page_title: 2018 in science
section_title: December
hierarchical_section_title: 2018 in science / Events / December
caption_attribution_description: Česky: Fotografie z povrchu Měsíce zdánlivě zapadající Země byla pořízená členem posádky Apolla 8 Billem Andersem 24. prosince 1968. English: Taken by Apollo 8 crewmember Bill Anders on December 24, 1968, at mission time 075:49:07, [1](16:40UTC) while in orbit around the Moon, showing the Earth rising for the third time above the lunar horizon. The lunar horizon is approximately 780 kilometers from the spacecraft. Height of the photographed area at the lunar horizon is about 175 kilometers. [2] The land mass visible just above the terminator line is west Africa. Note that this phenomenon is only visible to an observer in motion relative to the lunar surface. Because of the Moon's synchronous rotation relative to the Earth (i.e., the same side of the Moon is always facing Earth), the Earth appears to be stationary (measured in anything less than a geological timescale) in the lunar "sky". In order to observe the effect of Earth rising or setting over the Moon's horizon, an observer must travel towards or away from the point on the lunar surface where the Earth is most directly overhead (centred in the sky). Otherwise, the Earth's apparent motion/visible change will be limited to: 1. Growing larger/smaller as the orbital distance between the two bodies changes. 2. Rotation of the Earth (the Moon's rotation is synchronous relative to the Earth, the Earth's rotation is not synchronous relative to the Moon). 3. Atmospheric &amp; surface changes on Earth (i.e.: weather patterns, changing seasons, etc.). Ελληνικά: Τραβηγμένη απο τον Μπιλ 'Αντερς, μέλος του πληρώματος του διαστημοπλοίου Απόλλων 8 στις 24 Δεκεμβρίου, 1968 στις 075:49:07 ώρα αποστολή [3](16:40UTC) εν'όσω βρίσκονται σε τροχιά γύρω απο την Σελήνη, παρουσιάζει την Γη να ανατέλει για τρίτη φορά στον Σεληνιακό ορίζοντα. Ο Σεληνιακός ορίζοντας βρίσκεται περίπου 780 χιλιόμετρα μακρία απο το διαστημόπλοιο. Το ύψος της φωτογράφημένης περιοχής του σεληνιακού ορίζοντα είναι περίπου 175 χιλιόμετρα. [4]. Η μάζα γης που είναι ορατή πάνω ακριβώς απο την τελική γραμμή ειναι η δυτική Αφρική. Να σημειωθεί πως αυτό το φαινόμενο ειναι ορατό απο έναν παρατηρητή μόνο σε σχετική κίνηση με την επιφάνεια της Σελήνης. Εξαιτίας της συγχρονισμένης Σεληνιακής περιστροφής σχετικά με την Γη (πχ, η ίδια πλευρά της Σελήνης είναι πάντα ορατή στην Γη), η Γη φαίνεται σαν να είναι στατική στον σεληνιακό ουρανό. Français&#160;: "Lever de terre" sur la lune. Photo prise le 24 décembre 1968 par Bill Anders, et montrant la terre semblant se lever derrière l'horizon lunaire. Ce phénomène n'est visible que par quelqu'un en orbite autour de l'astre. A cause de la rotation synchrone de la lune, qui montre toujours la même face vers la terre, on ne voit pas la terre se lever ou se coucher depuis la surface de la lune. Magyar: „Földfelkelte” a Holdról 1968. december 24-én, Bill Anders, az Apollo 8 űrhajósának képén. Valódi „földfelkeltét” csak az láthat, aki kering a Hold körül, mert a Hold egy adott pontjáról nézve a Föld az égnek folyamatosan ugyanazon a részén látszik (megfordítva: a Földről a Holdnak mindig és mindenhol (megközelítőleg) ugyanaz a fele látszik). A Föld forgása, illetve a napfényes részének változása viszont a Hold felszínéről is látszik. Русский: Фото, полученное Уильямом Андерсом, пилотом корабля «Аполлон-8» 24 декабря, 1968, показана видимая часть Земли, поднимающаяся над лунной поверхностью. Заметим, что это явление видимо только на некоторых орбитах Луны. Из-за синхронного вращения Луны вокруг Земли (т.е. та же сторона Луны всегда обращена к Земле), восход Земли над линией горизонта (Earthrise) нельзя наблюдать ни в какой точке Луны.
context_page_description: A number of significant scientific events occurred in 2018.
context_section_description: 2–14 December – COP24 United Nations Climate Change conference in Katowice.
  3 December – NASA reports the arrival of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to the carbonaceous asteroid Bennu after a two-year journey, and has determined that the asteroid interacted with water early in its history.
  4 December – Physcists report discovery of superconductivity at 250 K and 170 GPa.
  5 December
  An astronomer from the University of Oxford advances a new theory, related, in part, to notions of gravitationally repulsive negative masses, presented earlier by Albert Einstein, that may help better understand, in a testable manner, the considerable amounts of unknown dark matter and dark energy in the cosmos.
  Researchers create a new algorithm, based on deep learning, that is able to solve text-based CAPTCHA tests in less than 0.05 seconds.
  Scientists in the United Kingdom announce completion of the 100,000 Genomes Project.
  Research published by the Global Carbon Project shows record high carbon emissions of 37.1 billion metric tons in 2018, driven by a booming market for cars and ongoing coal use in China.
  8 December – China launches Chang'e 4, the first mission to land a robotic craft on the far side of the Moon.
  10 December
  Voyager 2, a space probe launched in 1977, is confirmed (image of onboard detections) to have left the Solar System for interstellar space on 5 November 2018, six years after its sister probe, Voyager 1 (related image).
  Four glaciers in the Vincennes Bay region of Antarctica are found to be thinning at surprisingly fast rates, casting doubt on the idea that the eastern part of the icy continent is stable.
  Researchers announce the discovery of considerable amounts of life forms, including 70% of bacteria and archea on Earth, comprising up to 23 billion tonnes of carbon, living up to at least 4.8 km (3.0 mi) deep underground, including 2.5 km (1.6 mi) below the seabed, according to a ten-year Deep Carbon Observatory project.
  11 December – A report on the impact of climate change in the Arctic, published during the latest American Geophysical Union meeting, concludes that populations of wild reindeer, or caribou, have crashed from almost 5 million to just 2.1 million animals in the last two decades.
  17 December
  Astronomers led by Scott Sheppard announce the discovery of 2018 VG18, nicknamed "Farout", the most distant body ever observed in the Solar System at approximately 120 AU.
  Scientists announce that the earliest feathers may have originated 250 million years ago, 70 million years earlier than previously thought.
  18 December
  Scientists report that the earliest flowers began about 180 million years ago, 50 million years earlier than previously thought.
  The Kamchatka superbolide falls over the Bering Sea, near the east coast of Russia, the third largest asteroid to hit Earth since 1900. The event would not be recognized and announced until March 2019, however.
  19 December – NASA reports that the InSight lander has deployed a seismometer on Mars, the first time a seismometer has been placed onto the surface of another planet.
  24 December
  NASA celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the 1968 Christmas Eve trip around the moon by the Apollo 8 astronauts (Earthrise image).
  Researchers at Tel Aviv University describe a process to make bioplastic polymers that don't require land or fresh water.
caption: 24 December: NASA celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the 1968 Christmas Eve (Earthrise) Apollo 8 trip around the moon.[470][471][472]
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