Number 10:
The universe is slowly disappearing
The Large Magellanic Cloud, an irregular satellite galaxy in the Milky Way. Research into the universe shows that it loses energy as galaxies drift further apart. – ALAN DYER / GETTY IMAGES
Astronomers peering into the deepest corners of the universe have found their expiration date stamped in the light by distant galaxies. By analyzing the brightness of this light, astronomers discovered that the universe is only half as energetic today as it was two billion years ago. Continue reading
Number 9:
Cassini reveals the winter world of Enceladus
As NASA’s Cassini spacecraft enters the final phase of its mission to Saturn, it finally flew past the icy Saturn moon Enceladus in October 2015 and captured this breathtaking image of the moon’s north pole. – NASA / JPL-CALTECH / SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUT
The last time NASA’s Cassini spacecraft flew from Saturn’s moon Enceladus, its northern regions were shrouded in darkness in the dead of winter. Cassini has now returned and provides previously unseen images of the north pole of the moon in unprecedented detail, taken from a height of just 1,839 kilometers. Continue reading
Number 8:
The black hole that has outgrown its galaxy
An illustration of a feeding black hole. Most galaxies have a black hole in the center, but one galaxy has been found with an insatiable black hole seven billion times the mass of the sun. – UNIVERSAL HISTORY ARCHIVE / UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES
Most galaxies have a black hole in the middle. These ultra-dense objects have such strong gravity that even light cannot escape them. We know these black holes exist because they distort the orbits of nearby stars and gas. A galaxy was found with an insatiable black hole seven billion times the mass of the sun. Why is this black hole the exception to the rule? Continue reading
Number 7:
Space debris: disaster on the horizon
An artist’s impression of how low-earth orbit becomes a junkyard, potentially threatening future space missions. – PETROVICH9 / GETTY IMAGES
They call it Kessler Syndrome. In 1978, NASA scientist Donald Kessler foresaw that collisions would be inevitable if we continued to launch satellites and keep their paraphernalia floating in orbit. Anyone could create a shower of debris that can cripple other satellites in a chain reaction that could mark the end of the satellite age. Satellite collisions have already started. Can we clean up Earth orbit and stop this slow motion chain reaction before it’s too late? Continue reading
Number 6:
The habitable zone
When life calls for liquid water, Europe is the perfect place to look. The largest sea in the solar system could lie beneath the scarred surface of Jupiter’s large frozen moon. It can hold more than twice the volume of liquid water on earth. – NASA / JPL-CALTECH / SETI-INSTITUT
The earth is full of life in the least likely places – in rocks miles underground, in acidic or radioactive ponds, in volcanic springs under the sea, and in lakes under Antarctica. The tenacity of life in such “unearthly” environments has led scientists to believe that we may find life elsewhere in the solar system, for example on Jupiter’s moon Europa above. Mars is widely considered to be the most likely candidate. Here are some other options. Continue reading
Number 5:
What on Ceres are these bright spots?
The color blue on Ceres is generally associated with light-colored material found in more than 130 locations and appears to be consistent with salts such as sulfates. It is likely that silicate materials are also present. – NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA
If the goal of travel is to see strange new sights and expand the mind, NASA’s trip to the asteroid belt to study Ceres and Vesta was well worth it. When Ceres’ blunt, frozen surface came into view of the Dawn spacecraft’s cameras earlier this year, mysterious bright spots were seen on the surface. What could have caused it has made the world guess. Read More
Number 4:
In search of life in salty Martian currents
It is believed that dark, narrow, finger-like streaks visible against the white background of the lower slopes in this image are markings created by running water. – NASA / JPL / UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
In 1895, Percival Lowell set his telescope on Mars and saw canals. Since then, Earthlings have debated whether the Red Planet has running water. With great enthusiasm, NASA has come to the conclusion that this is the case. And where there is water, there can be life. But what could it look like and where should we look? Astrobiologists use clues from Earth’s cold deserts to find out. Continue reading
Number 3:
Watch the birth of a baby planet
Observations from the large binocular telescope show a ring of dust and gas (gray) in which three newly formed planets (the flashes of color) could be seen. – STEPH SALLUM
The first sight of a new baby is a happy event. Just ask the astronomers who discovered a Jupiter-like baby planet – the youngest planet ever observed directly through a telescope. Continue reading
Number 2:
Found: the first stars in creation
An artistic impression of CR7, a very distant galaxy three times brighter than any other known galaxy from that period. – ESO / M. GRAIN KNIFE
The universe began with a brilliant flash of lightning, but soon passed into darkness – until finally, a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, the first stars came to life. Astronomers believe they have now seen some survivors of this groundbreaking generation of stars. These ancient ancestors of modern stars were monsters, hundreds of times more massive than our sun and a million times as bright. Their short, intense life ended with huge supernova explosions that enriched the cosmos with the first heavy elements. Continue reading
Number 1:
Seeing Pluto for the first time
Images of Pluto captured by New Horizons have sparked affection for the distant body. But should the mood determine whether it is a planet? – NASA / JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LAB / SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE
At the beginning of 2015, Pluto was one of the most mysterious objects in the solar system, so distant scientists weren’t even sure of its size. Today, thanks to NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, not only do we have a clear measure of its diameter (2,370 kilometers, give or take 20 kilometers), but we also know that it has a red-striped polar cap and steep mountains that are almost as high are like New New Zealand’s mountain boiling and a surface so fresh and smooth that scientists believe it could still be geologically alive. And it looks like the cold, distant body continues to surprise us. Check out the full list of 2015 Cosmos Stories about Pluto Here
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