1986 – At 65 million km, Halley’s Comet, is closest to Earth for this apparition and its 30th return to our neighbourhood.
1970 – Apollo 13 is launched at 13:13 CST and intends to be the third landing on the Moon. However, the explosion of an oxygen tank two days later puts the mission into an emergency and the spacecraft looses power, heat and water. It circumnavigates the Moon without landing and returns safely to Earth.
1960 – First radio search for extraterrestrial civilizations started by Frank Drake (Project Ozma).
Birthdays
1862 – William Wallace Campbell, 1915 Bruce Medalist and pioneer observer of stellar motions and radial velocities; director of Lick Observatory from 1901 to 1930, he also served as president of the Univ. of Calif. and the Nat`l Academy of Sciences. (d.