Editing 2003 in science (section)

==Astronomy==
[[File:Apparent retrograde motion of Mars in 2003.gif|thumb|Mars retrograde motion during perigee 2003]]
*February 11 – [[NASA]]'s [[WMAP]] satellite completes the first detailed [[cosmic microwave background radiation]] map of the [[universe]]. The image reveals the universe is 13.7 billion years old (within one percent error) and provides evidence that supports the [[cosmic inflation|inflationary]] theory.
*May 16 – [[May 2003 lunar eclipse|Total lunar eclipse]]
*May 31 – [[Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003|Annular solar eclipse]] in Northern Scotland, [[Faroe Islands]], [[Greenland]], and [[Iceland]], with partial eclipse covering much of Europe and Russia.
*August 27 – [[Opposition (planets)|Opposition]] of [[Mars]], closest approach to earth of Mars since [[57,617 BC]], at a distance of 55,758,006 kilometers.<ref>{{cite web|work=Starry Nights |first=Gary |last=Boyle |title=Seeing the Red Planet |url=http://www.ottawaweb.ca/starrynights/vol07.html |date=2003-08-25 |accessdate=2011-10-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827190423/http://www.ottawaweb.ca/starrynights/vol07.html |archivedate=2011-08-27 }}</ref>
*October–November – The [[Sun]] is at solar maximum with a period of high activity, generating many large [[solar flare]]s and [[coronal mass ejection]]s.
*November 9 – [[November 2003 lunar eclipse|Total lunar eclipse]].
*November 14 – [[Trans-Neptunian object]] [[90377 Sedna]], one of the most distant objects in the [[Solar System]], discovered by [[Palomar Observatory]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Discovery of a Candidate Inner Oort Cloud Planetoid|author=Brown, Michael E.|authorlink2=Chad Trujillo|authorlink3=David L. Rabinowitz|last2=Trujillo|first2= Chadwick|last3=Rabinowitz|first3= David|journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal]]|bibcode=2004ApJ...617..645B|date=10 December 2004|volume=617|pages=645–649|issue=1|arxiv=astro-ph/0404456|doi=10.1086/422095|s2cid=7738201 |author-link=Michael E. Brown}}</ref>
*November 23 – [[Solar eclipse of November 23, 2003|Total solar eclipse]] in Antarctica.
*The [[2dF Survey]] of [[galaxy]] [[redshift]]s is published.