22 July 2009: the longest-lasting total solar eclipse of the 21st century occurs.
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]
January – The first animal from an extinct species to be recreated by cloning, a Pyrenean Ibex, is born alive, but dies seven minutes later due to physical defects in its lungs.[6]
February
1 February – The Cospas-Sarsat satellite search-and-rescue system stops monitoring for outdated 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz (Class B) distress signals from EPIRBs and other emergency beacons.[7]
2 February – Omid, Iran's first domestically built satellite, is successfully launched from Semnan Space Center into low Earth orbit;[8] it re-enters the atmosphere on 25 April.
Iranian scientists find that the way in which traditional timber-framed constructions are built makes them earthquake-resistant.[13]
March
7 March – The Kepler space observatory is successfully launched, and begins its search for exoplanets.[14]
12 March – Dartmouth researchers have found a way to develop more robust “quantum gates,” which are the elementary building blocks of quantum circuits.[15]
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]
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
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
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]