Astronomy
- April 8 – Total solar eclipse
- February 23 – Astronomers announce the discovery of a galaxy, VIRGOHI21, that consists almost entirely of dark matter.
- March 23 – Two independent teams report the observation of light from planets circling two different stars, using the Spitzer infrared space telescope. Both groups detect a slight dimming in the light intensity during conjunction, when the planet is moving behind its sun's disk (occultation).
- May 18 – A second photograph by the Hubble Space Telescope confirms the discovery of two new moons of Pluto: Nix and Hydra.
- October 3 – Annular solar eclipse
Read more about this topic: 2005 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)