December 29, 2009
Here are the stories that stood out:
9. Oddball Objects
Earth had a front row seat to a multitude of space objects in 2009, with stunning meteor showers, wayward space rocks buzzing the planet and weird lights in the sky – both natural and man-made.
Annual light shows such as the Leonid meteor shower continued to dazzle, but some space rocks came a bit too close for comfort. An asteroid exploded over Indonesia with the force of several Hiroshima bombs on Oct. 8, 2009, and became the biggest space rock to take aim at Earth in more than a decade.
Weird and wonderful man-made lights also joined the natural light displays this year. NASA launched an experimental rocket that briefly recreated eerie night-shining clouds in September. But the strangest display of all came from a spiraling shape that appeared above Norway in December and sparked massive speculation about extraterrestrials or rogue meteors – before Russia's defense ministry confirmed that a failed launch had sent a missile spiraling out of control.
8. Mercury, Unmasked
Planet Mercury received a major scientific makeover in 2009, when NASA's MESSENGER probe completed a third and final flyby in September 2009 that should help guide the spacecraft into a Mercury orbit in 2011.
A third encounter with Mercury not only helped map up to 98 percent of the planet's surface, but also showed that the surface contains high amounts of heavy metals such as iron and titanium. The surprise has forced scientists to rethink how the small planet evolved.
The latest close-up also revealed changing seasons on the planet closest to the sun. Such seasonal shifts take the form of varying chemical compositions in Mercury's thin atmosphere.
7. The Most Massive Black Hole
There's big, and then there's galactic big. A supermassive black hole became the reigning heavyweight champ this year with 6.4 billion times the mass of the sun, after astrophysicists revised earlier estimates of the monster's size by two or three times through computer modeling and telescope observations.
The behemoth sits at the heart of the giant galaxy M87, not unlike the massive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. Other black holes in nearby large galaxies may now also get a second look, so don't rule out a new black hole challenger in the coming years.
9 Astronomy Milestones in 2009
This year provided plenty of cosmic eye-openers for astronomers and casual stargazers alike. Neighborhood planets such as Mercury and Jupiter received makeovers in both a scientif…
This year provided plenty of cosmic eye-openers for astronomers and casual stargazers alike. Neighborhood planets such as Mercury and Jupiter received makeovers in both a scientific and literal sense. The discovery of water on the moon and Mars provided clues to the past, not to mention hints for the future of space exploration. A class of newly-detected "Super-Earth" planets around alien stars may ultimately prove more habitable than Earth. And a growing fleet of existing, new and revived space telescopes promises another stellar year ahead.
Here are the stories that stood out:
9. Oddball Objects
Earth had a front row seat to a multitude of space objects in 2009, with stunning meteor showers, wayward space rocks buzzing the planet and weird lights in the sky – both natural and man-made.
Annual light shows such as the Leonid meteor shower continued to dazzle, but some space rocks came a bit too close for comfort. An asteroid exploded over Indonesia with the force of several Hiroshima bombs on Oct. 8, 2009, and became the biggest space rock to take aim at Earth in more than a decade.
Weird and wonderful man-made lights also joined the natural light displays this year. NASA launched an experimental rocket that briefly recreated eerie night-shining clouds in September. But the strangest display of all came from a spiraling shape that appeared above Norway in December and sparked massive speculation about extraterrestrials or rogue meteors – before Russia's defense ministry confirmed that a failed launch had sent a missile spiraling out of control.
8. Mercury, Unmasked
Planet Mercury received a major scientific makeover in 2009, when NASA's MESSENGER probe completed a third and final flyby in September 2009 that should help guide the spacecraft into a Mercury orbit in 2011.
A third encounter with Mercury not only helped map up to 98 percent of the planet's surface, but also showed that the surface contains high amounts of heavy metals such as iron and titanium. The surprise has forced scientists to rethink how the small planet evolved.
The latest close-up also revealed changing seasons on the planet closest to the sun. Such seasonal shifts take the form of varying chemical compositions in Mercury's thin atmosphere.
7. The Most Massive Black Hole
There's big, and then there's galactic big. A supermassive black hole became the reigning heavyweight champ this year with 6.4 billion times the mass of the sun, after astrophysicists revised earlier estimates of the monster's size by two or three times through computer modeling and telescope observations.
The behemoth sits at the heart of the giant galaxy M87, not unlike the massive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. Other black holes in nearby large galaxies may now also get a second look, so don't rule out a new black hole challenger in the coming years.
aliens
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Mars
