1. A photo of a dying planet taken by the Hubble Space Telescope
2. Strange object orbiting a neutron star
Astronomers reported in September that an object orbiting a neutron star is the strangest planetary material ever discovered. This low-mass object does not orbit a typical planet; it moves along the orbit of a rapidly rotating pulsar or neutron star. This neutron star spins hundreds of times per second.
3. Evidence of liquid water found on Mars
The February 17 issue of the journal Science published a research report stating that shocking photos taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show that liquid water once flowed through cracks in Mars' layered rocks. When people view Becquerel Crater from above, these cracks are clearly visible. The blue areas are huge sand dunes, not water.
4. Whirlpool Nebula
NASA released images from the Spitzer Space Telescope on February 12 showing dust from a comet surrounding the “eye” of the distant Whirlpool Nebula. This nebula, 700 light-years from Earth, is a colorful remnant of a dying Earth-like star. The Earth-like star is shedding its outer layers to become a white dwarf.
5. Hypermagnetized star explosion
An artist's illustration depicts an X-ray explosion of a hypermagnetized star. This peculiar object, 15,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius, is a fast-spinning small neutron star that periodically releases large amounts of X-rays.
6. Alien life might be stranger than experts imagine
An artist's depiction of NASA/ESA Huygens probe floating on Lake Mithane on Saturn's largest moon Titan.
\ Seventh, Supernova Destroys the 'Pillars of Creation'\ Astronomers have predicted over the past thousand years that people on Earth would witness the supernova destroying the 'Pillars of Creation' this January. 
\ Eighth, The Solar System is Bullet-Shaped\ The image shows the shape of the solar system, which resembles a bullet as it travels through the galactic magnetic field (brown lines). 
\ Ninth, Auroras on Jupiter\ In March, NASA released images captured by the 'Chandra' X-ray telescope showing the dazzling light emitted from Jupiter's polar regions.\ Gardstone from the Southwest Research Institute in Texas said, 'The scale of auroras on Jupiter is the largest in our entire solar system.' Gardstone hopes these latest observations will help unravel some of the mysteries of Jupiter, including the question of how these super auroras are generated.\ Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, with its magnetic field rotating every ten hours, generating ten million volts of high voltage at its poles. Charged gases erupting from volcanic activity on Jupiter's moons enter Jupiter's atmosphere, producing auroras. But how these volcanic charged gases travel from a relatively small moon to Jupiter's polar regions remains an unsolved mystery, Gardstone said. 
\ Tenth, The Brightest McNaught Comet Streaks Across the Southern Hemisphere\ Cosmologists have warned people to be cautious when observing the McNaught comet earlier this year. The comet can be seen from the Southern Hemisphere at dawn and dusk. Since it is close to the sun, astronomers advise observers not to look directly at the McNaught comet. 
