This year has been a great one for science nerds everywhere. Once again we’ve trained our sights on the night sky in anticipation for new knowledge about our celestial neighbors. NASA has finally made its comeback with back to back announcements of new discoveries and greater insight into the worlds beyond Earth, and we’re hanging onto every word!
1. The Blood Moon
Everyone had a crick in their neck from staring up into the sky the day after this rare phenomenon took place. After all, it was hard not to watch in awe as the moon faded into darkness only to gradually light up with an eerie red glow. Hopefully you caught a glimpse of it before it brightened up again; If you missed it, you’ll have to wait until 2033 for the next time it happens.
2. Pluto in High Definition
The closest we had to a clear picture of Pluto since its discovery in 1930 was a blurry white dot floating in space that provided almost nothing scientists could work with regarding its true appearance. In July of 2015, however, the New Horizons satellite finally reached the edges of our solar system and snapped several close-up shots of the dwarf planet, revealing a brown, pock-marked planet. To everyone’s delight, Pluto’s lower right side, lighter than the rest of its surface, comes together in the shape of a huge heart. These pictures are only the beginning of further research on the surface of Pluto’s planet, which has already yielded surprising results.
3. Pluto’s Blue Skies and Icy Surface
Speaking of game-changing Pluto discoveries, on October 8, 2015, NASA revealed their discovery of glacier-like water-ice on the surface, highlighted in blue in the picture above. They also revealed pictures of a hazy blue halo encircling Pluto, strong evidence that Pluto may have a familiar blue sky. These observations are more evidence for a popular theory that a warmer salt ocean lies beneath the ice on Pluto. Perhaps the most amazing aspect of these discoveries is that there is any support for life at all in such a deep, frigid part of our solar system.
4. Water on Mars
Everyone was buzzing with the official confirmation of what NASA scientists have silently speculated for decades: there’s water on Mars! And it isn’t frozen or trapped underneath layers of permafrost. There’s streams of salty water flowing on Mar’s surface as we speak. Using the Mars rover and instruments finely tuned to the patterns going on at the planet’s surface, scientists observed dark streaks that seemed to ebb and flow along with Mars’ changing temperature. It’s only through years of research and the development of sophisticated technology that scientists were finally able to provide enough evidence to support their suspicions. Only about ten days later, NASA announced that an ancient Mars could support vast lakes of water. Michael Meyer, the lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, is excited by the constant flow of evidence that Mars has the capability to support life: “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.” So will we be able to go to Mars for spring break any time soon?
5. Mission to Mars: Take Two
In light of all the new evidence and excitement surrounding Mars, NASA has renewed plans to send astronauts to the planet. We might not be regularly vacationing on its desert surface next year, but the first human might walk Mars’ ruddy surface in 2025! Mars might become our generations’ Apollo moon missions. Hopefully this time we’ll be able to see humankind’s first giant leaps onto Mars in high definition, and who knows? Maybe our grandkids will have Mars vacation houses with a spectacular view of a tiny blue Earth.