New Year Special: Scientific Discoveries of 2019

2019 was a big year for scientific discoveries, particularly in the field of space and worldwide climate change.

Science has a great impact on our lives. Without science, we won’t be able to enjoy many things that make our modern world possible.

Every year several scientific discoveries and inventions took place and so the same way in 2019 that had given an edge to science and technology.

We saw the first-ever image of a black hole, witnessed advances in the treatment of Ebola, HIV and cystic fibrosis and added links to our family tree in 2019. The first-ever all-female spacewalk inspired and we sent spacecraft to the farthest object in our solar system yet.

Discoveries and Inventions in Science and Technology play an important role in the preparation of various competitive examinations.

On New Year’s day, here’s a look back at some of the most popular scientific discoveries in 2019:

MU69

On New Year’s Day, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft probe zoomed past a snowman-shaped space rock called 2014 MU69 (or Ultima Thule) on New Year’s Day. This mountain-sized object is located 4 billion miles from Earth and is the most distant object humanity has ever visited.

Black Hole Image

An international team of astronomers announced it had successfully captured the first image of a black hole, using data collected from Event Horizon and eight radio telescopes positioned around the world. The picture shows the black hole having a dark center, encircled by a bright orange and yellow ring spreading outward. This historic achievement was a massive collaboration by many observatories, universities, and scientists from around the world.

Super-Earth 

NASA researchers said a spacecraft discovered the first nearby “super-Earth” planet that could possibly support life. A super-Earth is a planet outside our solar system with a mass that can be between one and 10 times that of Earth.

‘Marsquake’ Recorded

NASA announced that equipment aboard its Mars lander had picked up what scientists believe was the first “marsquake” ever recorded.

Saturn the ‘Moon King’

US scientists announced the discovery of 20 new moons around Saturn, giving it a total of 82. By this discovery, the planet Saturn was recognized as the “moon king” of our solar system. Jupiter used to hold the record for most moons orbiting around it, with 79.

Solar Sailing Spacecraft

The world’s first solar-sailing spacecraft successfully unfurled its 344-square-foot sail in orbit on July 23. Called LightSail 2, the spacecraft is powered by sunlight. It serves as an experiment that could change how vehicles propel themselves through space and even help spacecraft achieve interstellar travel.

Lunar Tardigrades

Thousands of microscopic tardigrades landed on the moon this year. The tardigrades were dehydrated, with metabolic activity suspended. While the tardigrades may have survived the crash landing, they’d need water to come back to life, so there’s little chance of tardigrades colonizing our moon — but picturing the chubby guys roaming around is a cheery thought.

Antarctica Ice Drop

Scientists reported that like Greenland, the Antarctic ice sheet is losing ice from a record high to a record low in only a few years. The amount of Antarctic sea ice reached a record high in 2014. But a study of data gathered by NASA showed that three years later, the average amount of sea ice had reached its lowest level.

Recyclable Plastic

US scientists have created a next-generation plastic that can be recycled again and again, into new materials of any color, shape, or form. The material is a plastic polymer called polydiketoenamine, or PDK.

Lost Continent

Another hidden part of nature — a lost continent — was found to be hiding under Europe. The hidden 8th continent under Europe, named Greater Adria, was located 140 million years ago. Its uppermost regions formed mountain ranges across Europe, like the Alps.

Oldest Skull

Anthropologists dug deep into the Earth to make incredible discoveries in 2019. In August, researchers announced they’d uncovered the oldest skull from a type of human ancestor ever found, known as “MRD.” The skull, which belonged to the species Australopithecus anamensis, is 3.8 million years old.

Trippy Wonderland

Scientists discovered an undersea wonderland, a fantastical expanse of hydrothermal vents, deep in the Gulf of California.

New Ink!

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and National Physical Laboratory (NPL) discovered an ink to combat the problem of fake printing of passports and counterfeiting of currency notes. The ink has a new security feature o protecting itself against duplicity.

Transparent Organs

Scientists in Germany used new technology to create see-through or transparent human organs, which could lead to the production of three-dimensional (3D) body parts for use in transplant operations.

Ebola Treatment

Researchers at the World Health Organization garnered a big win in the fight against Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a new treatment.