2019 in space

WASP-178b, also known as KELT-26b and HD 134004 b, is an ultra-hot Jupiter exoplanet discovered in 2019 orbiting WASP-178, a hot A-type star located about 1,350 light-years (410 parsecs) away in the constellation of Lupus. At over 1.8 times the radius of Jupiter, it is among the largest exoplanets. The planet is tidally locked, heating up one side of the planet to such a degree that silicate rock and metal evaporate. Supersonic winds blow constantly towards the dark, cooler nighttime side, where the vaporized minerals condense and fall as rain.

This article documents notable spaceflight events during the year 2020.

This article documents notable spaceflight events during the year 2019.

K2-18b, also known as EPIC 201912552 b, is an exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf K2-18, located 124 light-years (38 pc) away from Earth. The planet is a sub-Neptune about 2.6 times the radius of Earth, with a 33-day orbit within the star's habitable zone; it receives approximately a similar amount of light as the Earth receives from the Sun. Initially discovered with the Kepler space telescope, it was later observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in order to study the planet's atmosphere.

RAPIS-1 (RAPid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite 1) is a satellite launched on 18 January 2019 which for over a year was used to test seven technology demonstration projects. RAPIS-1 was developed and operated by Axelspace Corporation [ja], under the coordination of the Japanese space agency JAXA.

L 98-59 b is an exoplanet having a size between that of the Earth and Mars and a mass only half that of Venus. It orbits L 98-59, a red dwarf star 34.6 light-years away in the constellation Volans. There are at least 3 (possibly 4) other planets in the system: L 98-59 c, d, e, and the unconfirmed L 98-59 f. Its discovery was announced on 27 June 2019 in The Astronomical Journal and in a NASA press release. It was the smallest planet discovered by TESS until the discovery of LHS 1678 b, and was the lowest-mass planet whose mass had been measured using radial velocities until Proxima Centauri d was found in 2022.

is a sub-kilometer near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo class, discovered by Pan-STARRS on 8 August 2019, two weeks after it passed Earth at 62 LD. With an observation arc of 103 days, Earth approach dates become divergent by 2042 as the date of closest approach in 2042 has an uncertainty of ±3 days.

is a sub-kilometer near-Earth asteroid classified under the Aten group. It was discovered on 31 January 2019, by the Zwicky Transient Facility at the Palomar Observatory. The asteroid was discovered one day after it had made a close approach to Earth from a distance of 0.00784 AU (1.173 million km; 3.05 LD).

TOI-677 b (TOI-677b) is a warm super-Jupiter type exoplanet orbiting the F-type main sequence star TOI-677 in the constellation ofOphiuchus about 466 ly (143 pc) away from Earth. The mass of the planet has been found to be 1.252 Jupiter masses and the radius of the planet is 1.179 Jupiter radii. It has a temperature of 1,252 K (979 °C; 1,794 °F). It orbits the star once every 11.24 days in an eccentric orbit (e=0.435). The eccentricity of TOI-677b is possibly due to interactions between the protoplanetary disk and the planet itself. It the claims of an outer brown dwarf object in the TOI-677 system are true, then the brown dwarf may have had a role in the planets high eccentricity.