In 2024, the moon was the celestial body that captured the spotlight, with several notable missions taking place throughout the year. Japan became the fifth nation to join the exclusive “Moon Sniper” club when its mission completed the most precise lunar landing in history, despite a last-minute glitch. Around the same time, private spaceflight companies made history with their first commercial moon landings.
The sun also made headlines this year, as scientists confirmed it had officially entered the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, known as solar maximum. This led to intense solar storms and rare global auroras, delighting skywatchers but alarming farmers whose GPS-guided tractors were affected.
A total solar eclipse, which passed over North America from Mexico to Canada, brought a temporary alignment between Earth, the moon, and sun, allowing millions of people to witness an eerie darkness in the daytime. This was followed by exciting observations pouring in from various corners of the cosmos.
However, one story that stood out this year is the possibility of a human-caused meteor shower. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully deflected an asteroid using kinetic force, but research published later suggested that debris could eventually reach Mars or Earth, creating the first human-caused meteor shower.
Another significant development was the launch of the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope, which began creating the largest 3D map of the universe ever made. The mission aims to help scientists understand dark matter and dark energy, two phenomena accounting for 95% of the universe but remaining poorly understood.
The search for Planet Nine, a hypothetical world noticed behaving strangely beyond Neptune’s orbit, is nearing its end. Scientists are closing in on where Planet Nine might be located and what its properties could be. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is expected to come online in 2025, potentially leading to the discovery of the elusive planet.
As we look back at the top space stories of 2024, it’s clear that this year was marked by significant discoveries and advancements in our understanding of the universe.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/our-favorite-space-stories-of-2024-from-lost-planets-to-human-caused-meteor-showers