2015 Event Scientists announce discovery of a planet in the Kepler-452 solar system that closely resembles Earth in size and orbit; the planet, Kepler 452-b, has a diameter 60% larger than Earth's but an orbit that is 385 days, close to Earth's 365 days 2014 Event Solar storms will reach Earth today and tomorrow, possibly disrupting electric grids and increasing radiation exposure to airline travelers 2014 Event A partial solar eclipse takes place, only viewable from certain regions of Australia and Antarctica; the annular eclipse was formed as the moon blocked out the center of the sun, leaving a ring of solar rays 2014 Event Google is partnering with solar manufacturer SunPower to form a financing program to help families afford solar power for their homes 2014 Event NASA announces that its Kepler space telescope has discovered 715 planets in other solar systems, bringing the instrument's new-planet tally to 961; four of the latest discoveries are thought to have an orbit favorable to habitation, but the distance of these planets makes exploration impossible with current technology 2014 Event The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, now the world's largest solar energy plant, opens in the Mojave Desert; the $2.2 billion plant, owned by Google, NRG Energy, and BrightSource energy, spans five square miles and can provide power to 140,000 homes 2014 Event Water vapor on the minor planet Ceres, the largest asteroid and the only dwarf planet in the inner Solar System, is detected by European Space Agency researchers 2013 Event Africa, Europe and the United States experience a rare solar eclipse, with the west African nation of Gabon enjoying peak viewing when the total eclipse sweeps across a path nearly 60 kilometers wide 2013 Event NASA's Voyager 1 space probe makes history by advancing past the solar system - becoming the first man-made object to reach interstellar space 2012 Event Scientists studying the Sutter's Mill meteorite, found near where the Sutter's Mill California Gold Rush site, determine it contains the oldest material in the Solar System 2012 Event Parts of Australia and the South Pacific witness a total solar eclipse, with Cairns being the most populated city to experience this rare event 2012 Event Astronomers have identified the nearest planet outside of our Solar System, Alpha Centauri B, which circles its star much closer than Mercury orbits our Sun 2012 Event A solar plane, called The Solar Impulse, lands in Morocco after completing the world's first intercontinental flight powered by the Sun 2012 Event People in East Asia, the North Pacific and the Western United States have the opportunity today to view a rare annular solar eclipse 2012 Event The largest solar flare in five years, occurring March 6, 2012, nears the Earth, threatening to disrupt airline flights, GPS systems and power grids 2009 Event A solar eclipse, the longest in history, lasts up to 6 minutes and 38.8 seconds, over parts of Asia and the Pacific Ocean 2001 Event Total solar eclipse in Madagascar-Atl Ocean (4m56s) 1999 Event Total solar eclipse in India-North -France (2m23s) 1998 Event Total solar eclipse in Venezuela-Pacific Ocean (4m09) 1995 Event Total solar eclipse in SW/S Asia (2m09s) 1994 Event Total solar eclipse in South America (4m23s) 1993 Death Herman S Blount, Sun Ra, U.S. jazz pianist (Solar Arkestra), dies at 79 1992 Event Total solar eclipse in Uruguay (5m21s) 1991 Event University of Manchester scientist announce finding a planet outside of solar system 1991 Event Total solar eclipse is seen in Hawaii 1990 Event Space probe Voyager 1 takes photograph of entire solar system 1985 Event International Cometary Explorer measures solar wind ahead of Halley 1984 Event 1st planet outside our solar system discovered 1984 Event Damaged Solar Max satellite snared by Challenger shuttle 1983 Event Pioneer 10 is 1st man-made object to leave Solar System 1981 Event 1st solar-powered aircraft, Solar Challenger, crosses English Channel 1981 Event Japan launches Hinotori satellite to study solar flares (580/640 k) 1980 Event Steve Ptacek in Solar Challenger makes 1st solar-powered flight 1980 Event U.S. launches Solar Maximum Mission Observatory to study solar flares 1978 Event "Sun Day" - solar energy events are held in US 1978 Event Governor Askew dedicates RCUC solar office building 1976 Event US-German Helios B solar probe launched into solar orbit 1973 Event Observers aboard Concorde jet observe 72-minute solar eclipse 1971 Event Orbiting Solar Observatory VII launched 1969 Event Orbiting Solar Observatory 5 launched into earth orbit 1968 Event U.S. launches Solar Explorer 2 to study the Sun 1967 Event U.S. launches Pioneer 8 into solar orbit 1966 Event Pioneer 7 launched into solar orbit 1966 Birthday Jason Patric, born in New York City, actor, Lost Boys, Solar Babies 1965 Event Pioneer 6 launched into solar orbit 1965 Event Zond 3 launched to fly by Moon, enters solar orbit 1965 Event Orbiting Solar Observatory 2 launches into Earth orbit (552/636 km) 1962 Event Launch of OSO 1, 1st astronomy satellite (solar flare data) 1960 Event Pioneer 5 launched into solar orbit between Earth and Venus 1960 Event John Reynolds sets age of solar system at 4,950,000,000 years 1959 Event 1st U.S. probe to enter solar orbit, Pioneer 4, launched 1959 Event U.S.S.R. launches Mechta, Luna 1, for 1st lunar fly-by, 1st solar orbit 1956 Event 1st solar powered radios go on sale 1956 Birthday Richard Eden, actor, Brick-Santa Barbara, Solar Crisis, Robocop 1955 Event 1st solar automobile demonstrated, Chicago, Illinois 1954 Event Bell labs announces 1st solar battery 1946 Event Largest solar prominence, 300,000 mi/500,000 km, observed 1925 Event Iran adopts Khorshidi solar Hijrah calendar 1925 Event Moving picture of a solar eclipse taken from dirigible over Long Island 1900 Event Solar eclipse occurs 1882 Birthday Giorgio Abetti, Italian astronomer, Solar physics 1871 Event Jules Janssen discovers dark lines in solar corona spectrum 1870 Event Jules Janssen, flys in a balloon in order to study a solar eclipse 1868 Event Pierre Janssan discovers helium in solar spectrum during eclipse 1859 Event R C Carrington and R Hodgson make 1st observation of solar flare 1857 Event Frederick Laggenheim takes 1st photo of a solar eclipse 1851 Event Total solar eclipse captured on a daguerreotype photograph 1836 Event Francis Baily observes "Baily's Beads" during annular solar eclipse 1778 Event David Rittenhouse observes a total solar eclipse in Philadelphia 1774 Birthday Francis Baily, describer of "Baily's Beads" during solar eclipse 1662 Event Flamsteed sees solar eclipse, 1st known astronomical observation 1578 Event Tycho Brahe 1st sketches "Tychonic system" of solar system 1079 Event Iran adopts solar Hijrah calendar 585 Event War between Lydia and Media ended by solar eclipse
