1. Sky City, the world's tallest skyscraper, to open in Changsha, China
Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world, officially opened on January 4, 2010. It’s both an architectural marvel and a reminder of hubris—for it coincided with Dubai’s financial troubles. Its record will be broken by China’s Sky City in June 2014. Sky City will be 838 metres tall, will house over 30,000 people and have over 100 elevators for 202 storeys. The building is to be completed within 90 days (excluding the 120 days for prefabrications). Currently, it is awaiting environmental clearance.
2. Spacewatching
Even as India’s Mangalayaan gets closer to Mars, Nasa’s New Horizons, aimed for Pluto in 2015, will cross Neptune’s orbit in August 2014. The spacecraft was launched in 2006. You can’t, of course, watch it, but one spacecraft that you’ll probably be able to see is the International Cometary Explorer, which was launched in 1978. It will be approaching Earth next year and, if it is not sent on another mission, you can see it on display at Washington’s Smithsonian Museum.
4. New Fed chairman takes over in US
(This story appears in the 10 January, 2014 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)