4 MOST AMAZING SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES OF THE DECADE

The last decade has been a remarkable period of scientific discovery across all disciplines. Researchers have tested hypotheses, found proof, and visited places that have made us rethink our understanding of not only our own planet but of the entire universe. It has been a decade when we finally began to understand one of the greatest challenges humankind has ever faced, and we've learned far more than ever before about some of the most destructive objects in existence. In this article, we'll take a closer look at five of the most amazing scientific discoveries of the 21st century so far.

Number 4: Pluto

Despite having been downgraded from being a fully-fledged planet in 2006, the launch of the New Horizons spacecraft that same year was a landmark event. The spacecraft was destined to travel to the farthest reaches of our solar system to study the dwarf planet, and it finally reached its destination in July of 2015. The images and data that were sent back were astonishing. Far from being the boring frozen rock that some had expected, Pluto was found to have moving glaciers, floating ice mountains, and a huge frozen sea made of solid nitrogen. The ice is constantly moving, albeit at a slow rate, because it is warmed by the pressure above it, which in turn causes it to rise. The constant replenishment of the top layer of ice creates surface structures that no one had expected, giving us a new introduction and understanding of what happens on the mysterious dwarf planet at the edge of our solar system.

Number 3: The Higgs Boson

It took the construction of the world's largest machine at a cost of just under five billion dollars, but in 2012 it was finally announced that the mysterious Higgs boson, also known as the god particle, had been discovered at the Large Hadron Collider in CERN, Switzerland. The particle had first been theorized in 1964 and is one of the most influential pieces of the subatomic world. The reason it is so important is that the standard model of physics, which includes familiar particles like electrons and protons, and even more exotic ones such as muons and quarks, doesn't actually explain why objects have mass. The answer, though, is the elusive Higgs boson particle, which exists in the Higgs field and due to its interaction with other particles, is the reason why mass exists. Its discovery was the confirmation of the last unknown part of the standard model of physics, and now researchers are able to repurpose the LHC to begin investigating even stranger phenomena.

Number 2: Kepler

For thousands of years, humans have looked to the skies wondering what's up there. As astronomical devices were invented, we learned that countless stars existed throughout the universe and that there are other planets in our own solar system. However, it was impossible to learn how common it is for planets to orbit stars. This all changed in 2009 with the launch of the first Kepler probe, which was used to study distant stars and measure the amount of light they emit. Fluctuations in their brightness can be used to determine whether any objects are orbiting them, and the results have been unbelievable. By the end of the last decade, more than 4055 exoplanets had been discovered, including a few that are potentially habitable. This number is only expected to increase as we enter a new decade. The more we look, the more common our own solar system seems to be, and we can only imagine what else is out there to be found.

Number 1: Climate Change

Throughout the Earth's history, the climate has changed drastically. There have been periods of extreme heat and extreme cold, and there's no doubt that things are noticeably different now. The Earth's climate is currently undergoing significant changes, which scientists have linked to human activity, specifically the emission of greenhouse gases.

The most significant greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), which is released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. This increase in atmospheric CO2 traps heat and warms the planet. The warming of the planet causes a range of effects, including rising sea levels, more frequent and intense heatwaves and droughts, and increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events like hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons.

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