A Year of Discovery – Top Science Stories of 2011

This year was another remarkable year in science, with space shuttles retiring and new particles being detected (perhaps). Some of these top discoveries could very well have an immediate effect on our lives. The impact of others may not be felt for years. Some discoveries may vanish altogether. But no matter what, 2011 was a huge year in science & revealed major surprises all across the world! So, go back through the past 12 months with us as we present our list of the most interesting science stories of 2011. 

1. Fukushima Nuclear Accident/Tsunami

 

On March 11, following astounding video footage of ships passing over farmers’ fields, as the tsunami washed over the Japanese landscape, came news that the nearby nuclear reactor had been compromised. Immediately, news stories recalled Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Fear washed over North America and Europe, as explosions ripped through the reactor buildings. But in fact, no one died from the reactors themselves, and what could have been a major disaster was averted.

Thanks to heroic efforts on the part of the workers at the plant, sea water was poured on the overheated reactor cores and the melting nuclear fuel was prevented from escaping. Radiation that did get out was carried by steam into the atmosphere and water running into the sea, but while it was detectable around the globe, the levels were so low they were less that what we are exposed to naturally.

It will take years to clean up the site, and the accident renewed fear of nuclear power in the public mind, just at a time when many believed the industry was about to experience a renaissance as a clean alternative to fossil fuels.

2. 7 Billion and Counting

 

On Oct. 31 (an arbitrary date chosen by the UN), world population reached seven thousand million, a number that is hard to fathom. If we all joined hands with our arms outstretched, we would form a line that would circle the Earth about 175 times, or reach all the way to the moon and back about nine times. If everyone on Earth lived to the same level of consumption as Canadians, we would need several more Earths to provide all the food, water and energy. It was a time to take a serious look at our impact on the planet, as we continue to gobble up everything in sight and drive species to extinction at a rate similar to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

To ensure our survival, consumption must come down, which is not happening, and most experts say that people living in developing regions need better access to family planning. But the latter issue is more of a cultural and religious issue than a scientific one.

3. Faster than Light?

 

Scientists in Switzerland fired a beam of neutrinos to a receiving lab in Italy, more than 700 kiometres away, and the sub-atomic particles seemed to arrive a few billionths of a second early, suggesting they had traveled faster than the speed of light. If that is true, the longstanding theories of Einstein would be proven wrong, shaking the very foundations of physics.

The scientists themselves admit their measurements could be wrong, even though they have done the experiment twice. They are calling for other labs in the U.S. and Japan to try the same experiment.

If the results match, we could witness a fundamental change in the way we look at the universe, or at the very least, refine our measurements of it. It won’t likely lead to time travel. Then again, we could just be wrong. New results should come in the next year.

4. Award for The Dark Side

 

The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the discovery of Dark Energy, a mysterious force that is pushing the universe apart.

This is the only force known to work against gravity and it is causing the expansion of the universe to speed up. The odd thing is that Dark Energy, along with Dark Matter, make up 95 per cent of the known universe, yet no one has a clue what either of them is.

Interesting that here in the 21st century, when we think we have so much figured out, most of the universe is still unknown to us. Further work at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, which glimpsed the mysterious Higgs Boson, may also discover the nature of Dark Matter.

5. Not the “god Particle”

 

After half a century of searching for the hypothetical Higgs Boson, scientists at CERN say they got the first glimpses of the particle believed to have been responsible for all the mass in the universe.

Proof of the existence of the Higgs particle validates what is called the Standard Model of the universe, describing events at the very first moments of the Big Bang. The Higgs Boson was suggested as a missing piece of the mathematical model. If it is not proven to exist, physicists would have to re-write the theories of how the universe, as we know it, came into being.

6. End of an Era

 

After 30 years and more than 100 flights, the space shuttle program ended with the landing of Atlantis last July. Coincidentally, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the first human in space, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

Almost to underline the point, now that the shuttles are retired, the only way for Americans to fly up to the International Space Station is to hitch rides on Russian Soyuz rockets, their former rivals.

