January 2016: Top Ten Space Stories of 2015

This month's issue of Astronomy magazine counts down the biggest space stories of 2015, recaps Dawn's exploration of dwarf planet Ceres, reviews the life and times of Stephen Hawking, and more.
By | Published: November 23, 2015 | Last updated on May 18, 2023
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WAUKESHA, Wis. — At the beginning of each new orbit around the Sun, Astronomy magazine takes the opportunity to look back at all that’s been accomplished in the preceding year. The annual year in science issue is a reader favorite. But years like 2015 are rare, even for a frontier science like astronomy.

Within just the past 12 months, NASA’s New Horizons mission has revealed long-held secrets from Pluto, and the space agency’s Dawn mission has shown astronomers Ceres, another dwarf planet. But Rosetta also zoomed in on its comet, returning unprecedented observations. And the NuSTAR telescope found a surprising X-ray glow coming from our galactic center. Astronomers also learned that water abounds in the outer solar system, with fresh data indicating that both Enceladus and Ganymede have global oceans.

These finds and many others from 2015 will force textbooks to be rewritten. But you can learn about them already by picking up the January issue of Astronomy, on newsstands December 1.

About Astronomy magazine:
Astronomy offers you the most exciting, visually stunning, thorough, and timely coverage of the heavens above. Each monthly issue includes expert science reporting, vivid color photography, complete sky-event coverage, spot-on observing tips, informative equipment reviews, and more. All of this comes in an easy-to-understand user-friendly style that’s perfect for astronomers at any level. Contact Astronomy, the world’s best-selling astronomy magazine, at 262.796.8776 or email editor@astronomy.com.