What Happened in 2020?

As 2020 comes to an end, it would be great to recap some of the biggest events and discoveries that happened this year. The list will be broken up into three things - events, discoveries, and space exploration. Enjoy!

2020 marked the 30th anniversary of 
the Hubble Space Telescope. This image 
was taken to commemorate the event

Events:

2020 had many astronomical events that were a joy to watch. These events were once in a lifetime and it helped brighten the mood to a somewhat grim year. 

• NEOWISE Comet

The NEOWISE Comet was a comet that made its way to Earth every 6688 years. It went by Earth in July. Check out my article on this blog for more information.

• Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn

In December, Jupiter and Saturn came really close to each other. The appearance it created was called a Winter Star. Check out my article on this blog for more information.

Image of the Conjunction Between Jupiter and Saturn

• Full Moon and Blue Moon

The moon was positioned where it was on the opposite side of the Earth between the sun. It was fully illuminated. The event occurred on October 31. It was the second full moon of the month and therefore, it was called a blue moon.

• Meteor Showers

In 2020, there were many meteor showers that illuminated the night sky. Some include the Ursids Meteor Shower, the Geminids Meteor Shower, the Taurids Meteor Showers, the Orionids Meteor Shower, and the Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower.

Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower

Discoveries:

2020 had a large number of space discoveries. Here are some of them.

• Phosphine on Venus

On September 14, a team of astronomers announced that they had found phosphine in Venus’s atmosphere. This element is a biosignature, which could indicate that there is life on Venus.

• Blackholes

In 2020, there were many discoveries in regards to black holes. These include new black holes, black holes that had interesting traits, and the closest black hole ever discovered.

• Jupiter’s Bodies of Water

The satellite Juno, which orbits Jupiter, investigated if there was water on the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter. Juno was able to blue sprites in Jupiter’s atmosphere.

Image of Blue Sprites in Jupiter Atmosphere

• Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse is a red giant star in the Orion constellation that might burst into a supernova soon.

• A New View of the Sun

The Solar Orbiter mission was able to capture a new view of our Sun that we had never seen before. It took pictures of small solar flares that were dubbed “campfires”. 

Image of "Campfires" on the Sun's Surface

• Radio Bursts from Space

Throughout 2020, astronomers have been receiving mysterious radio bursts. After a lot of research and many months of crafting theories, scientists were able to pinpoint that they were coming from a neutron star in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Space Exploration:

2020 saw many rocket launches and tests that helped development in the future.

• Mars Launches

During July, there were many launches that were targeted for Mars and Mars exploration. These included the UAE’s Hope Satellite, China’s Tianwen Rover, and NASA’s Perseverance Rover. Check out my article on this blog for more information.

Render of Perseverance Rover
Landing on Mars

• SpaceX Launches

2020 was a huge year for SpaceX. They had many launches including Crew Demo-2 and the Crew 1 launch which certified them to launch astronauts to the ISS. They also did a lot of work on Starlink (I will write about it in a later article) and Starship. Check out my article on this blog for more information.

• OSIRIS-REx Sample Collection

In October, NASA’s OXIRIS-REx collected samples from asteroid Bennu. It will return them to Earth in 2023. Check out my article on this blog for more information.

OSIRIS-REx Arm Landing on Asteroid Bennu

• Chang 5 Moon Launch

In December, China was able to send a rover to the Moon to collect samples to analyze. It was the first lunar mission since the Apollo program and the first from China.

• Private Companies

2020 saw many private companies doing big things. These included rocket launches, contracts with NASA, and other things. One first this year was a private company building a module for the ISS.

Though 2020 was a rough year for many, space saw a lot of things happen. There were many discoveries, events, and things happening with space exploration. This list doesn’t contain everything that happened in 2020, but here are some of the most interesting things that happened in 2020.

Image of "Naked" Black Hole Discovered in 2020

Sources:

“2020 In Spaceflight.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_in_spaceflight. 

“Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events for Calendar Year 2020.” Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events 2020 - Sea and Sky, www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2020.html. 

Mann, Adam. “10 Huge Black Hole Findings from 2020.” Space.com, Space, 31 Dec. 2020, www.space.com/best-black-hole-discoveries-2020.html. 

Strickland, Ashley. “The Year 2020 in Space Discoveries.” CNN, Cable News Network, 24 Dec. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/12/24/world/space-discoveries-milestones-2020-scn-trnd/index.html. 

Urrutia, Doris Elin. “The 10 Biggest Space Discoveries and Stories of 2020.” Space.com, Space, 30 Dec. 2020, www.space.com/biggest-space-discoveries-stories-2020.