For many reasons, 2020 could be a watershed year for society and science. Astronomers and space agencies have been managing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic this year. They also took breakthroughs in new technologies and said goodbye to several important projects.
This year was a new era of monster recovery missions, protests against a telescope, an incredible visit from a dazzling comet and the “great cooperation” of Saturn and Jupiter.
Here’s our look back at the ten biggest space stories of 2020.
Coronavirus affects space science
The coronavirus pandemic has affected many sectors of astronomy and space travel. Universities, space agencies and ongoing projects adapted to cope with the new reality as countries worldwide have taken measures to prevent the spread of the respiratory disease COVID-19. Classrooms are becoming virtual, astronomical conferences have changed format and higher education institutions have struggled with financial problems caused by the effects of the virus on the economy.
Social distance measures have affected the field in many ways. Space agencies like NASA order their employees to work from home. Projects like the Event Horizon Telescope, which captured the very first photograph of a black hole, cancelled its observations in 2020. Satellites continued and showed their observations deserted streets and short-term changes to emissions caused by human activities. Social movements such as the protests against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope in Hawaii was also stopped to protect the elders of the community from the disease.
Spacecraft such as NASA’s asteroid monster collection OSIRUS-REx mission also had to slow down their most important maneuver – the material recovery from the asteroid Bennu – due to limitations caused by virus mitigation efforts on Earth.
The contagious and deadly nature of the virus was clear to space agencies. On May 6, the head of Russia’s human space program deceased several weeks after testing positive for coronavirus. In late April 2020, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California developed a new fan. VITAL in response to limited ventilators for COVID-19 patients.
Iconic Arecibo Observatory Collapses
This year, the National Science Foundation (NSF) said goodbye to the iconic Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico after two major cable faults led to the collapse of the radio telescope. The 57-year-old structure was once the largest radio dish telescope in the world, and researchers used its capabilities to make significant breakthroughs in astronomy. The Arecibo Observatory also served as the dramatic backdrop for films such as “Contact” and “Goldeneye.”
The facility had two cable faults this year, and in early December, the hanging panel collapsed above the radio dish.
The news of Arecibo’s structural damage and subsequent dismantling was discouraging also for the local community. Field trips to the visitor center are a “passage ritual” for Puerto Rican children.
A surge in sample visits
A new “golden age“of sample recovery missions is here.
In October 2020, NASA OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid Bennu successfully saved pieces of space rock to bring to earth. On December 7, samples of the asteroid Ryugu collected by JAXAs Hayabusa2 mission reached it Japanese scientists. A capsule containing the rocky material descended to the Woomera Forbidden Territory in Australia on 5 December, and the spacecraft returned to the solar system on an extended mission. The predecessor of this spacecraft, Hayabusa, was the first mission to bring back pieces of an asteroid to Earth.
China’s Chang’e 5 the mission also conducted a sample with the moon in late 2020. The first lunar monsters to come to Earth were brought by NASA. Apollo program.
China analyzes foreign substances on the other side of the moon
Chinese scientists have an analysis of a foreign matter they detected on the other side of the moon. The Yutu 2 rover from China’s Chang’e 4 mission found the yellowish substance in July 2019, and this year Chinese researchers described the material in a new article.
The glassy substance has a dark green color and looks like breccia, or broken minerals cemented together. Material information was obtained through Yutu 2’s panoramic and hazard avoidance cameras and the Rover’s visible and near-infrared spectrometer (VNIS) instrument. Researchers have written that the material may have formed in an impact or volcanic eruption.
Phosphine on Venus
On September 14, a team of astronomers announced that they detect the chemical fingerprint of phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere. This compound was found near microbes on Earth and some people have argued that it may be a biosignature, an indication that perhaps a life form high in Venus’ clouds the planet’s extreme environment.
Astronomers have detected the phosphine chemical signature using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii and the Atacama Large Millimeter / Submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. The levels of phosphine have detected confused researchers because Venus, like the Earth, contains many molecules with oxygen, which must destroy phosphine quickly.
Skeptics is careful to connect the signs of life. But the discovery has fascinated people around the world.
Solar Orbiter launches into space
In February 2020, a new solar mission from the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA entered space. The Solar Orbiter mission is designed to study the sun more closely to understand the bubble orbiting the solar system.
The sun affects a region in space called the heliosphere. The solar system is inside, and outside this region is interstellar space. To understand the heliosphere, Solar Orbiter will examine the solar polar regions more closely. The mission’s innovative heat shield is resistant to temperatures up to 920 degrees Fahrenheit (520 degrees Celsius).
Related: The world’s largest solar telescope has never produced an image of our star
Demonstrations over the thirty meter telescope
Native Hawaiians called kia’i, or protectors, continued them protests against the construction of the thirty meter long telescope (TMT) of 160 meters long (TMT). TMT was formed in 2003 when a non-profit partnership was established between two universities in California and peers in Japan, China, India and Canada.
The kia’i set up camp to protest the start of construction in the summer of 2019. Maunakea, they claim, is a sacred religious site for indigenous Hawaiians and TMT would be a massive new addition to the summit, which is already about a population of dozens of astronomical observatories.
Goodbye, Spitzer Space Telescope
On January 30, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope went offline after spending more than 16 years observing the universe. The mission team permanently put the spacecraft into hibernation to end the mission; team members believe the spacecraft will eventually break apart in a rubble field.
Former Spitzer project manager Suzanne Dodd said in a January 23 panel on the telescope that it had discovered a “cornucopia” of cosmic details.
Spitzer collected data using a technique called spectroscopy. This enabled scientists to study the universe using the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Scientists have used infrared data to study dust and particles that do not shine in visible light such as stars, thus giving a more complete picture of the universe.
Hello, comet NEOWISE
Comet NEOWISE was discovered by NASA’s NEOWISE mission in March 2020 and blinded the spectators on Earth in the weeks that followed. The icy comet came closer to the sun on July 3 and survived the encounter, allowing aerial viewers to marvel at the impressive tail as it was back in the direction of the outer solar system. Comet NEOWISE dates back another 6,800 years.
Besides making it more beautiful, astronomers have enabled the brightness of the comet to collect high-quality data on the object. NASA officials said that Hale-Bopp was the last comet to present such an impressive performance in 1997.
Related: Incredible photos of Comet NEOWISE from Earth and Space
Plus: Hubble Telescope captures beautiful views of Comet NEOWISE after its spectacular summer show
Great collaboration of Saturn and Jupiter
The last heavenly event of 2020 was the “big conjunctionof Saturn and Jupiter on December 21, which was also the date of the Northern Hemisphere’s hibernation.
Jupiter and Saturn could be seen in the sky next to each other shortly after sunset. They were separated by only a tenth degree. Their proximity to each other in the air did not occur for more than 400 years.
A beautiful end to this historic year. A planet SkySat has captured the amazing connection of Jupiter and Saturn – the closest pass from the celestial bodies of the two planets in almost 800 years. And on the note we are out! Happy Holidays from the Planet Team. pic.twitter.com/Is4xQTtaId23 December 2020
Connections between these two planets occur approximately once every two decades when Earth, Jupiter and Saturn form a line through space. Viewers who are lucky enough to have clear skies when they see the connection can also see the twinkle of Jupiter’s Galilean moons.
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