D DNA nanotubes". Phys.org. 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  3. ^ Davis, Joshua (2011-10-11). "The Crypto-Currency: Bitcoin and its mysterious inventor". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  4. ^ "Fermi telescope unveils a dozen new pulsars". Phys.org. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  5. ^ "Annular Solar Eclipse of 2009 Jan 26" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  6. ^ Gray, Richard; Dobson, Roger (January 31, 2009). "Extinct ibex is resurrected by cloning". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  7. ^ "121.5 Phase-Out". COSPAS SARSAT. Archived from the original on 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  8. ^ "Iran puts Omid data-processing satellite into orbit". IRNA. 2009-02-03. Archived from the original on 2009-02-06. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  9. ^ Kwok, Roberta (2009-02-04). "Scientists find world's biggest snake". Nature. doi:10.1038/news.2009.80. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  10. ^ Head, Jason J.; Bloch, Jonathan I.; Hastings, Alexander K.; Bourque, Jason R.; Cadena, Edwin A.; Herrera, Fabiany A.; Polly, P. David; Jaramillo, Carlos A. (2009-02-05). "Giant boid snake from the paleocene neotropics reveals hotter past equatorial temperatures". Nature. 457 (7230): 715–718. Bibcode:2009Natur.457..715H. doi:10.1038/nature07671. PMID 19194448. S2CID 4381423.
  11. ^ Iannotta, Becky; Malik, Tariq (2009-02-11). "U.S. Satellite Destroyed in Space Collision". Space.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  12. ^ "JPL Close-Approach Data: C/2007 N3 (Lulin)". 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2010-03-23. last obs
  13. ^ Earthquake-Resistant Housing for Developing Countries humboldt-foundation.de __ 2/2009
  14. ^ "KASC News and Schedule". Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  15. ^ "'Self-correcting' gates advance quantum computing". Phys.org. 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  16. ^ "Milky Tea Really *is* a Lifesaver". -. .theothertomelliott.com. 2009-03-27. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  17. ^ "Researcher Looks at Ways to Detect Cancer in Urine Samples". Medical Xpress. 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  18. ^ Bill Steele (2009-04-01). "DNA-based gel produces proteins without live cells". Phys.org. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  19. ^ Miwa Suzuki (2009-04-05). "Japan child robot mimicks infant learning". Phys.org. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  20. ^ "Shuttle Atlantis blasts off on last Hubble mission". Guardian. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  21. ^ Franzen, Jens L.; et al. (2009). Hawks, John (ed.). "Complete Primate Skeleton from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany: Morphology and Paleobiology". PLoS ONE. 4 (5): e5723. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.5723F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005723. PMC 2683573. PMID 19492084.
  22. ^ "Catalog of Long Total Solar Eclipses: 2001 to 3000". NASA. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  23. ^ Cyranoski, David (2009). "Mice made from induced stem cells". Nature. 460 (7255): 560. doi:10.1038/460560a. PMID 19641564.
  24. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions About Saturn's Rings". NASA. Archived from the original on 5 November 1999. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  25. ^ "MESSENGER Gains Critical Gravity Assist for Mercury Orbital Observations". MESSENGER Mission News. September 30, 2009. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  26. ^ Gibbons, Ann (2009). "A New Kind of Ancestor: Ardipithecus Unveiled" (PDF). Science. 326 (5949): 36–40. Bibcode:2009Sci...326...36G. doi:10.1126/science.326_36. PMID 19797636. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-22. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  27. ^ Fox, Maggie; Frank, Jackie (2009-10-19). "European scientists find trawl of 32 new planets". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  28. ^ Espenak, F. "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2009 Dec 31" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  29. ^ Isidro T. Savillo (2009-12-30). "Molecule of the Year 2009 is the Sleeping Beauty Transposase SB 100X". Scientist Solutions. Archived from the original on 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  30. ^ ""Sleeping Beauty" – Molecule of the Year". MDC Berlin-Buch. 2020-01-19. Archived from the original on 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  31. ^ Moore, Carrie A. (2009-02-11). "Kolff, 'father of artificial organs,' dies at 97". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2009-02-11.