2022 was a year of asteroids: the small meteorite is on Sibylle Anderl’s desk.
Image: Saskia Stoehr
In 2022, too, there was so much exciting news to report from science that it is difficult to take a complete look back. The editors have therefore made a personal selection and brought their souvenirs from the year that is now coming to an end.
The cosmic danger from above
VA few years ago, I received a small, shimmering stone in a slightly odd-looking plastic standee as a gift in the mail. It was supposed to be a real meteorite, at least that was documented by an enclosed certificate of authenticity. Even if the authenticity of the certificate of authenticity could not be confirmed without a doubt, this alleged messenger from space has adorned my desk ever since.
But never did my gaze linger on it as often as this year, because 2022 was a year of asteroids. It all started in December 2021, when the film “Don’t Look Up” sparked an interest in the risks of humanity being wiped out by an asteroid impact, even among those who otherwise considered everything cosmic to be esthetics. It was also fueled by Elon Musk, who carries with him the primal fear that humanity could be wiped out by a cosmic impact before it has become a multiplanetary species – something that we will get a little glimpse of in 2022 with the start of the Artemis lunar mission have come closer.