{"id":557,"date":"2021-12-28T05:00:07","date_gmt":"2021-12-28T04:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=107342"},"modified":"2021-12-28T05:21:14","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T04:21:14","slug":"2021-in-pictures-outstanding-eye-opener-images-from-science-news-this-year","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/2021-in-pictures-outstanding-eye-opener-images-from-science-news-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"2021 in pictures: Outstanding eye opener images from science news this year"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By James Cutmore\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 28 December 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

For another year, Covid-19 has dominated the news. But alongside the pandemic, we have also experienced the awesome impact of a changing climate, witnessed trailblazing missions to space, and seen some incredible science.<\/p>\n

Here, in pictures, are some of the stories that shaped 2021:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the rocks<\/h2>\n
\""Large\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by Mario Tama\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Ilulissat, Greenland\n2 September<\/p>\n

This picture of Ilulissat\u2019s port in Greenland raises the question of why exactly there is ice floating in the water. The answer is becoming the response to an increasing number of enquiries: climate change.<\/p>\n

Due to rising temperatures, 2021 saw Greenland experience the biggest melt of its ice sheet on record \u2013 enough to cover the entire state of Florida with five centimetres of water, according to Danish researchers. As parts of the ice sheet broke up, smaller chunks of ice ended up floating in Ilulissat\u2019s port. As if that wasn\u2019t concerning enough, for the first time in recorded history,\u00a0rain fell onto the highest point of the Greenland\u00a0ice sheet.<\/p>\n

A shot in\u00a0the arm<\/h2>\n
\""Lady\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by Jacob King\/Pool\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Coventry, UK\n8 December 2020<\/p>\n

A round of applause from healthcare workers greets Margaret Keenan after she became the first person in Britain to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The 90-year-old grandmother was given her first dose on 8 December 2020 at University Hospital in Coventry to kick off the UK\u2019s mass vaccination programme.<\/p>\n

When the time came for her second dose in April 2021, around 28 million people in England had been given at least one jab, and Keenan had turned 91. Keenan made the headlines again in September when she became the first person in the world (outside of a clinical trial) to receive\u00a0a vaccine booster shot.<\/p>\n

Wandering lonely,\u00a0under a cloud<\/h2>\n
\""Photo\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by NASA\/JPL<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Gale Crater, Mars\n19 March<\/p>\n

Perseverance wasn\u2019t the only Martian rover making headlines in March. Curiosity got in on the act too, after snapping this shot of unusual clouds forming over Gale Crater, near the Red Planet\u2019s equator. It\u2019s unusual because the clouds formed earlier and higher than they usually do on this part of Mars.<\/p>\n

The thin, dry atmosphere on Mars means clouds only tend to form when the planet\u2019s elliptical orbit takes it furthest from the Sun. These ones began appearing in January, sooner than they were expected, beginning as small, wispy puffs before becoming the more substantial bodies seen here in March.<\/p>\n

Most clouds on Mars are formed by water crystals and float at altitudes of around 60 kilometres, but analysis by the Curiosity team on Earth suggests\nthe clouds photographed in March are higher and are likely to contain frozen carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s what you look like<\/h2>\n
\""Actual\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by Nanographics GmbH<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Beijing, China\nJanuary<\/p>\n

COVID continued to dominate the news, and everyone\u2019s lives, throughout 2021. But in January we got possibly our best look yet at the virus. By using a combination of cryo-electron tomography, machine learning and advanced visualisation algorithms, a team of experts from China\u2019s Tsinghua University, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, and Vienna-based Nanographics, produced this high-resolution 3D image of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.<\/p>\n

We had images prior to this, but they were either models or composites constructed from different scans. This is the first single-scan, 3D image of the real virus (although the colours are artificial). You can see all 360\u00b0 of it at nanographics.at\/projects\/coronavirus-3d\/<\/p>\n

Ghost detector<\/h2>\n
\""Baikal\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by Alexei Kushnirenko\/TASS\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Lake Baikal, Siberia\n13 March<\/p>\n

