November 27

On November 27, 1839, the American Statistical Association (ASA) was established in Boston, Massachusetts, making it the first professional society for statisticians in the United States. The inaugural meeting was presided over by then-Vice President John C. Calhoun, who underscored the importance of statistical data for informed governance. The ASA aimed to collect, analyze, and disseminate statistical information on agriculture, industry, and public health. Its founding reflected a growing recognition of the value of quantitative methods in addressing social and economic issues. Over the years, the organization has played a key role in advancing statistical theory and practice, contributing to the development of census operations and scientific research. Today, the ASA is one of the world’s leading statistical associations, with thousands of members across academia, government, and industry.

As part of the Mars 2 mission, the Soviet space program released a descent module on November 27, 1971. Although the probe malfunctioned during entry, it descended through the Martian atmosphere and impacted the surface. Despite its failure to transmit data, the module achieved the historic first contact of human-made hardware with Mars. The orbiter continued to send valuable information about the Red Planet's atmosphere and surface conditions. Mars 2's achievement marked a milestone in space exploration and set the stage for future missions to Mars.

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope announced on November 27, 2001, the detection of hydrogen in the atmosphere of the exoplanet known as Osiris (HD 209458 b). This was the first time an atmosphere had been confirmed on a planet beyond our solar system. The discovery relied on analyzing starlight filtering through the planet's gaseous envelope during its transit. It provided direct evidence of exoplanet composition and opened a new era in the study of distant worlds. Researchers hailed the finding as a milestone in astrophysics and exoplanetary science.