If we looked back at 2018 and celebrated the most eye‑popping space breakthroughs, 2019 proved to be just as dazzling when it came to unveiling fresh cosmic wonders. Not only did the year cap off a decade that handed humanity an astonishing trove of knowledge about the universe, it also delivered a string of jaw‑dropping findings that reshaped how we picture the heavens.
10 Amazing Little Space Highlights
10 The Moon Is Inside Our Atmosphere
Ever wondered where the official line between Earth’s sky and outer space lies? Many agencies draw that boundary at the so‑called Kármán Line, roughly 100 km (62 mi) above sea level, declaring anything higher to be “space.” Yet many of us learned that the outermost atmospheric layer, the exosphere, stretches out to about 10,000 km (6,200 mi) from Earth’s surface. That seems astronomically high, doesn’t it? Hard‑core scientists, however, have a different take.
In February, a team from Russia’s Space Research Institute published a paper that pushed the envelope on how far Earth’s atmosphere truly reaches. By mining data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)—a joint ESA‑NASA mission launched over twenty years ago—they mapped the extent of the geocorona, a halo of hydrogen atoms that marks the outermost reach of our atmosphere. Their analysis revealed that this ethereal envelope stretches a staggering 630,000 km (391,460 mi) from the planet, roughly fifty times Earth’s diameter.
When you compare that to the Moon’s average distance—about 384,000 km (238,600 mi)—the conclusion is mind‑blowing: the Moon actually sits well within the outer fringes of Earth’s atmospheric envelope. Researchers say this hidden overlap could influence the performance of space telescopes trying to dissect the chemical signatures of distant stars and galaxies, urging future missions to factor in the massive reach of our own atmosphere.
9 Solar Sails Really Work
Imagine a tiny spacecraft catching photons—tiny packets of light—just as a sailboat catches wind. Those photons exert a gentle push, known as radiation pressure, which can propel a spacecraft equipped with a reflective solar sail. In July, the Planetary Society announced a breakthrough: their LightSail 2 satellite, weighing a mere 5 kg (11 lb), successfully lifted itself into a higher orbit using only sunlight.
After a month‑long journey, LightSail 2 unfurled its ultra‑thin sail and angled it toward the Sun. Within just eight days, the craft climbed an extra two kilometres (1.24 mi) higher than its original orbit—a climb that could only be explained by the subtle thrust from solar photons. This achievement crowned LightSail 2 as the first solar‑sail‑powered satellite to orbit Earth, joining Japan’s 2010 solar‑sail pioneer as the only two of their kind.
Because solar sails need no propellant, they promise near‑infinite travel times for payloads across the solar system and beyond. Projects like Breakthrough Starshot are already eyeing the technology to fling ultra‑light probes toward the nearest star system at a fraction of light speed, turning the once‑sci‑fi notion of interstellar voyages into a tangible prospect.
8 Saturn, King Of Moons
For decades, astronomers have jousted over which giant planet boasts the most moons. Ten years ago, Jupiter led the pack with 63 confirmed satellites, edging out Saturn’s 61. That reign lasted until October 2019, when a team of American scientists using Hawaii’s Subaru telescope identified a swarm of previously uncharted moons orbiting Saturn.
The researchers revisited bright points near Saturn that had been spotted between 2004 and 2007, finally pinning down their orbital paths. Their effort confirmed twenty new moons, swelling Saturn’s total to 82—surpassing Jupiter’s 79. Most of these newcomers are tiny, roughly five kilometres (three miles) across, and 17 of them travel in retrograde, moving opposite to Saturn’s spin and taking more than three Earth years to complete a single orbit.
These moons will receive names drawn from Inuit, Norse, and Gallic mythologies, enriching the planet’s celestial family. As next‑generation telescopes come online, scientists anticipate uncovering even smaller satellites around distant worlds, further deepening our grasp of planetary formation and the dynamic histories of our solar system’s giants.
7 Crops Can Grow Well On Mars And The Moon
Remember the iconic scene from “The Martian” where Mark Watney cultivates potatoes on the Red Planet? Turns out, that cinematic moment wasn’t pure fantasy. In October, a Dutch research team from Wageningen University & Research ran a series of experiments to see if Earth plants could thrive in simulated Martian and lunar soils.
Using NASA‑provided regolith simulants spiked with a modest amount of organic matter, the scientists sowed ten different crops—from peas to tomatoes. After five months, nine of the ten species sprouted, grew, and even produced viable seeds, with only spinach failing to flourish. The harvested edible portions demonstrated that, under controlled conditions, extraterrestrial agriculture is far from impossible.
Real‑world Martian farms would still grapple with extreme cold, intense radiation, and low pressure. Yet a July study suggested silica aerogel—a lightweight, transparent material—could act as a protective shield, letting light in while blocking harmful radiation. By draping aerogel over ice‑rich Martian terrain, the material could trap heat, melt subsurface ice, and create a cozy micro‑environment for crops to thrive.
