Events and discoveries

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.[2]
January 26 – An annular solar eclipse takes place.[3]
February 1 – The Cospas-Sarsat satellite search-and-rescue system stops monitoring for outdated 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz (Class B) distress signals from EPIRBs and other emergency beacons.[4]
February 24 – Comet Lulin, a non-periodic comet, makes its closest approach to Earth, peaking in brightness between magnitude +4 and magnitude +6.[5]
March 7 – The Kepler space observatory is successfully launched.[6]
May 11–24 – STS-125, the last expected Space Shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, takes place.[7]
May 19 – Paleontologists announce the discovery of Darwinius masillae, an evolutionary "missing link" with features similar to lemurs, monkeys, and humans.[8]
July 22 – A total solar eclipse – the longest-lasting total eclipse of the 21st century – takes place.[9]
September 3 – 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.[10]
September 29 – NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft makes its final flyby of Mercury, decreasing velocity enough for its orbital capture in 2011.[11]
October 1 – Paleontologists announce the discovery of an Ardipithecus ramidus fossil skeleton, deeming it the oldest fossil skeleton of a human ancestor yet found.[12]
October 20 – European astronomers discover 32 new exoplanets.[13]
December 31
A partial lunar eclipse is visible from most of Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia.[14]
The SB ("Sleeping Beauty") 100X is announced as the Molecule of the Year 2009 by Isidro T. Savillo, President of the International Society for Molecular and Cell Biology and Biotechnology Protocols and Researches (ISMCBBPR). (Scientist Solutions) (MDC Berlin-Buch)

Deaths

February 11 – Willem Johan Kolff, American physician, inventor of artificial organs (b. 1911).[15]
June 10 – John A. Eddy, American astronomer (b. 1931).
November 29 – Andrew Donald Booth, British physicist and computer scientist (b. 1918).

Physics Nobel Prize

Charles K. Kao
"for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication"

Willard S. Boyle , George E. Smith
"for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD sensor"

Popular Science Jan 2009

Popular Science Feb 2009