Our most popular science stories of 2020

The biggest science news this year, by far, was anything to do with the novel coronavirus and the ongoing pandemic. Stories about COVID-19 received exponentially more views on Live Science than any other science news we shared.

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Live Science loves weird creatures, and our readers do, too. Many were excited to learn about the discovery of a 150-foot-long (45 meters) marine animal called a siphonophore — a translucent, string creature that, like coral, is made up of smaller critters. Underwater explorers with the research vessel Falkor spotted the lengthy beast in a submarine canyon off the coast of Australia. The team said this siphonophore is "seemingly the largest animal ever discovered."

In October, SpaceX's "Starman" mannequin, riding in the driver's seat of a cherry-red Tesla Roadster, made its closest approach ever to Mars. Close is relative, though — the rapidly-decaying sports car and dummy were just under 5 million miles (8 million kilometers) away from the Red Planet, which is about 19 times the distance from Earth to the moon. Starman and his Roadster have been orbiting the sun for about two years, since launching in February 2018.

April's full moon this year year was a real treat: A pink supermoon! On April 7, the moon was closer to Earth than any other time in the year, making it the largest full moon of the year. But the pink supermoon wasn't actually pink. April's moon is named for the pink wildflower Phlox subulata, which blossoms in eastern North America in the early springtime. Although April's supermoon wasn't colorful, it was still impressive.

We look forward to the Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards every year, and this year did not disappoint. The winning image was a perfectly-timed photo of a sea turtle appearing to be flipping the bird. "It's been amazing to see the reaction to my photo of Terry the Turtle flipping the bird," said photographer Mark Fitzpatrick, "with Terry giving people a laugh in what has been a difficult year for many, as well as helping spread an important conservation message."

In April, we were intrigued (and perhaps a little concerned) to learn that scientists detected what may have been the largest hole in the ozone layer ever recorded over the North Pole. The hole covered an area roughly three times the size of Greenland and had the potential to expose people living at far northern latitudes to high levels of ultraviolet radiation. Fortunately, the hole eventually closed on its own.

'Oumuamua is a mysterious, interstellar object that ventured through our solar system two years ago. Several people suspected that the cigar-shaped object was some kind of alien technology, particularly because it was accelerating as though something were propelling it. But scientists were quick to point out that the chances of alien-origin were slim, and a physical or astronomical explanation is more likely. However, in August, astrophysicists published a study debunking at least one non-alien theory — that hydrogen is working to propel the object. This means there's still hope it's aliens!

Humans are so weird. This year, scientists found a new human organ: A set of salivary glands sitting deep in the upper part of the throat. Prior to finding these hidden glands, scientists didn't think there were any organs in this area behind the nose — only microscopic, diffuse, salivary glands. But this set, called tubarial salivary glands, is a noticeable 1.5 inches (3.9 centimeters) in length, on average, and probably lubricate and moisten the upper throat behind the nose and mouth.

The origin of the novel coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, was initially unclear, which gave rise to the persistent myth that the virus was made by scientists and escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began. But an analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 genome revealed that the virus is naturally occurring, and highly unlikely to be human-engineered. There is still no evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is human-made, despite continued investigation into the possibility.

When the novel coronavirus emerged, some people assumed that because symptoms of coronavirus seemed to overlap with symptoms of the seasonal flu virus, the two viruses presented a similar threat. However, scientists and doctors soon realized this was not the case — the coronavirus spreads much more easily and has a far higher death rate than the flu. This was our single most-read story of the year.

Kimberly has a bachelor's degree in marine biology from Texas A&M University, a master's degree in biology from Southeastern Louisiana University and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is a former reference editor for Live Science and Space.com. Her work has appeared in Inside Science, News from Science, the San Jose Mercury and others. Her favorite stories include those about animals and obscurities. A Texas native, Kim now lives in a California redwood forest.

Our most popular science stories of 2020

10. Longest underwater creature

9. Following "Starman" to Mars

8. The pink supermoon

7. Funniest animal photos

6. Largest ozone hole at the North Pole

5. 'Oumuamua could still be alien technology

4. A new human organ

3. The deadliest viruses on Earth

2. The worst epidemics and pandemics in history

1. Coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic