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1 February – The Cospas-Sarsat satellite search-and-rescue system stops monitoring for outdated 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz (Class B) distress signals from EPIRBs and other emergency beacons.[7]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]
^"2009 to be International Year of Astronomy, UN declares". CBC News. December 21, 2007. Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^"The gold standard: researchers use nanoparticles to make 3-D DNA nanotubes". Phys.org. 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
^Davis, Joshua (2011-10-11). "The Crypto-Currency: Bitcoin and its mysterious inventor". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
^"Fermi telescope unveils a dozen new pulsars". Phys.org. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
^"Annular Solar Eclipse of 2009 Jan 26" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^Gray, Richard; Dobson, Roger (January 31, 2009). "Extinct ibex is resurrected by cloning". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
^"121.5 Phase-Out". COSPAS SARSAT. Archived from the original on 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
^"Iran puts Omid data-processing satellite into orbit". IRNA. 2009-02-03. Archived from the original on 2009-02-06. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
^Head, Jason J.; Bloch, Jonathan I.; Hastings, Alexander K.; Bourque, Jason R.; Cadena, Edwin A.; Herrera, Fabiany A.; Polly, P. David; Jaramillo, Carlos A. (2009-02-05). "Giant boid snake from the paleocene neotropics reveals hotter past equatorial temperatures". Nature. 457 (7230): 715–718. Bibcode:2009Natur.457..715H. doi:10.1038/nature07671. PMID 19194448. S2CID 4381423.
^Iannotta, Becky; Malik, Tariq (2009-02-11). "U.S. Satellite Destroyed in Space Collision". Space.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
^"Shuttle Atlantis blasts off on last Hubble mission". Guardian. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^Franzen, Jens L.; et al. (2009). Hawks, John (ed.). "Complete Primate Skeleton from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany: Morphology and Paleobiology". PLoS ONE. 4 (5): e5723. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.5723F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005723. PMC 2683573. PMID 19492084.
^"Catalog of Long Total Solar Eclipses: 2001 to 3000". NASA. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^Cyranoski, David (2009). "Mice made from induced stem cells". Nature. 460 (7255): 560. doi:10.1038/460560a. PMID 19641564.
^"Frequently Asked Questions About Saturn's Rings". NASA. Archived from the original on 5 November 1999. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
^"MESSENGER Gains Critical Gravity Assist for Mercury Orbital Observations". MESSENGER Mission News. September 30, 2009. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^Gibbons, Ann (2009). "A New Kind of Ancestor: Ardipithecus Unveiled" (PDF). Science. 326 (5949): 36–40. Bibcode:2009Sci...326...36G. doi:10.1126/science.326_36. PMID 19797636. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-22. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
^Fox, Maggie; Frank, Jackie (2009-10-19). "European scientists find trawl of 32 new planets". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
^Espenak, F. "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2009 Dec 31" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^Isidro T. Savillo (2009-12-30). "Molecule of the Year 2009 is the Sleeping Beauty Transposase SB 100X". Scientist Solutions. Archived from the original on 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
^""Sleeping Beauty" – Molecule of the Year". MDC Berlin-Buch. 2020-01-19. Archived from the original on 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
^Moore, Carrie A. (2009-02-11). "Kolff, 'father of artificial organs,' dies at 97". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2009-02-11.