1999 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1999 in science and technology involved some significant events.
Aeronautics
- February 27 – While trying to circumnavigateCircumnavigationCircumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
the world in a hot air balloonHot air balloonThe hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
, Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new endurance record after being in a hot air balloon for 233 hours and 55 minutes. - March 3 – Bertrand PiccardBertrand PiccardBertrand Piccard is a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist.Born in Lausanne, Vaud canton, Bertrand Piccard, along with Brian Jones, was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe...
and Brian JonesBrian JonesLewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
begin their attempt to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon without stopping. Their journey ended in success on March 20.
Astronomy and space exploration
- January 31 – A total penumbral lunar eclipseJanuary 1999 lunar eclipseA penumbral lunar eclipse took place on January 31, 1999, the first of two lunar eclipses in 1999.This was a relatively rare total penumbral lunar eclipse with the moon passing entirely within the penumbral shadow without entering the darker umbral shadow...
- February 7 – StardustStardust (spacecraft)Stardust is a 300-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on February 7, 1999 to study the asteroid 5535 Annefrank and collect samples from the coma of comet Wild 2. The primary mission was completed January 15, 2006, when the sample return capsule returned to Earth...
is launched on a mission to collect samples of a cometCometA comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
comaComa (cometary)frame|right|The [[153P/Ikeya-Zhang|comet Ikeya-Zhang]] exhibiting a bright, condensed coma In astronomy, a coma is the nebulous envelope around the nucleus of a comet. It is formed when the comet passes close to the Sun on its highly elliptical orbit; as the comet warms, parts of it sublimate...
, and return them to Earth. - February 16 – Annular solar eclipseSolar eclipse of February 16, 1999An annual solar eclipse occurred on February 16, 1999. -References:...
, visible from Australia. - July 20 – Mercury programMercury programMercury Program might refer to:*the first successful American manned spaceflight program, Project Mercury*an American post-rock band, The Mercury Program...
: Liberty Bell 7 is raised from the Atlantic Ocean. - July 28 – Partial lunar eclipseJuly 1999 lunar eclipseA partial lunar eclipse took place on July 28, 1999, the second of two lunar eclipses in 1999.- External links :* *...
, visible from Australia, eastern Asia, and western North America. - July 31 – NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
intentionally crashes the Lunar ProspectorLunar ProspectorThe Lunar Prospector mission was the third selected by NASA for full development and construction as part of the Discovery Program. At a cost of $62.8 million, the 19-month mission was designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including mapping of surface composition and possible...
spacecraft into the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the moon's surface. - August 11 – Total solar eclipse, visible from Europe, across the Middle East, and ending in India.
- December 16 – The Beethoven Burst (GRB 991216)Beethoven Burst (GRB 991216)GRB 991216, nicknamed the Beethoven Burst by Dr. Brad Schaefer of Yale University, was a gamma ray burst observed on December 16, 1999, coinciding with the 229th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth...
is one of the most powerful detected Gamma-ray bursts. - NASA loses two MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
probes, the Mars Climate OrbiterMars Climate OrbiterThe Mars Climate Orbiter was a 338 kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on December 11, 1998 to study the Martian climate, atmosphere, surface changes and to act as the communications relay in the Mars Surveyor '98 program, for Mars Polar Lander...
and the Mars Polar LanderMars Polar LanderThe Mars Polar Lander, also referred to as the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander, was a 290-kilogram robotic spacecraft lander, launched by NASA on January 3, 1999, to study the soil and climate of Planum Australe, a region near the south pole on Mars, as part of the Mars Surveyor '98 mission...
. - The SubaruSubaru (telescope)Subaru Telescope is the 8.2 metre flagship telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, located at the Mauna Kea Observatory on Hawaii. It is named after the open star cluster known in English as the Pleiades...
8.3 m and Gemini North 8.1 m reflecting telescopeReflecting telescopeA reflecting telescope is an optical telescope which uses a single or combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century as an alternative to the refracting telescope which, at that time, was a design that suffered from...
s open at the Mauna Kea ObservatoryMauna Kea ObservatoryThe Observatories at Mauna Kea, , are an independent collection of astronomical research facilities located on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai'i, USA. The facilities are located in a special land use zone known as the "Astronomy Precinct," which is located in the Mauna Kea...
in Hawaii. - The Cetus DwarfCetus DwarfCetus Dwarf is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy. It lies approximately 2.46 Million light-years from Earth. It is an isolated galaxy of the Local Group, which also contains the Milky Way...
galaxy is discovered.
