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Source: The Conversation â UK â By Samantha Rolfe, Lecturer in Astrobiology and Principal Technical Officer at Bayfordbury Observatory, University of Hertfordshire
Weâll soon be able to properly start asking the question: âAre we alone in the universe?â Nasaâs next major mission, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, will land on the surface on February 18. Following a complex landing procedure, it will get started on one of its main goals â searching for life on Mars.
The rover has two ways of gathering samples. It can either analyse them with its on-board laboratory or it can save them for return to Earth by future missions. But what exactly is it looking for, and what would it need to find to convince us that there is indeed past or present life?
The Geminids meteor shower is likely to flaunt the brightest shooting stars of 2020. It peaks Sunday night.
The shower is expected to produce about 120 yellow, green, orange, red, and blue shooting stars per hour. The brightest of these meteors leave glowing trails in their wake.
The moon won’t outshine any of the meteors, since it will hang dark and nearly invisible in the night sky.
“It’s worth braving the cold during this shower’s peak,” Diana Hannikainen, observing editor at Sky & Telescope, said in a statement. “The Geminids offer the best display of ‘shooting stars’ all year.”
She added that clear skies might reveal a new meteor every minute or two from 10 p.m. until dawn.