2020 in Space: Ten Out-of-the-World Happenings That Kept Astronomy Enthusiasts on Their Toes This Year | The Weather Channel – Articles from The…

From developing multiple vaccines for a pandemic to retrieving samples from outer worlds2020 was undoubtedly a year of science! Despite unimaginable human suffering, humanity witnessed some unforgettable moments of heroism, innovation and sacrifice this year. And science was not left behind!

In the year 2020despite the widespread lockdowns and restricted movementspace exploration and research continued to proliferate across the globe. While some planned missions were delayed, multiple astronomical triumphs achieved this year demonstrated that nothing in this world can halt scientific ingenuity. The Weather Channel India has compiled some such exciting space discoveries and events that grabbed headlines in the year gone by. In case you missed any of these mind-blowing space stories of 2020, then here is a reckoner!

On September 14, 2020, a paper published in the reputed journal Nature Astronomy, revealed detection of phosphinea colourless, flammable gason the clouds of Venus. According to the study, phosphine could originate from unknown photochemical or geochemical processes on Venus, or it could be a biological product from the presence of life.

Planet Venus

The study kicked off an intense debate over the presence of life on the Earths sister planet. Scientists continue to insist that the detection of phosphine in itself is not enough evidence for microbial life, and it only indicates some unknown geological or chemical process that we havent understood yet, while some scientists have even questioned the detection of phosphine itself.

The surface conditions of the rocky planet Venus is not conducive to life as we know it. However, scientists say that the environment of its upper cloud deckaround 5362 km above the surfacecould be mild enough to support some forms of extremophiles, which are the microbes that can survive in extremely harsh conditions. Read more about this breakthrough research here.

While ISRO took a back seat with stalled missions in 2020, Indian astronomers proved their mantle in furthering space science by conducting breakthrough research. One of the most remarkable contributions was by two students from the Indian Institute of Technology BombayKunal Deshmukh and Kriti Sharmawho spotted the closest asteroid to ever fly past Earth. Back on August 16, a car-sized space rock, named 2020 QG, zipped past our planet and scientists had no clue about it. Its discovery created a lot of buzz around the world as the closest-known asteroid. Find out more about this discovery here.

GMRT in Pune.

On August 24, 2020, scientists from the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune announced the discovery of one of the earliest galaxies in the universe, situated about 9.3 billion light-years away from the Earth. The breakthrough discovery was made using AstroSatthe first multi-wavelength satellite of India. The galaxy, named AUDFs01, is expected to enhance our understanding of the origin of early galaxies and the earliest source of light in the universe. Read more about this study here.

In another breakthrough research, Indian astronomers, using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) based in Pune, successfully measured the atomic hydrogen content of distant galaxies. The study outlines the earliest measurements of the atomic gas till datefrom a young universe seen as it was during eight billion years ago. The study was led by the team of astronomers from the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA-TIFR) in Pune and the Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bengaluru. For details, click here.

Making use of the Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) space telescope, scientists first observed a peculiar comet on March 27, 2020, chasing the Sun. As it travelled to within 44 million kilometres of the Sun, NEOWISEs outermost layers burned-up, causing gas and dust particles to fall off its icy surface and creating a large tail of debris. The comet managed to survive the intense roasting from the Sun as it approached our host star in June.

Comet NEOWISE over Stonehenge.

While most comets of NEOWISEs range do not survive the Suns intense radiation, this survivor emerged from the ordeal brighter than before, startling astronomers around the globe. NEOWISE was the brightest comet for the northern hemisphere in the past several decades and appeared at every dawn or dusk for nearly a monthfrom July 3 to the first week of August. Now it will revisit the future Earthlings only after about 6,800 years. In case you missed it, catch the glimpse here.

The enthusiasm to explore the possibility of life beyond the planet Earth and the curiosity to understand the origin of our solar system continued to drive more missions to Mars in 2020. The red planet is the top contender in the list of possible hosts to establish future human colonies, and the process seems to have got a kick start this year.

Artist's concept shows the Mars Helicopter on the Martian surface.

Between July 20 to 30, three explorer missionsone each from the US, UAE and Chinawere launched towards Mars. This particular time frame was chosen by multiple agencies to embark on the seven-month-long journey since Mars will be closest to Earth during this window. In October 2020, the red planet came closest to the blue planet at just over 62 million kilometres, almost half the average distance of 104 million km.

The three missionsHope by UAE, Perseverance of US, and Tianwen-1 of Chinaare slated to reach the destination somewhere around February 2021. The main aim of the UAE mission is to study the planets thin atmosphere, while both Perseverance and Tianwen-1 will fetch samples of rocks and soil for further analysis. Whichever mission succeeds in revealing scientifically important data, the trio will be a milestone in Mars exploration. Read more about these missions here and here.

