Slime, lettuce and space cookies on the ISS
This year marks 20 years of continuous human presence
Some of the experiments launched onspace station this year included genetically modified mice and Nickelodeon slime. If you remember Nickelodeon, you probably won't be surprised to learn that the company sent its signature "green slime" directly to the (ISS). This was done to show children the effects of microgravity, as well as to instill in them an interest in science.
What's more, astronauts have even been able to bake cookies and grow salad in space. By the way, the salad grown on the ISS was not inferior in its benefits and taste to the earth.
Astronauts also learned more about how their bodiesadapt to space. Several studies have revealed some of the genetic changes that astronauts have experienced during their extended space flight, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch has set a new space flight record for women.
Commercial trucks and transport forcrew flights provided by SpaceX allow more experiments and astronauts to travel to and from the space station. In the future, even more scientific discoveries are possible on the ISS.
New (or long lost?) Comet
Comet C / 2020 F3 (NEOWISE) isa real treat for all astronomy lovers. Her path across the sky could be observed even with the naked eye. Astrophotographers with special equipment are particularly fortunate, however, see for yourself.
By observing the comet, researchers found thatits diameter is about 5 km - the average size for a comet with a long orbit. Retrograde comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) has become one of the brightest objects in the night sky. After NEOWISE disappeared from the field of view of earthlings, it fell into the Hubble lens and continued its circular rotation to the edge of the Solar system.
This is why none of the people living on Earth todaywill no longer see the comet - it takes thousands of years to reach the outer solar system before returning to Earth. By the way, this means that the comet is not entirely new, except for us. Previously, she already passed the Earth, but this happened 6800 years ago. People already existed then, but they did not keep their possible observations.
The comet is named after the Near-Earth Object Wide Field Infrared Explorer, also known as the NEOWISE mission.
Comet and ISS
The NEOWISE mission uses spacea telescope to search for asteroids and comets, including those that could pose a threat to Earth. Released in December 2009 as the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, the space telescope was originally designed to observe the sky in infrared wavelengths, detecting asteroids, stars and some of the faintest galaxies in space. He successfully completed this task until the completion of his main mission in February 2011. Observations resumed in December 2013, when the telescope was brought out of hibernation mode and repurposed for the NEOWISE project.
The planets that surprised the earthlings
The Moon, Venus, Mars and Jupiter made news of new discoveries on each planet that intrigued researchers.
A new study shows that the Moon maythere may be more water than previously thought, including on its sunny side. This water could be used as a resource during upcoming missions - such as NASA's return of humans to the lunar surface from Artemis program.
Also this year was created the largest map of the river network of the southern hemisphere of Mars at 8 trillion pixels.
New data will help understand hydrologicalhistory of Mars. Venus also got a better look this year. Observations of Venus by NASA's Parker Solar Probe, JAXA's Akatsuki mission, and astronomers around the world have provided a rare opportunity to see Earth's neighbor planet from the surface of the clouds.
Also, the discovery of phosphine in the clouds of Venus caused a lot of scientific debate about whether life can exist in hellish conditions.
In turn, the Juno mission on Jupiter was looking forwater on the largest planet in our solar system and on its moons, and also observed sprites in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter. Such “lightning jellyfish” were previously found only on Earth.
Juno and Hubble also noticed the planet's powerful storms and shimmering lights.
This animation takes the viewer on a simulated journey into Jupiter's exotic high-altitude electrical storms. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Kevin M. Gill
Asteroid samples from different ends of the solar system
In October, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission briefly touched down on the near-Earth asteroid Bennu and collected an impressive sample from the asteroid's surface, which will be returned to Earth by 2023.
It was the agency's first mission to land on an asteroid and collect a sample. Not everything went smoothly, but the spacecraft sent several images of the historical moment back to Earth.
The spacecraft's cameras recorded the moment OSIRIS-REx landed on Bennu.
Meanwhile, JAXA's Hayabusa-2 mission dropped intoDecember, a sampling capsule containing samples of the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu, before heading out to new asteroids. The sample is one of the first underground materials ever collected from an asteroid and is now being actively studied.
Samples from both asteroids can tell us more about how the solar system formed and how elements like water got to Earth early in its history.
All eyes on Betelgeuse
This year was dedicated to Betelgeuse,a red giant star in the constellation Orion, which is believed to be on the verge of a supernova explosion. Not the best news for earthlings. The star began to dim in 2019 and continued to fade in 2020. This led astronomers to speculate that it might explode. The changes in Betelgeuse went unnoticed even by amateur astronomers. The fact is that this star is usually one of the brightest in our sky.
But Hubble helped astronomers determine that the starthrew away some of her material that blocked the light from the star. However, not all researchers agree with this scenario and continue to observe Betelgeuse.
Black holes as a symbol of 2020
The difficult year 2020 has been marked as the year of black holes. And that's why.
For starters, the Nobel Prize in Physicsawarded for research on black holes that revealed "the darkest secrets of the universe." Three laureates received this year's prize for discoveries related to one of the most exotic phenomena in the universe - the black hole. Roger Penrose showed that general relativity leads to the formation of black holes. Reinhard Hansel and Andrea Guez discovered that this invisible and extremely heavy object controls the orbits of the stars in the center of our galaxy.
In addition, scientists were able to understand what happens to a star when it falls into a black hole. The phenomenon has been called «spaghettification», and the image shows why.
Also, astronomers have discovered the long-awaited blacka hole of intermediate mass, the size of which lies between supermassive black holes and smaller black holes. This discovery will help scientists understand how black holes develop. The research team was able to confirm the observation of an intermediate-mass black hole known as IMBH inside a dense star cluster. Gravitational waves have also been detected from the merger of two black holes, including an intermediate-mass black hole.
Researchers have also found the closest to Eartha black hole 1,000 light-years from Earth, observed the beating heart of a supermassive black hole, and for the first time detected light from two colliding black holes.
A new look at the sun
Making my first close pass this yearThe Sun, the Solar Orbiter spacecraft has captured the closest images of the Sun ever made. The images show small solar flares, called "bonfires," that can be seen near the surface of the Sun. Scientists don't yet know what bonfires are, but they believe they could be "nanoflashes" or tiny sparks that help heat the Sun's outer atmosphere.
The first images obtained by solarThe National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Telescope has shown that the surface of our Sun — it is a wild and cruel place. Details in the images show the plasma that covers the sun, which appears to be boiling.
The sun completes its cycle every 11 years.activity and starts a new one. In 2020, the 25th solar cycle began, which indicates a new, 11-year period of electromagnetic activity on the Sun. In each cycle, the north and south magnetic poles of the sun are reversed. Astronomers also report an increase in activity on the sun's surface. In addition, in a new cycle, the Sun turns toward Earth in a Mars-sized spot.
The next maximum solar activity whenThe sun is peaking in July 2025. During this time, solar flares or coronal mass eruptions can disrupt communications on Earth.
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