It may not be what you typically think of as a crystal ball, but this strange-looking clear sphere could help us see ghosts. Ghost particles, that is, otherwise known as neutrinos. It\u2019s one of the optic modules being used in the Baikal-Gigaton Volume Detector \u2013 essentially a telescope\nmade of eight vertical \u2018strings\u2019, each carrying 12 modules spaced 15 metres apart \u2013 being submerged around one kilometre below the ice of Siberia\u2019s\nLake Baikal.<\/p>\n

Neutrinos are thought to be the most abundant particle in the Universe, yet they have no electric charge, almost no mass and travel at nearly the speed of light. They\u2019re extremely difficult to study because they don\u2019t interact with matter or magnetic fields (hence they\u2019re ghost-like). But they do emit a type of light, known as Cherenkov radiation, when they hit water. And that\u2019s what the optic modules have been designed to pick up in the hope of confirming the existence of neutrinos and determining their sources.<\/p>\n

We have lift off<\/h2>\n
\""Mars\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by NASA\/JPL<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Jezero crater, Mars\n22 April<\/p>\n

April saw the first powered, controlled flight of a human-made aircraft on another planet, when NASA\u2019s Ingenuity helicopter took to the Martian skies. The successful test flight, witnessed by cameras aboard the Perseverance rover, saw Ingenuity climb to an altitude of around three metres and hover for almost 40 seconds, before descending and \u2013 most importantly \u2013 landing safely.<\/p>\n

The distance and signal delay between Mars and Earth meant Ingenuity\u2019s maiden flight couldn\u2019t be piloted by the team at Mission Control in NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Lab. Instead, it flew autonomously, relying on its own guidance, navigation and control systems. At the time of writing, Ingenuity had made 16 successful flights, reaching heights of five metres, making sideways transitions and capturing images mid-flight of the Jezero Crater below.<\/p>\n

Flying visit<\/h2>\n
\""BepiColombo\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by NASA\/JPL<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Outskirts of Venus\n10 August<\/p>\n

That big white swathe arching through this image is Venus, as seen by the BepiColombo spacecraft during its seven-year journey to Mercury. BepiColombo is actually a pair of spacecraft \u2013 the European Space Agency\u2019s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency\u2019s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter \u2013 and it caught this image of Venus in August while using our planetary neighbour\u2019s gravity to slingshot itself on towards its final destination.<\/p>\n

Once it reaches the smallest, innermost and least-explored planet in the Solar System, BepiColombo will study Mercury\u2019s surface, internal composition and magnetic field. Its aim is to shed more light on this mysterious planet along with planet formation in general.<\/p>\n

Bigger\u00a0and bolder<\/h2>\n
\""Red\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by Nicholas Papas<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Sydney, Australia\n26 May<\/p>\n

The Moon made a spectacle of itself in May by undergoing an eclipse while at perigee, a combination that resulted in this eye-catching Super Blood Moon.<\/p>\n

Perigee is the name given to the point in the Moon\u2019s orbit that brings it closest to Earth, causing it to appear bigger than usual. The \u2018blood\u2019 part is, unsurprisingly, a result of it appearing red. This happens because as Earth passes between the Sun and Moon, the light that\u2019s still able to reach the Moon passes through Earth atmosphere, which scatters the light towards the blue end of the spectrum. Light at the red end is able to make it through, but not unscathed. The red wavelengths are stretched, so appear redder and give the Moon a distinctive hue when they are reflected off its surface.<\/p>\n

The next total lunar eclipse will take place in May 2022, and will be visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia.<\/p>\n

Time is money<\/h2>\n
\""MV\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by Mahmoud Khaled\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Suez canal, Egypt\n27 March<\/p>\n

This might be the world\u2019s most expensive waiting room. The little white shapes spread around the lower left corner are container ships floating in Egypt\u2019s Gulf of Suez. They\u2019re queueing while engineers work to free another container ship \u2013 the 400m-long, 200,000-tonne MV Ever Given (near the top right corner) \u2013 after it ran aground in the Suez Canal on 23 March. This shot was taken on 27 March, two days before the ship was successfully refloated.<\/p>\n

Shipping analysts Lloyd\u2019s List estimated the blockage was holding up cargo worth $9.6bn (\u00a37bn approx) each day. When it was finally freed on 29 March, the ship was immediately impounded by the Suez Canal Authority in a bid for compensation for the losses incurred during the salvage operation. The ship eventually set sail on 7 July.<\/p>\n

