Astronomy
- February 11 – NASA's WMAP satellite completes the first detailed cosmic microwave background radiation map of the universe. The image reveals the universe is 13.7 billion years old (within one percent error) and provides evidence that supports the inflationary theory.
- May 16 – Total lunar eclipse
- May 31 – Annular solar eclipse in Northern Scotland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland, with partial eclipse covering much of Europe and Russia.
- August 25 – Opposition of Mars, closest approach to earth of Mars since 57,617 BC, at a distance of 55,758,006 kilometers.
- October–November – The sun is at solar maximum with a period of high activity, generating many large solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
- November 9 – Total lunar eclipse.
- November 14 – Trans-Neptunian object 90377 Sedna, one of the most distant objects in the Solar System, discovered by Palomar Observatory.
- November 23 – Total solar eclipse in Antarctica.
- The 2dF Survey of galaxy redshifts is published.
Read more about this topic: 2003 In Science
Famous quotes containing the word astronomy:
“Awareness of the stars and their light pervades the Koran, which reflects the brightness of the heavenly bodies in many verses. The blossoming of mathematics and astronomy was a natural consequence of this awareness. Understanding the cosmos and the movements of the stars means understanding the marvels created by Allah. There would be no persecuted Galileo in Islam, because Islam, unlike Christianity, did not force people to believe in a “fixed” heaven.”
—Fatima Mernissi, Moroccan sociologist. Islam and Democracy, ch. 9, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (Trans. 1992)