Today in the History of Astronomy | Astronomy.com

A metallic grey sphere made of interlocking pentagonal and hexagonal tiles sits centrally against a bright, plain white background. Each brushed-metal tile is engraved with Cyrillic text, numerals, and small crest emblems, resembling a soccer ball structure. Overhead display lighting creates soft reflections on the upper hemisphere and subtle shadows along the lower curves.

Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 12, 1959: Luna 2 launches

An illustration shows a cylindrical spacecraft floating centrally against a dark, painted background of deep purple and blue space speckled with white stars. The main metallic body features blue solar panels along its sides and a bright teal circular end, with numerous thin antennas and booms extending outward in all directions like spiky spokes. Even, bright lighting highlights the satellite's intricate shape against the dark starfield backdrop.

Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 11, 1985: The ICE probe encounters Comet Giacobini-Zinner

A rectangular postage stamp with a red perforated border features an illustrated portrait of a man in a white spacesuit filling the right foreground. To the left, two connected grey spacecraft with solar panels extend diagonally above a blue-and-white view of Earth against a dark starry sky. Bold lettering, numerals, and small colored flags frame the upper corners and right side under even, bright lighting.

Human Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 10, 1933: The birth of Yevgeny Khrunov

A small, blurry, strawberry-shaped blob glowing in warm orange and red tones sits centered within a dark square inset. Two faint, yellowish points of brightness stand out along its right edge, contrasting against the muted red body. The entire square frame is isolated against a solid black background, giving the object high contrast.

Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 9, 1892: Edward Emerson Barnard sees Amalthea

A monochrome, close-up photograph shows a diamond-shaped asteroid with a rough, gravel-like surface centered against a solid black background. Bright, direct lighting highlights thousands of tiny, reflective grey and white specks interspersed with dark, pitted shadows and scattered boulders. High contrast emphasizes its jagged, rounded perimeter and uneven, rubble-covered terrain.

Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 8, 2016: OSIRIS-REx launches

A medium portrait shows a man in a grey suit jacket, collared shirt, and red-and-blue striped tie standing in the center foreground. Directly above him, a large white dish antenna suspended from overhead metal trusses dominates the upper background, alongside a slender, rocket-shaped object mounted horizontally to the left. Warm indoor lighting illuminates the subject, casting soft shadows across his face and the tan-colored walls behind him.

Human Spaceflight, Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 7, 1914: The birth of James Van Allen

A black-and-white woodcut illustration depicts a cityscape with spires, domed towers, and gabled roofs along the bottom half of the frame. Above the town, a light-colored sky is filled with numerous black four- and five-pointed star shapes, a smiling sun face in the upper-left corner, and a star with a tall, vertical wavy trail on the right. Simple cross-hatch shading creates texture across the buildings, clouds, and wooden fence structure in the foreground.

Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 6, 1618: The first comet seen through a telescope

An abstract, brightly glowing cloud shape sits centered against a solid black background. The core of the formation glows bright white and yellow, surrounded by a greenish layer that diffuses into a larger, deep red outer haze. Tiny, multicolored pinpricks of light—mostly yellow, green, and white—are scattered across the central core and the dark space surrounding it.

Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 5, 2001: The Milky Way has a black hole

A hand-drawn manuscript illustration in red and black ink is set on aged, off-white parchment paper. Red line segments radiate from a circle labeled on the far right toward a larger circular loop on the left, connecting eight smaller circles arranged along its perimeter. Each small circle is partially filled with solid black and red sections to show shaded geometric patterns, accompanied by handwritten Calligraphic text in black ink above and below the diagram.

Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 4, 973 C.E.: The birth of al-Biruni

A close-up view of mechanical equipment and a white dish antenna fills the right side and foreground of the frame, bathed in warm, yellowish-orange light. In the background, a vast, flat landscape covered in small, dusty rocks stretches toward a low horizon under a hazy, pale sky. Light contrast and muted earth tones dominate the scene, emphasizing the dry, rocky terrain.

Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 3, 1976: Viking 2 reaches Mars

A wide night landscape view shows rocky, tree-lined mountains stretched across the center with foliage illuminated by warm yellow-orange light in the foreground. Above the dark ridge, the night sky transitions from teal green on the upper left to a vivid, glowing crimson and orange hue filling the right side, all filled with a dense field of tiny stars. A vertical line of brighter white stars stands out clearly against the colorful sky backdrop.

Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 2, 1859: The Carrington Event peaks

A monochrome photograph shows a large, roundish asteroid filling the frame against a solid black space background. Strong directional lighting coming from the right illuminates a heavily pockmarked, grey surface covered in round craters and ridges. The left half of the body curves sharply into deep black shadow, creating strong contrast across the terrain.

Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 1, 1804: Karl Harding spots 3 Juno