2007 in science

The year 2007 in science and technology involves many significant events.

Astronomy

* January 12 - Comet McNaught reaches perihelion and becomes visible during daylight.
[
3 March 2007 lunar eclipse]
* March 3-March 4 - A total lunar eclipse occurs, visible in some parts of the Americas and Asia, and all of Europe and Africa.
* March 19 - A partial solar eclipse occurs, visible in Asia.
* April 10 - Spectroscopic analysis of HD 209458 b, an extrasolar planet, provides the first evidence of atmospheric water vapor beyond the Solar System.
* April 25 - Gliese 581 c is discovered and identified as a potentially habitable Earth-like extrasolar planet in the constellation Libra.
* August 28 - A total lunar eclipse occurs, visible in some parts of the Americas and Asia, and all of Australasia and the Pacific Ocean.
* September 11 - A partial solar eclipse occurs, visible in southern areas of South America.
* October 24 - Comet 17P/Holmes suddenly brightens from 17 to about 2.8 magnitude.

Genetic engineering

*January 14 - Scientists at the Roslin Institute announce they have genetically engineered chickens which can lay eggs with the ability to fight cancer. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6261427.stm |title=Anti-cancer chicken eggs produced |date=2007-01-14 |publisher=BBC News]

pace exploration

* February 28 - The New Horizons space probe made a gravitational slingshot against Jupiter to change its trajectory towards Pluto.
* June 5 - NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft makes its second flyby of Venus en route to Mercury.
* September 27 - NASA's Dawn spacecraft is launched.

Awards

*Nobel Prize
**Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Mario Capecchi, Oliver Smithies and Martin Evans
**Nobel Prize in Physics: Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg
**Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Gerhard Ertl
*Abel Prize in Mathematics: S. R. S. Varadhan

Deaths

*February 20 - Frank Albert Cotton (b. 1930), chemist known for his research on transition metal chemistry
*July 23 - Ernst Otto Fischer (b. 1918), Nobel Prize laureate for pioneering work in the area of organometallic chemistry.
*October 26 - Arthur Kornberg (b. 1918), Nobel Prize laureate for his discovery of the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid.

References