On December 6, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) achieved yet another milestone in cosmic exploration by successfully bringing back samples from a distant asteroid named Ryugulocated 300 million kilometres away from the Earth. Asteroids like Ryuguare rubbles from the earliest times of the formation of our solar systems.

Studying these space rocks could provide invaluable insights into the primordial characteristics of our solar system. Through this missionnamed Hayabusa-2the Japanese space agency collected samples of dust and materials from under the surface of asteroid Ryugu. It took six years for the spacecraft to complete the round trip to this celestial body. Read more about Japans mission here.

The year started with the release of the most detailed image of our gigantic Sun. The United States-based National Science Foundations Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope released its first images of the Suns surface on February 2, 2020. The images highlight features that roughly cover an area as small as 30 km on the Sunan unparalleled feat, considering the star has a diameter of about 1.4 million km and is located 149 million km away from Earth.

Solar Orbiter spots campfires on the Sun. Locations of campfires are annotated with white arrows.

Moreover, NASA and ESA released the first images of the Solar Orbiter, including the closest pictures ever taken of the Sun on July 17. These images were captured when the spacecraft completed its first close pass of the Sun in mid-June this year. Launched on February 10, 2020, the Solar Orbiter mission has carried several cutting-edge instruments using which scientists hope to gain an in-depth understanding of the solar wind, and how it releases the stream of charged particles that influence the entire Solar System. Click here and here to know more.

Earths sole natural satellite, the Moon, got its fair share of the spotlight too in 2020 as several breakthrough studies shed light on the lunar mysteries.

One of the studies published in early September comes from Indias historic mission Chandrayaan-1. The data from ISROs mission has revealed that the Moon might be rusting. The study highlights that the Moon is turning slightly red, indicating the formation of a reddish-black mineral form of iron named hematite on its surface, particularly at the poles. Know how the Moon is rusting here.

The nearest celestial body to Earththe Moon.

Another breakthrough discovery by NASA confirmed the presence of water on the Moons sunlit surface for the first time in history. Earlier, astronomers believed that water molecules on the Moon could be limited to cold, shadowed places. The announcement came from the space agency in October this year, it revealed that the discovery was made using Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The study is considered highly significant as it indicates the possibility of water distribution across the lunar surface. Read about this discovery here.

The year ended with the biggest achievement in the history of Moon exploration by successfully bringing in Moon samples after 44 years. The feat was achieved by China's National Space Administration (CNSA)making it the third space league nation to achieve this milestone. The samples are important to shed light on the origin and geological history of the Moon. Read more on this mission here.

In the last week of April this year, a powerful burst of radio waves passed over Earth, flashing up radio telescopes based in various parts of the globe. The seemingly random flickers were regarded as one of the most mysterious cosmic signals ever recorded by radio telescopes to date. Some theories even suggested that the signal is coming from a distant alien civilization.

Artist's impression of a magnetar in outburst, showing complex magnetic field structure and beamed emission, here imagined as following a crust cracking episode.

But this year in November, a team of astronomers finally decoded its source suggesting that the mysterious signal is coming from magnetars within our Milky Way galaxy. FRBs are the super intense radio waves which last for milliseconds and were first discovered in 2007. The extremely short length and undefined origin had made it impossible to analyse these signals effectively. Know more about this exciting discovery here.

In the early 1920s, renowned astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that our galaxythe Milky Waywas not the only galaxy in the Universe. In subsequent decades, we realised that there are, in fact, a countless number of galaxies in our universe. In August 2020, for the first time, astronomers reported having spotted a look-alike galaxy of our Milky Way with a very close resemblance.

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile has 66 high-precision antennas.

The newly found galaxy named SPT0418-47 is estimated to be located about 12 billion light-years from our galaxy, meaning it is so far that its light takes nearly 12 billion years to travel and reach us. The newly discovered galaxy was formed when the universe was just 10% of its current ageabout 1.4 billion years old. What makes the galaxy look like ours? Find out here.

A group of astronomers have spotted the biggest explosion ever recorded in the universe. This record-breaking outburst was a result of a black hole exploding in a distant galaxy cluster, named Ophiuchus galaxy cluster, that is located approximately 390 million light-years away from the Earth. Galaxy clusters are essentially the largest structures in the universe, tied together by gravity. They contain thousands of galaxies, along with hot gas and dark matter. Read more about this breakthrough discovery here.

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2020 in Space: Ten Out-of-the-World Happenings That Kept Astronomy Enthusiasts on Their Toes This Year | The Weather Channel - Articles from The...