As we bid farewell to 2020, while it has been a difficult year for so many, one positive has been the steps forward we have made in space exploration.

Here is my top ten..

1/ @SpaceX launched astronauts to space for the first time on May 30.

@AstroBehnken and @Astro_Wheels became the first two astronauts to ride aboard Crew Dragon.

It was also the first time that @NASA astronauts had launched from US soil since July 2011.
@SpaceX @AstroBehnken @Astro_Wheels @NASA 2/ NASA’s Perseverance rover was launched to Mars.

Due to land on the Red Planet on Feb 18 2021, the mission – hunting for past signs of life- will last a year and also has the first helicopter to ever be flown on the planet!
@SpaceX @AstroBehnken @Astro_Wheels @NASA 3/ Phosphine gas was claimed to be detected on the planet of Venus.

This could be exciting as it could mean simple life might exist on the planet.

But there is still a lot of debate around this discovery

https://t.co/2osWsfXzsP
@SpaceX @AstroBehnken @Astro_Wheels @NASA 4/ Water ice was confirmed on the surface of the Moon.

Studies also showed it is more common than first thought, with water ice identified on the Moons sunlit surface.

Potential here is huge for future Moon explorers.
@SpaceX @AstroBehnken @Astro_Wheels @NASA 5/ NASA’s @OSIRISREx mission touched the surface of the asteroid Bennu, where it collected a sample of the asteroid to be returned to Earth.

This mission aims to find out more about our origin and our destiny.

Where did we come from, where are we heading.
@SpaceX @AstroBehnken @Astro_Wheels @NASA @OSIRISREx 6/ Four astronauts and one Baby Yoda flew to @iss aboard @spacex Crew Dragon in November.

This was the first official crew mission for SpaceX.
@SpaceX @AstroBehnken @Astro_Wheels @NASA @OSIRISREx @iss 7/ Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission successful returned a sample of the asteroid Ryugu back to Earth.

Landing in Australia 6 years after it first launched to space.

The samples will help scientists learn more about the history of the solar system and where we came from!
Photo @JAXA
@SpaceX @AstroBehnken @Astro_Wheels @NASA @OSIRISREx @iss @JAXA 8/ China’s Chang’e 5 returned 1.7kg of Moon rocks to Earth.

This successful mission made China only the third nation to ever return lunar samples to Earth.

Photo Xinhua
@SpaceX @AstroBehnken @Astro_Wheels @NASA @OSIRISREx @iss @JAXA 9/ NASA announced it’s Artemis astronauts.

Among this group is the first woman and next man to walk on the surface of the Moon.

https://t.co/bQur88Fhsd
@SpaceX @AstroBehnken @Astro_Wheels @NASA @OSIRISREx @iss @JAXA 10/ And some of us (weather permitting) were treated to the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the night sky.

Also known as the ‘Christmas Star’ it was last witnessed nearly 800 years ago..

PIC NASA

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First thread of the year because I have time during MCO. As requested, a thread on the gods and spirits of Malay folk religion. Some are indigenous, some are of Indian origin, some have Islamic


Before I begin, it might be worth explaining the Malay conception of the spirit world. At its deepest level, Malay religious belief is animist. All living beings and even certain objects are said to have a soul. Natural phenomena are either controlled by or personified as spirits

Although these beings had to be respected, not all of them were powerful enough to be considered gods. Offerings would be made to the spirits that had greater influence on human life. Spells and incantations would invoke their


Two known examples of such elemental spirits that had god-like status are Raja Angin (king of the wind) and Mambang Tali Arus (spirit of river currents). There were undoubtedly many more which have been lost to time

Contact with ancient India brought the influence of Hinduism and Buddhism to SEA. What we now call Hinduism similarly developed in India out of native animism and the more formal Vedic tradition. This can be seen in the multitude of sacred animals and location-specific Hindu gods