Category: This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History

This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History Physics

J. J. Thompson announced the existence of electrons on April 30, 1897

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Post date April 30, 2022
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J. J. Thomson with his cathode-ray tube which he discovered electrons — British physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics, Sir Joseph John Thomson (commonly known as J. J. Thompson, 18 December 1856 - 30 August 1940) with his cathode-ray tube By https://pixel17.com - https://www.flickr.com/photos/193673378@N02/51375595078/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

On April 30, 1897, British physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics, Sir Joseph John Thomson (commonly known as J. J. Thompson, 18 December 1856 – 30 August 1940) announced the existence of electrons.

Thompson called the particles “corpuscles”, meaning “small bodies”, but later scientific community preferred the name electron which had been suggested by the Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney in 1891 because these particles are the fundamental unit of electricity (see notes 1).

The word electron is a combination of the words electric and ion (a suffix, appearing in words of Latin origin, denoting action or condition). The suffix -on which is now used to designate other subatomic particles, such as a proton or neutron, is in turn derived from electron.

This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History Astronomy

Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24, 1990

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Post date April 24, 2022
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Hubble Space Telescope launch (cropped) — On April 24, 1990, Hubble Space Telescope was launched into low Earth orbit from space shuttle Discovery (STS-31). It orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 350 miles (560 kilometers). For a comparison, the International Space Station (ISS) maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 205 and 270 miles (330 and 435 kilometers). The telescope is 43.5 feet (13.2 meters) long, weighs 24,500 pounds (11,110 kilograms). This is a cropped image. You can see the full-size image at: ESA/Hubble (SpaceTelescope.org)

On April 24, 1990, Hubble Space Telescope was launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) from the space shuttle Discovery (STS-31). It orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 350 miles (560 kilometers). For comparison, the International Space Station (ISS) maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 205 and 270 miles (330 and 435 kilometers). The telescope is 43.5 feet (13.2 meters) long and weighs 24,500 pounds (11,110 kilograms).

This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History Environment

The First Earth Day was Celebrated on April 22, 1970

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Post date April 22, 2022
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The Blue Marble (cropped) — Apollo 17 spacecraft took a photo of Earth from space, at a distance of about 45,000 kilometers (28,000 miles). This image, with the official NASA designation AS17-148-22727, became known as "The Blue Marble", one of the most iconic photos of Earth from space. In fact, it was not the first clear image of Earth taken from space - similar photos had already been taken as early as 1967. But, the 1970s were the scene of a big surge in environmental activism. For example, on April 22, 1970, the first "Earth Day" was organized by Gaylord Nelson, former senator of Wisconsin, and Denis Hayes, a Harvard graduate student. Millions of people gather in the United States for the event. So, in today's terms, image AS17-148-22727 went "viral" and became a symbol of the environmental movement, as a depiction of Earth's frailty, vulnerability, and isolation amid the vast expanse of space. According to NASA archivist Mike Gentry, it is among the most widely distributed images in human history.

On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated. This date marks the birth of the modern environmental movement.

This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History Technology

AT&T Picturephone Mod I: The first transcontinental video call was performed on April 20, 1964

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Post date April 20, 2022
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Picturephone inaugural call, April 20, 1964. — The first transcontinental video call was performed on April 20, 1964, through an AT&T Picturephone Mod I, a device consisting of a telephone handset and a small, matching TV. This is a photo from that inaugural call. Illinois Bell Telephone President John de Butts in Chicago talks to First Lady Lady Bird Johnson in Washington. (Courtesy AT&T Archives and History Center)

The first transcontinental video call was performed on April 20, 1964, through an AT&T Picturephone Mod I, a device consisting of a telephone handset and a small, matching TV.

This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History Space Exploration

The First Space Station, Salyut 1 was launched on April 19, 1971

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Post date April 19, 2022
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On April 19, 1971, the world’s first space station, Salyut 1 (DOS-1, also referred to in documents as “Product 17K” or No. 121) was launched into space by the Soviet Union.

Moon Landing Space Exploration This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History

Apollo 16 Liftoff [Video, April 16, 1972]

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Post date April 16, 2022
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Apollo 16 Liftoff (April 16, 1972). Even on the photo, you can have an idea of what a beast the Saturn V rocket was. This is a resized image, you can see the original image on NASA.gov.

On April 16, 1972, the huge, 363-feet (110.6 meters) tall Apollo 16 (Spacecraft 113/Lunar Module 11/Saturn V SA-511, see notes 1) space vehicle was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 12:54 p.m. EST. Crewed by Commander John W. Young, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke (see notes 2), and Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly (see notes 3), it was the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon and the first to land in the lunar highlands.

This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History Physics

The atom was split for the first time on April 14, 1932: The story of splitting the atom

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Post date April 14, 2022
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On April 14, 1932, the English physicist Sir John Douglas Cockcroft and the Irish physicist Ernest Walton split the atom for the first time using the nuclear particle accelerator they built, also the first particle accelerator in history. Cockcroft and Walton won the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics for their “work on the transmutation of the atomic nuclei by artificially accelerated atomic particles”, popularly known as splitting the atom.

This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History Space Exploration

Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly into space on April 12, 1961

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Post date April 12, 2022
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On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly into space. His vehicle, Vostok 1 circled Earth at a speed of 27,400 km/h (17,025 mph) with the flight lasting 108 minutes. Vostok’s reentry was controlled by a computer, and Gagarin wasn’t controlling the spacecraft, unlike the early U.S. human spaceflight programs. Instead, at about 7,000 meters (23,000 ft), he ejected from the descending capsule ejected from the spacecraft and landed by parachute.

This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History Space Exploration

The First Space Shuttle was Launched on April 12, 1981

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Post date April 12, 2022
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The first Space Shuttle launch: April 12, 1981 — The first Space Shuttle launch: Just seconds past 7 a.m. on April 12, 1981, Space Shuttle Columbia carries astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen into an Earth orbital mission scheduled to last for 54 hours, ending with unpowered landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

On April 12, 1981, NASA launched the first Space Shuttle mission, STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1), into space. The first reusable orbiter, Space Shuttle Columbia orbited Earth 37 times on its maiden voyage and returned on April 14, 1981, 54.5 hours later its launch.

This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History Astronomy Solar System

Halley’s Comet Made the Closest Approach to Earth on April 11, 1986

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Post date April 11, 2022
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On April 11, 1986, with about 63 million kilometers (39 million miles), Halley’s Comet made its closest approach to Earth on its outbound journey (while moving away from the Sun).