The shuttles accomplished a lot in space, building the Space Station, launching and repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. But they were also hugely expensive and dangerous. Two shuttles were destroyed in accidents killing 14 astronauts. In the end, each launch of a shuttle was costing more than $1 billion. It was time to let them go.

NASA unveiled plans for a new heavy lift rocket, but it won’t be ready to fly for years. Now it’s up to the Private Sector to take over.

7. Back To Mars and Beyond

 

While humans are restricted to spaceflight around the Earth, unmanned robotic probes continue to go where no one has gone before. The largest rover ever sent to another planet, Curiosity, was launched to Mars with the goal of looking for signs of life on the Red Planet. It will land next August.

Sadly, an equally ambitious Russian mission to one of the moons of Mars, Phobos, failed to leave Earth orbit and is expected to fall back to Earth in mid-January.

Another probe went beyond Mars to the largest asteroid, named Vesta, revealing a strange-looking round world that is a leftover remnant of the original material that built the planets, including Earth. And in the opposite direction, a probe named Messenger arrived at Mercury, the closest planet to the sun.

 

Discover more on the amazing science of 2011 with this awesome interactive timeline

NASA Taking Applications for Astronauts!

 

With NASA’s final space shuttle mission having already traveled beyond our atmosphere and safely returned to Earth, many bemoaned the fact that our nation’s space program seemed to have very little vision and future here in the early portion of this century.  Would little boys and girls still dream about soaring into the stratosphere as astronauts?

While the talk isn’t about returning to the moon or shuttle missions, NASA is once again seeking smart, brave men and women to become astronauts. The mission this time will include trips to the International Space Station and possible probes into deep space. Who’s up for being the first human on Mars or one of 1,200 exoplanets NASA discovered?

Among the attributes NASA is seeking from qualified applicants are “Creativity. Ambition. Teamwork. A sense of daring. And a probing mind.” In case you’re interested, the pay scale for a U.S. astronaut is $64,724 to$141,715 per year according to the overview of the position.

If you watch the recruitment video, apparently singing karaoke in space is also part of the wacky fun astronauts enjoy. Think your the person for the job? Apply for the Astronaut Candidate Program!

Space Shuttle Endeavour Given to LA Museum

 

When the Space Shuttle Endeavour was retired in May, nobody knew where it would end up. Would NASA sell it to SpaceX to help with commercial space flight? Would they keep it around but in mothballs in case they needed it for something? As it turns out, NASA must need a multi-billion-dollar tax write-off, because the various Space Shuttle pieces are being donated to charities. For example, Endeavour is being donated to the California Science Center, where its new mission will soon begin.

“NASA is pleased to share this wonderful orbiter with the California Science Center to help inspire a new generation of explorers,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. ”The next chapter in space exploration begins now, and we’re standing on the shoulders of the men and women of the shuttle program to reach farther into the solar system.”

Joining the CSC as the final resting place of the various space shuttles are NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Udvar-Hazy Center, and the Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum. Endeavour has traveled 115 million miles over 25 missions and has carried 139 people into space. Now, it makes one last trip to Exposition Park through the streets of Los Angeles before it finds a new mission: teaching kids about science

The Final Launch

Today marks an important day in history as thirty years and 135 missions after its debut, NASA launched a space shuttle for the final time. It was a bitter sweet moment as Atlantis streaked into orbit from Kennedy Space Center.

Atlantis and its four-person crew are embarking on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station.

The liftoff at 11:26 a.m. thrilled a crowd of an estimated 1 million people who packed viewing sites along the Florida coast for one last look at a spaceship that captured the imagination and attention of fans around the world.

The mission is the 33rd for Atlantis which first flew on Oct. 3, 1985.

Atlantis is hauling nearly 10,000 pounds of supplies — about a third of it food — and equipment that should keep the International Space Station stocked through next year.

On July 20, at Kennedy  Space Center, the shuttle program will officially end with the call of wheel stop.

After retirement, Atlantis is destined for its new home at the KSC Visitor Complex.

Click here for pictures of Atlantis over the years: http://mediagallery.usatoday.com/G2440