Here\u2019s our selection of the best, and what they taught us\u2026<\/p>\n
Hole at the heart of the Galaxy<\/strong><\/h2>\nEvent Horizon Telescope \u2013 12 May<\/strong><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 ESO<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nYou would have thought if there was a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Galaxy, we\u2019d have noticed it before. But that\u2019s the thing about black holes: you can\u2019t see them. You can only see the gas whirling around them.<\/p>\n
The one at the centre of the Milky Way, named Sagittarius A*<\/a>, is around 27,000 light-years away from Earth and we only found it by training eight radio telescopes on it all at the same time. It took 300 researchers and their supercomputers five years to analyse the data they collected before they could finally release this first portrait of the previously unseen object.<\/p>\nBig baby mummy<\/strong><\/h2>\nYukon, Canada \u2013\u00a021 June<\/strong><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Government of Yukon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nThis 30,000-year-old baby woolly mammoth, \u2018Nun cho ga\u2019 (big baby animal), takes her name from the H\u00e4n language spoken by Indigenous peoples in Yukon, Canada, where she was found in June. Nun cho ga\u2019s remains were discovered by gold miners and rescued by geologists<\/a>.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s thought she probably died after getting stuck in mud, which would have initially preserved her body, but permafrost kept her intact over the millennia. DNA has previously been extracted from much older mammoths, but none so well preserved. Her future is in the hands not just of scientists, but also of the Tr\u2019ond\u00ebk Hw\u00ebch\u2019in people who own the land where she was found.<\/p>\n
The ruins of success<\/strong><\/h2>\nJezero crater, Mars \u2013\u00a019 April<\/strong><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 NASA\/JPL<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nThese shattered remains may look like a failed space mission, but they\u2019re very much a sign of success \u2013 for two reasons. First, these are the backshell and parachute of NASA\u2019s Perseverance<\/a> rover \u2013 landing gear the robot no longer needed after surviving a 126km\/h descent to the surface of Mars<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\nSecond, the picture was taken by Ingenuity, a miniature helicopter with a metre-wide rotor span that caught a ride to the Red Planet with the rover. Ingenuity has a flight range of only 300m but, as of November 2022, had clocked up 34 flights and covered a total of 7km. Images like these help NASA to understand whether a landing occurred as expected and what could be improved for future missions.<\/p>\n
Read more about space exploration:<\/strong><\/p>\n- Meet the autonomous Moon robots about to change space travel forever<\/a><\/li>\n
- Can space exploration be environmentally friendly?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
One of a kind<\/strong><\/h2>\nServion, Switzerland \u2013 May<\/strong><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Getty images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nHatched at a Swiss zoo in May, this newborn tortoise is the first example of an albino Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) known in captivity or the wild. Its mother, pictured in the background, and sibling are both black.<\/p>\n
According to the zoo, albinism is rarer in tortoises than in humans, with the chance of any tortoise being albino estimated to be around 1 in 100,000. However, while this baby may be unique, its lack of the skin pigment melanin makes it particularly susceptible to skin cancer.<\/p>\n
In the wild, this extra threat to an already endangered species would seem to make survival unlikely, but in captivity it can be kept out of sunlight.<\/p>\n
Read more about tortoises and turtles:<\/strong><\/p>\n- How did tortoises reach the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands?<\/a><\/li>\n
- A turtle\u2019s shell has a lot in common with your ribs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
No bum non-ancestor<\/strong><\/h2>\nInternational research team \u2013 17 August<\/strong><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Preston innovation laboratory\/Rice university<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nAre we descended from a 530-million-year-old animal with a giant mouth and no anus? Apparently not. Well, good. That\u2019s one thing scientists have sorted out this year. We\u2019re all done here. Unless, of course, you\u2019re wondering whose family tree this bumless blob (officially Saccorhytus coronarius<\/em>) belongs to.<\/p>\nThe answer, according to the latest thinking<\/a>, is crabs, spiders and roundworms. Previous evidence linking it to our line was based on limited specimens. The new work, involving high-resolution imaging and many specimens, enabled researchers to create the detailed reconstructions shown here.<\/p>\nSpiderbot<\/strong><\/h2>\nRice University, Texas \u2013 25 July<\/strong><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 NIGPAS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nResearchers from Rice University thought it would be fun to turn a dead spider into a robotic<\/a> gripper, in order to pick up other objects. Overkill, perhaps, but they claim that it heralds a new era of \u2018necrobotics\u2019 (robots made from dead things).<\/p>\nActually, their technique is pretty simple: take a spider, stick a syringe in it, then apply pressure by squirting air into its cold, dead body. This works because spiders use hydraulics to force haemolymph (their version of blood) into their limbs, forcing them to extend. When spiders die, they lose this ability, and so they curl up.<\/p>\n
