China dominated space exploration in 2024 with its Chang’e 6 mission, returning rock and dust samples from the far side of the moon for the first time. The mission successfully landed on June 1, 2024.
Japan also made headlines with its SLIM probe, which experienced engine trouble during its lunar landing but regained power nine days later. Despite this setback, the probe began making scientific observations of the moon.
Astronomers discovered a black hole/binary star system in the Large Magellanic Cloud, providing new insights into stellar mass black holes. The event was detected using radio signals and revealed the presence of dark matter.
NASA captured an image of a quadruple solar flare, which is extremely rare and could have launched a solar storm towards Earth. The sun is currently reaching its peak in an 11-year cycle of activity.
Scientists found a galaxy-like formation with almost no stars, composed mainly of hydrogen and dark matter. This discovery was made using radio signals and highlights the invisible nature of dark matter.
A new up-close image of a star, WOH G64, outside our galaxy, shows the star “puffing out gas and dust” in its final stages before it becomes a supernova.
Finally, a halo eclipse occurred in October 2024, where the moon didn’t completely cover the sun during an eclipse.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/the-best-images-from-space-in-2024/g-70972624