Greatest Space Events of the Year

STATES CHRONICLE – This year has been full of amazing scientific breakthroughs and here are a few of the greatest space events of the year 2015.

This past year was surprisingly rich in scientific discoveries on every possible field. New species of animals were discovered as well as many dinosaur fossils and even human fossils which suggested we are not alone on this planet. But by far, the biggest number of discoveries was made in the astronomy field.

Besides discovering many interesting cosmic objects using telescopes, NASA as well as other space agencies planned many missions meant to research our solar system and our neighboring planets. So, let’s take a look at some of the greatest space discoveries of this year.

Probably one of the most surprising but also long awaited and hoped for discoveries of this year was finding water on Mars. A few years back, NASA sent to the red planet rovers which are ‘walking’ the planet in search of things that could help scientists have a better understanding of how the planet ‘functions’ compared to Earth.

Finding water similar to the one on our planet suggested that Mars could support life. However, Mars was left without an atmosphere and water is very scarce, the planet being a huge cold red desert.

Since we’re talking about life on other planets, another memorable moment this year was the discovery of Kepler 452-b, a planet very similar to Earth. The planet orbits around a sun very similar to the one we’re orbiting around but it is closer to it. The smaller distance made the sun’s explosions reach the planet and destroy its atmosphere which also means the planet is at risk of getting radiated.

Speaking about planets, we shouldn’t forget about Pluto, which although has not yet been declared a planet, it is getting closer. Organic material, ice mountains and nitrogen ice sheets were found on the small soon-to-be planet.

Also, let’s not forget about the surprises our Moon had for us this year. In September the supermoon amazed us all with its very red color and being very close to Earth. Some people were so surprised by it they thought it might be a sign of apocalypse. Of course, the full moon on Christmas was also very special, since we haven’t had one on this particular night since the 1970s.

All in all, this year’s great space discoveries kept us alert and excited and looking forward to what 2016 has to offer us in terms of astronomy.

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