6 Wine Is The Key To Staying Healthy In Space
When you think of keeping astronauts fit, you probably picture treadmills and resistance bands—not a glass of red wine. Yet Harvard researchers have uncovered a surprising ally: resveratrol, an antioxidant abundant in grapes, red wine, and even chocolate.
In microgravity, the human body quickly sheds muscle and bone mass. A nine‑month voyage to Mars would exacerbate this loss dramatically. To test resveratrol’s protective power, scientists suspended rats in a harness that mimics Martian low‑gravity conditions for two weeks, feeding them daily doses of the compound.
At the experiment’s end, the resveratrol‑treated rats retained nearly the same muscle mass they started with, while their untreated counterparts suffered pronounced atrophy. The researchers attribute this preservation to resveratrol’s anti‑inflammatory and anti‑diabetic effects, and they now aim to determine the optimal dosage that could keep real astronauts strong during long‑duration missions.
5 The First Marsquakes Detected
Earth’s earthquakes are familiar, but other worlds experience their own tremors too. The Moon has been rattling for decades, yet Mars was long thought to be geologically dormant. However, the planet’s interior never truly went silent.
NASA’s InSight lander, which touched down on the Martian surface in November 2018, set out to listen for those subtle shakes. On April 6, 2019, the instrument recorded a quake far more powerful than any previous event, confirming that Mars still flexes its crust.
Further analysis in December pinpointed the source to Cerberus Fossae, an active seismic zone. InSight will continue to monitor these marsquakes, offering scientists a window into the Red Planet’s internal structure and its lingering geological activity.
4 The First Interstellar Comet
Two years after the enigmatic asteroid ‘Oumuamua streaked through our Solar System, a second visitor from another star system made its appearance—but this time, it was a comet. On August 30, 2019, astronomer Gennady Borisov spotted the icy wanderer using a Crimean observatory.
Designated 2I/Borisov, the comet’s hyperbolic trajectory and speed confirmed its interstellar origin. Follow‑up observations by NASA and ESA revealed a classic cometary makeup: a solid icy nucleus about one kilometre (0.6 mi) across, surrounded by a glowing coma of dust and gas.
Between October and November, telescopes worldwide captured stunning images as 2I/Borisov breezed through the inner Solar System. Its nearest approach to Earth on December 28 placed it roughly 290 million km (180 million mi) away. The comet’s fate remains uncertain—solar heating could shred it, or it may survive to sail forever into interstellar space.
3 Water Found In A Habitable‑Zone Exoplanet
Water is the cornerstone of life as we know it, and a planet must sit in its star’s habitable zone to keep liquid water on its surface. In September 2019, two independent research teams announced a groundbreaking discovery: the exoplanet K2‑18b, located 110 light‑years away, shows clear signs of water vapor in its atmosphere.
Using the transit method, scientists from the University of Montreal and University College London observed the planet as it passed in front of its host star, allowing them to dissect its atmospheric composition. Their data revealed not only water vapor but also cloud formations, marking the first time such signatures have been detected in a habitable‑zone world.
While K2‑18b is a mini‑Neptune—about nine times Earth’s mass with a thick hydrogen envelope—its watery atmosphere hints that smaller, more Earth‑like planets could soon be studied in comparable detail, edging us closer to answering the age‑old question of whether we are alone.
2 Our Galaxy Is Warped
For years, textbooks have depicted the Milky Way as a flat, frisbee‑shaped spiral. Recent research, however, paints a far more dynamic portrait. A team from the University of Warsaw measured distances to over 2,400 Cepheid variable stars, constructing one of the most precise three‑dimensional maps of our galaxy to date.
The findings reveal that while the galactic center remains relatively flat, the outer regions—starting near our Sun’s orbit—begin to bend, forming an elegant S‑shaped warp. Stars on the farthest edges can be several thousand light‑years above or below the galactic plane, suggesting a subtle but significant distortion.
Scientists suspect past collisions with smaller dwarf galaxies may have tugged at the Milky Way’s disk, producing the observed warp. This new perspective reshapes our understanding of galactic evolution and the forces that sculpt the large‑scale structure of the cosmos.
1 The Universe Is Expanding Faster Than We Thought
For decades, astronomers have known that the universe is stretching, with galaxies drifting apart at a measurable rate. This expansion speed—known as the Hubble constant—helps us calculate the cosmos’s age, traditionally pegged at about 13.8 billion years.
However, a fresh study released in April 2019, based on Hubble Space Telescope observations of nearby galaxies, suggests the universe is expanding roughly nine percent faster than previously thought. This acceleration implies a younger universe, around 12.5 billion years old.
Yet this poses a paradox: some of the oldest known stars appear to be older than this revised age, an impossibility. The most plausible explanation is that the expansion rate wasn’t constant—perhaps the universe entered a phase of accelerated expansion at some point, a mystery that continues to intrigue cosmologists worldwide.