Biology
- November 1 – Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds comes into force.
- The bacterium Thiomargarita namibiensisThiomargarita namibiensisThiomargarita namibiensis is a gram-negative coccoid Proteobacterium, found in the ocean sediments of the continental shelf of Namibia. It is the largest bacterium ever discovered, in general, wide, but sometimes up to...
is discovered off the coast of NamibiaNamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
. At 0.3mm in diameter, it is largest bacteria discovered.
Chemistry
- UnunoctiumUnunoctiumUnunoctium is the temporary IUPAC name for the transactinide element having the atomic number 118 and temporary element symbol Uuo. It is also known as eka-radon or element 118, and on the periodic table of the elements it is a p-block element and the last one of the 7th period. Ununoctium is...
and Ununhexium are made for the first time. Later retracted when results could not be replicated.
Computer science
- March 26 – The Melissa worm attacks the Internet.
- First working 3-qubit NMR computer demonstrated at IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
's Almaden Research Center. First execution of Grover's algorithmGrover's algorithmGrover's algorithm is a quantum algorithm for searching an unsorted database with N entries in O time and using O storage space . It was invented by Lov Grover in 1996....
.
Geology
- January 25 – A 6.0 Richter scaleRichter magnitude scaleThe expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
earthquake hits western ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, killing at least 1,000. - August 17 – A 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes northwestern TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, killing more than 17,000 and injuring 44,000.
Telecommunications
- The first BlackBerryBlackBerryBlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
is released, using the same hardware as the Inter@ctive pager 950, and running on the MobitexMobitexMobitex is an OSI based open standard, national public access wireless packet-switched data network. Mobitex puts great emphasis on safety and reliability with its use by military, police, firefighters and ambulance services. Mobitex was developed in the beginning of the 1980s by the Swedish...
network.
Awards
- Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
s- PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
– Gerardus 't HooftGerardus 't HooftGerardus 't Hooft is a Dutch theoretical physicist and professor at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics with his thesis advisor Martinus J. G...
, Martinus J.G. Veltman - ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
– Ahmed H. Zewail - MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
– Günter BlobelGünter Blobel-Biography:Blobel was born in Waltersdorf in the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia. In January 1945 his family fled from native Silesia from the advancing Red Army. On their way to the West they passed through the beautiful old city of Dresden, which left deep impressions in the young boy...
- Physics
- Turing AwardTuring AwardThe Turing Award, in full The ACM A.M. Turing Award, is an annual award given by the Association for Computing Machinery to "an individual selected for contributions of a technical nature made to the computing community. The contributions should be of lasting and major technical importance to the...
: Fred BrooksFred BrooksFrederick Phillips Brooks, Jr. is a software engineer and computer scientist, best known for managing the development of IBM's System/360 family of computers and the OS/360 software support package, then later writing candidly about the process in his seminal book The Mythical Man-Month... - Wollaston Medal for GeologyWollaston MedalThe Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London.The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831...
: John Frederick DeweyJohn Frederick DeweyJohn Frederick Dewey is a British structural geologist and a strong proponent of the theory of plate tectonics, building upon the early work undertaken in the 1960s and 1970s...
Deaths
- February 25 – Glenn T. SeaborgGlenn T. SeaborgGlenn Theodore Seaborg was an American scientist who won the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements", contributed to the discovery and isolation of ten elements, and developed the actinide concept, which led to the current arrangement of the...
(b. 19121912 in scienceThe year 1912 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* July 23 - Horace Donisthorpe first discovers Anergates atratulus in the New Forest, England.-Chemistry:...
), physical chemist, Nobel laureate in Chemistry - May 26 – Waldo SemonWaldo SemonWaldo Lonsbury Semon was a renowned American inventor born in Demopolis, Alabama.Semon put his name into the history books for inventing vinyl, the world's second most used plastic. He found the formula for vinyl by mixing a few synthetic polymers, and the result was a substance that was elastic,...
(b. 18981898 in scienceThe year 1898 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Chemistry:* William Ramsay and Morris Travers discover Neon, Krypton and Xenon ....
), inventor. - November 11 – Vivian Ernest Fuchs (d. 19081908 in scienceThe year 1908 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Archaeology:* A 40,000-year-old Neanderthal boy skeleton is found at Le Moustier in southwest France....
), geologist and explorer.