A New Branch of the Human Family Tree -- Neither Modern Human Nor Neanderthal: A 30,000-year-old finger bone found in a cave in southern Siberia came from an extinct hominin who was neither an early modern human nor a Neanderthal, but belonged to a previously unknown group of human relatives who may have lived throughout much of Asia during the late Pleistocene epoch. The DNA extracted from the bone has yielded a draft genome sequence, enabling scientists to reach some startling conclusions about this extinct branch of the human family tree called "Denisovans" after the cave in Siberia where the fossils were found.
Total Lunar Eclipse to be Visible on Monday Night:
An extraordinary total lunar eclipse will be visible from the United States in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. Weather permitting, sky gazers in North and Central America and a tiny sliver of South America will have the best seats to 2010's only total eclipse of the moon. The eclipse will start Monday night on the West Coast of the US and during the early hours Tuesday on the East Coast. Western Europe will only see the start of the spectacle while western Asia will catch the tail end.
SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft is Recovered Successfully:
On December 8, 2010, SpaceX became the first commercial company in history to re-enter a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit. It is a feat performed by only six nations or government agencies: the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, and the European Space Agency. After the Space Shuttle retires, SpaceX will fly at least 12 missions to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station as part of the Commercial Resupply Services contract for NASA. Its aim is to ultimately reducing costs by a factor of ten.
Life as We Don't Know It:Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur -- the six basic building blocks of all known forms of life on Earth -- Unitil now. NASA-funded astrobiology research has changed the fundamental knowledge about what comprises all known life on Earth. Researchers conducting tests in the harsh environment of Mono Lake in California have discovered the first known microorganism on Earth able to thrive and reproduce using the toxic chemical arsenic. The microorganism substitutes arsenic for phosphorus in its cell components. This finding of an alternative biochemistry makeup will alter biology textbooks and expand the scope of the search for life beyond Earth.
Chandra Finds a 30 Year Old Black Hole:
Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have found evidence of the youngest black hole known to exist in our cosmic neighborhood. The 30-year-old black hole provides a unique opportunity to watch this type of object develop from infancy. Researchers think this object, SN 1979C, first discovered by an amateur astronomer in 1979, formed when a star about 20 times more massive than the sun collapsed.
Primordial Dry Ice in Comet Fuels Spectacular Jets of Gas:
The EPOXI mission's recent encounter with comet Hartley 2 provided the first images clear enough for scientists to link jets of dust and gas with specific surface features of the comet. Images from the flyby show spectacular jets of gas and particles bursting from many distinct spots on the surface of the comet. Analysis of the spectral signatures of the materials coming from the jets shows primarily CO2 gas (carbon dioxide) and particles of dust and ice. The EPOXI mission revealed a cometary snow storm created by carbon dioxide jets spewing out tons of golf-ball to basketball-sized fluffy ice particles from the peanut-shaped comet's ends.
NASA's Fermi Telescope Finds Giant Bubble-like Structure in Our Galaxy:
NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has unveiled a previously unseen bubble-like structure centered in the Milky Way. The bubble, which spans 50,000 light-years, may be the remnant of an eruption from a supersized black hole at the center of our galaxy. At more than 100 degrees across, the structure spans more than half of the sky, from the constellation Virgo to the constellation Grus. The bubble also appears to have well-defined edges. Taken together, the structure's shape and emissions suggest that it was formed as a result of a large and relatively rapid energy release -- the source of which remains a mystery.
This is just a small selection of the scientific and astronomical events in 2010. It has been a year of great discovery, especially among the stars and planets of our galaxy.