T-minus 11 seconds<\/strong><\/h2>\nDimorphos \u201326 September<\/strong><\/p>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2022\/12\/black-hole-ca2684c.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C620"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>You would have thought if there was a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Galaxy, we\u2019d have noticed it before. But that\u2019s the thing about black holes: you can\u2019t see them. You can only see the gas whirling around them.<\/p>\n
The one at the centre of the Milky Way, named Sagittarius A*<\/a>, is around 27,000 light-years away from Earth and we only found it by training eight radio telescopes on it all at the same time. It took 300 researchers and their supercomputers five years to analyse the data they collected before they could finally release this first portrait of the previously unseen object.<\/p>\n Yukon, Canada \u2013\u00a021 June<\/strong><\/p>\n This 30,000-year-old baby woolly mammoth, \u2018Nun cho ga\u2019 (big baby animal), takes her name from the H\u00e4n language spoken by Indigenous peoples in Yukon, Canada, where she was found in June. Nun cho ga\u2019s remains were discovered by gold miners and rescued by geologists<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s thought she probably died after getting stuck in mud, which would have initially preserved her body, but permafrost kept her intact over the millennia. DNA has previously been extracted from much older mammoths, but none so well preserved. Her future is in the hands not just of scientists, but also of the Tr\u2019ond\u00ebk Hw\u00ebch\u2019in people who own the land where she was found.<\/p>\n Jezero crater, Mars \u2013\u00a019 April<\/strong><\/p>\n These shattered remains may look like a failed space mission, but they\u2019re very much a sign of success \u2013 for two reasons. First, these are the backshell and parachute of NASA\u2019s Perseverance<\/a> rover \u2013 landing gear the robot no longer needed after surviving a 126km\/h descent to the surface of Mars<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n Second, the picture was taken by Ingenuity, a miniature helicopter with a metre-wide rotor span that caught a ride to the Red Planet with the rover. Ingenuity has a flight range of only 300m but, as of November 2022, had clocked up 34 flights and covered a total of 7km. Images like these help NASA to understand whether a landing occurred as expected and what could be improved for future missions.<\/p>\n Read more about space exploration:<\/strong><\/p>\n Servion, Switzerland \u2013 May<\/strong><\/p>\n Hatched at a Swiss zoo in May, this newborn tortoise is the first example of an albino Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) known in captivity or the wild. Its mother, pictured in the background, and sibling are both black.<\/p>\n According to the zoo, albinism is rarer in tortoises than in humans, with the chance of any tortoise being albino estimated to be around 1 in 100,000. However, while this baby may be unique, its lack of the skin pigment melanin makes it particularly susceptible to skin cancer.<\/p>\n In the wild, this extra threat to an already endangered species would seem to make survival unlikely, but in captivity it can be kept out of sunlight.<\/p>\n Read more about tortoises and turtles:<\/strong><\/p>\n International research team \u2013 17 August<\/strong><\/p>\n Are we descended from a 530-million-year-old animal with a giant mouth and no anus? Apparently not. Well, good. That\u2019s one thing scientists have sorted out this year. We\u2019re all done here. Unless, of course, you\u2019re wondering whose family tree this bumless blob (officially Saccorhytus coronarius<\/em>) belongs to.<\/p>\n The answer, according to the latest thinking<\/a>, is crabs, spiders and roundworms. Previous evidence linking it to our line was based on limited specimens. The new work, involving high-resolution imaging and many specimens, enabled researchers to create the detailed reconstructions shown here.<\/p>\n Rice University, Texas \u2013 25 July<\/strong><\/p>\n Researchers from Rice University thought it would be fun to turn a dead spider into a robotic<\/a> gripper, in order to pick up other objects. Overkill, perhaps, but they claim that it heralds a new era of \u2018necrobotics\u2019 (robots made from dead things).<\/p>\n Actually, their technique is pretty simple: take a spider, stick a syringe in it, then apply pressure by squirting air into its cold, dead body. This works because spiders use hydraulics to force haemolymph (their version of blood) into their limbs, forcing them to extend. When spiders die, they lose this ability, and so they curl up.<\/p>\n Dimorphos \u201326 September<\/strong><\/p>\nBig baby mummy<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2022\/12\/mammoth-a849488.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C358"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>The ruins of success<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2022\/12\/Mars-ruins-of-success-395e8e7.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C411"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>One of a kind<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2022\/12\/albino-tortoise-7ba629f.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>No bum non-ancestor<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2022\/12\/Artistic-reconstruction-saccorhytus-coronarius-34a208e.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C424"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Spiderbot<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2022\/12\/robot-spider-9ff2bd0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C504"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>T-minus 11 seconds<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2022\/12\/dimorphosdart-2b273f7.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C620"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2022\/12\/sunset-424d6b0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C327"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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