New Year in Astronomy

Big Stories are in the Wings

Look deep into the universe -- and what will we find?

Now that we’ve all said good-bye to the old year and have rung in the new year, it’s time to look forward to the stuff we’ll learn about the cosmos in 2010.

No, I don’t have a crystal ball full of galaxy images that will magically tell me all the big news that’s coming. What I DO know is that a number of really good astronomy stories are about to break at the American Astronomical Society meeting next week — and I’ll be there, soaking it all in.  Want to know about the latest in exoplanet discoveries?  Want to see distant galaxies? Learn about the latest research into variable stars and stellar explosions? Probe the existence of dark matter? We’ll be hearing about those topics, and more.

There’ll be a great collection of images from the “Great Observatories” (Hubble, Chandra and Spitzer), and I’ve been told there’ll be at least one truly gorgeous image that’ll knock your socks off.

From discoveries in our outer solar system to studies of galaxy formation, stellar explosions, and simulations of the earliest epochs of the universe — the science shared at the January 2010 AAS meeting will span the gamut of astrophysical inquiry. And, it will set the stage for continuing success in astronomy exploration throughout the year. I think that 2010 will be a great year to learn more about the cosmos — and I hope that all of us who share astronomy with the public will take advantage of the news to spread the word about what astronomers are finding and learning about in the universe throughout the year.

As for next week — keep an eye out here in the Spacewriter’s Ramblings starting on Monday, January 4th.  I’ll bring as much of the AAS meeting to you as I can.  It’s gonna be a great meeting!