Astronomy and Space Exploration
- January 30 – Comet Hyakutake is discovered.
- February 17 – NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft launched. The craft will land on asteroid 433 Eros in 2001.
- May 20 – First naked-eye observation of Comet Hale-Bopp.
- November 7 – NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor.
- The second 9.8 m reflecting telescope opens at Keck Observatory, Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
Read more about this topic: 1996 In Science
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The captured fume of space foams in our ears—”
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