2009 (MMIX)was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (dominical letter D), the 2009th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 9th year of the 3rd millennium, the 9th year of the 21st century, and the 10th and last year of the 2000s decade.2009 was designated as:International Year of AstronomyInternational Year of Natural FibresInternational Year of ReconciliationYear of the Gorilla (UNEP and UNESCO)