On This Date in History - April 2

Daily Extra :

Astronomy & Space Word of The Day

orbital resonance: A relationship in which the orbital period of one body is related to that of another by a simple integer fraction.

Who Was Born Today?:

1948: Eleanor Margaret Burbridge, astronomer and educator

Who Died Today?:

1952: Bernard F Lyot, French astronomer (chronograph, Lyot-filter), age 55

Today in History:

1845: H L Fizeau and J Leon Foucault take 1st photo of Sun

1958: National Advisory Council on Aeronautics renamed NASA

1963: Luna 4 - USSR Lunar Probe launched. Lunar 4 was intended to be a lunar lander but missed the Moon. It is now in an Earth Moon orbit.

1964: Zond 1 - USSR Venus Flyby launched. Communication lost en route; now in a solar orbit.

1966: Soviet Union's Luna 10 becomes 1st spacecraft to orbit Moon

1992: Space Shuttle STS-45, Atlantis 11, lands

Featured Astronomy Image of the Week

Check out the former Astronomy Picture of the Day. See what surprises await you this week.