Picking the year’s top astronomy stories

Picking the year’s top astronomy stories

Posted 08-27-2009 by Liz Kruesi

Each year Astronomy magazine publishes an article highlighting what we consider the top 10 astronomy stories of the previous year. I’ve started working on the article for 2009 and thought I’d share a few of our ideas for the big stories. We also want your feedback. So if there’s a story you feel strongly should be on our list, let us know!

Hubble repair mission spacewalk Of course, the mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope has to be on this list. Reviving the aging telescope (and possibly giving it another 5 years) is important not just to the field of astronomy, but public outreach.

The Jupiter collision is another big one. We hadn’t seen anything like that for 15 years. And it’s a great story of the amateur and professional community working together.

This past year the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope released a slew of findings, including the most detailed gamma-ray map created. I’m a high-energy astronomy geek, so I just love this stuff.

And we can’t forget that 2009 was the International Year of Astronomy. It was an entire year devoted to reaching the general public and showing them just how awesome astronomy is.

Obviously I shared only four on this list ... we need to keep part of the article a surprise!

But we want your input, too. What do you think of these four? What stories do you think should be in our top 10 list?

Photo credit: NASA TV

Comments (2) | Tags: NASA, spacecraft, telescopes, solar system, astronomy magazine, Liz Kruesi, planets, IYA2009

Comments

To comment on the blog, you must be registered and logged into Astronomy.com. To register, click here.

jimgysin said:

Of the four you mention, IYA would be my choice for top honors, although it's obviously a pretty general news story. Hubble would get a nod, too, but I'm biased because I'll always feel a bit sorry for Hubble. So many folks who don't follow astronomy seem to have never gotten past the initial nearsightedness debacle and seem to be unaware of all of the good work that it's done since it had Lasik. Heh.

Beyond that, I would say that Ares, along with all of the budgetary concerns surrounding a new administration and a poor economy, would be a big story, especially if this first test and the October one are successful and the decision to scrap Ares doesn't therefore become an easy one.

August 27, 2009 4:47 PM
suitti said:

Certainly, i'd go with the Jupiter collision. And especially the amateur discovery. Very cool. And the HST servicing mission, especially with the latest batch of released images is exciting, and not just because I met one of the servicing mission astronauts. But i'd certainly add the launch of Kepler, Hershel and Planck. Kepler might lead to hearing from LGM, which would be fun. Hershel is now the largest space telescope, right? And if WMAP changed our view of the Universe, one expects even more from Plank. Wasn't funding announced for the LSST? That has the potential to save our lives.

It's tougher to pick a science announcement, with half a dozen to choose from every day. I feel a little better now that it doesn't look like WR104 is pointed our way after all. Was that this year? It all blurs together sometimes. Recent articles include the discovery of mothballs in space, a billion solar mass black hole at 12.8 billion light years away, a new test of GR with radio, non-death in the Milky Way's future, and the increased role of magnetic fields in star formation. These are real stories. For some reason, the expectation of unknown stories to come is more exciting.

September 10, 2009 12:47 PM