Every year the pace of astronomical discovery seems to accelerate, and 2004 will maintain the trend. The next 12 months will see the culmination of some of NASA’s most audacious scientific missions. The universe around us will provide plenty of excitement, too, delivering rare spectacles such as the first passage of Venus across the sun in 122 years.
Space exploration: The first post-Columbia launch of a space shuttle, sometime after September, is sure to make headlines. More significant science will come from unmanned probes.
NASA’s Stardust spacecraft, launched five years ago, arrives at comet Wild 2 this month. And wild the encounter will be, as the probe gathers bits of comet material—the first sample from deep space—and then fires its engine to head back toward Earth. Two years from now, the payload will separate from the craft, plunge into the atmosphere, and parachute toward waiting scientists.
On January 4 and ...
