5 crazy-cool space discoveries that blew our minds in 2016
From an Earth-like planet orbiting a star near our sun to ice volcanoes it's been a big year for space discoveries.
As we start 2017, let's take a look back at five mind-blowing space discoveries made in 2016:
1. NASA's Cassini finds liquid-filled canyons on Saturn's moon Titan
The Grand Canyon has some cosmic competition.
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is home to massive canyons flooded with liquid hydrocarbons, according to a study published in August.
Researchers analyzed 2013 data from NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft to determine that dark channels branching out from Titan’s Ligeia Mar sea are filled with liquid, the study said. The research marks the first time scientists have evidence there
are liquid-filled canyons on Titan, NASA said in a statement.
2. Scientists discover Earth-like planet orbiting star closest to the sun
An Earth-sized planet orbiting the star nearest our sun could have conditions similar to those on Earth, according to a study published in August.
The planet, called Proxima b, lies in the "habitable zone," where liquid water is possible. While researchers have identified a plethora of planets outside our solar system that both resemble Earth in size and dwell in the “habitable zone,” no other Earth-like planet outside our solar system is as close to humans and their observatories as this new world, making it the best possible hunting ground for living organisms.
So, when will we know if the planet harbors life? When NASA's James Webb Space Telescope launches in 2018, researchers may be able to detect whether the planet has an atmosphere or if it's airless like the moon,Business Insider reported.
3. Hubble telescope spots ‘supermassive’ black hole
In February, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured a photo of a distant galaxy that’s home to one of the most massive black holes astronomers have ever discovered.
The black hole is located 300 million light years away in the center of the Coma Cluster of the galaxy NGC 4889, according to a statement from NASA and the ESA.
4. Curiosity Rover confirms strange meteorite on Mars using laser
In November, NASA’s Curiosity Rover spotted a dark, golf ball-sized object on Mars that looked completely different than the typical rocks found on the red planet.
So, was it an alien's toy? Not quite.
The rover used an onboard laser to zap the object and confirm that it was an iron-nickel meteorite, which fell from the martian sky, according to a statement from NASA. The object, which was named “Egg Rock,” after a site in Maine, is the first object to be tested with the rover’s laser-firing ChemCam instrument, NASA said.
5. NASA uncovers possibility of ice volcanoes on dwarf planet
New observations by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft suggest that Ceres, which orbits between Mars and Jupiter, may boast so-called cryovolcanoes at the bottom of several of its craters. The volcanoes may spout ice and mud.
Contributing: Traci Watson
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