Touch down<\/h2>\n
\""Perseverance\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by NASA\/JPL<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Surface of Mars\n18 February<\/p>\n

This was the view from the Descent Stage as it lowered NASA\u2019s Perseverance Rover onto the surface of Mars. Essentially a jet pack, the Descent Stage used eight engines to bring the rover\u2019s plunge through the Martian atmosphere to a halt, before winching it down the last few metres to\nthe ground.<\/p>\n

This would be the last that the two vehicles saw of each other. After releasing the cables, the Descent Stage was programmed to fly off and make an \u2018uncontrolled\u2019 (crash) landing a safe distance from the rover. Perseverance, meanwhile, would begin exploring the surface and collecting samples that, in years to come, will be returned to Earth and analysed to learn about the planet\u2019s geology and climate to see if it could host life \u2013 whether it be microbes in the past or humans in the future.<\/p>\n

Gone in a flash<\/h2>\n
\""a\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by Christof Stache\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany\n16 July<\/p>\n

Record-breaking rainfall in Europe during July saw a number of countries devastated by flash floods and led to over 200 deaths across Germany (pictured here), Austria, Belgium, Italy and Romania. Cars, buildings and bridges were either damaged or entirely swept away, resulting in widespread power outages and, in some areas, emergency evacuations.<\/p>\n

Officials in Austria\u2019s Tyrol province reported water levels reached heights that hadn\u2019t been seen in more than three decades. Studies carried out afterwards indicated that the rainfall over Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany had been 20 per cent heavier than usual due to climate change. It also found that further extreme weather events are now up to nine times more likely.<\/p>\n

Handle with\u00a0care<\/h2>\n
\""James\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by NASA\/JPL<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Redondo beach, California, USA\nOctober<\/p>\n

Packing for a long trip must be done thoughtfully and carefully, especially when your suitcase contains the $8.8bn (\u00a36.5bn approx) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) \u2013 seen here being prepared for its journey from Redondo Beach, California to the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana.<\/p>\n

The suitcase for the JWST had to be specially made. It\u2019s a 5 x 4m construction that NASA calls STARRS (Space Telescope Transporter for Air, Road and Sea) and carried the JWST for the entire duration of its 16-day voyage, which included two trips on trucks equipped to carry oversize loads and a 9,800km (5,800-mile) cruise aboard the MN Colibri cargo ship. It arrived, in one piece, on\u00a012 October.<\/p>\n

Miracle house<\/h2>\n
\""Lava\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by Emilio Morenatti\/POOL\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

La Palma, Canary Islands\n23 September<\/p>\n

Location is key when you\u2019re buying a house, especially if you\u2019re looking for property on an island known for its volcanic activity. This house on La Palma, the most northwesterly of Spain\u2019s Canary Islands, narrowly avoided the lava flows that devastated a vast tract of land after Cumbre Vieja erupted on 19 September.<\/p>\n

As pictures of the narrow escape began to circulate, it became known as the Miracle House. The miracle was short-lived, however, as the flows from the ongoing eruption had consumed the house by 30 September. Fortunately, its owners weren\u2019t occupying it at the time and despite the eruption continuing into November, perhaps miraculously, no deaths had been reported at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

Pea brain<\/h2>\n
\""Mini\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by HEPIA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Geneva, Switzerland\n7 January<\/p>\n

No, this is not some newly discovered planet plagued by raging lightning storms and ferocious tectonic activity. It\u2019s actually the first glimpse we\u2019ve ever had of the internal structure of a mini-brain \u2013 a collection of brain cells no bigger than the size of a pinhead.<\/p>\n

Mini-brains are grown from stem cells and could provide insights into how diseases and drugs affect the organ. Until 2021, the only way to see inside the mini-brains was to cut them into slices and examine them under a microscope; a slow, difficult procedure that can damage the samples. But scientists at the Geneva School of Engineering, Architecture and Landscape (HEPIA) and Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering found a way to produce 3D images of intact mini-brains that could be used for analysis.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Check out more of our image galleries:<\/strong><\/p>\n