Have you ever wondered how space smells?
Or what the end of the universe might look like?
Find out in 13 Space Facts That Will Both SCARE and AMAZE You!
#13.
“Turbo-Stars”- In 2013, astronomers discovered six stars that have frightening qualities.
These stars similar in mass to that of our sun are the first hypervelocity stars ever
observed by man.
Hypervelocity stars are believed to be created when stars are launched into space by supermassive
black holes.
These six originated from the supermassive black hole that lies at our galaxy’s center
and have been clocked at speeds over 2 million miles per hour.
With these speeds and their rogue paths unabated to gravity they could potentially wreak havoc
throughout the Milky Way.
#12.
“Supermassive Speedster”- What could be scarier than rogue stars speeding through
our galactic backyard at 2 million miles an hour?
Well how about a supermassive black hole that is screaming through the universe at 5 million
mile per hour clip?
Thankfully, this beast is currently in a galaxy that is eight billion light years away but
who knows there could be more like it just around the corner from Earth that have yet
to be observed.
Not only that, the sheer power of a supermassive black hole let alone its aforementioned ability
to launch hypervelocity stars could create chain reactions throughout the entire universe.
Astronomers believe that this black hole attained this ridiculous speed after being pushed by
gravitational waves, which are ripples in space-time.
#11.
“A Year In A Day”- Although it’s arguably mainly our perspective, we are very lucky
as Earthlings to have the lengths of days and years they way they are.
The 24 hour day and 365 day year are quite simple and efficient when it comes to measuring
the passage of time.
However, if you were to visit one of our closest galactic neighbors, the planet Venus, you
would experience time in a truly unique way.
Venus orbits the sun at a faster rate than that of Earth, partly because it is closer
to it, but it also rotates extremely slowly compared to our blue planet.
One year on Venus is equivalent to 224 Earth days which seems not too irregular but then
consider the fact that one day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days.
This means that their days are longer than their years, which would be quite the experience.
You would have nights that last almost half as long as an Earth year!
Scientists believe that these long days can be attributed to the sun’s strong gravitational
hold on Venus.
Venus also has the distinction of being the only planet in our solar system that rotates
backwards which scientists theorize wasn’t always the case.
They believe that Venus originally rotated the way that the other planets do but because
of intense atmospheric tides and strong friction between its core and mantle that Venus slowly
flipped over.
So that means that it technically is spinning the correct direction but that the planet
it upside-down.
#10.
“Big Rip”-- There are several theories on what fate the universe is headed to but
one of the scariest possibilities is that of the Big Rip.
The Big Rip is the focus of a theory that is based on mathematical models which states
that the universe might be headed for the atomic paper shredder.
In the theory the ever-expanding universe reaches a point, at roughly 22 billion years
from now, in which dark matter (which has been gaining mass exponentially over time)
eventually becomes a more powerful force than gravity, space and time tearing a hole in
the foundational fabric of the universe.
This would cause the atoms that make up everything to split apart instantaneously, destroying
everything, with only dark matter remaining.
#9.
“Colder than Cold”- The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was -128.6 degrees
fahrenheit or -89.2 degrees Celsius, at this point humans can only survive for around 3
minutes.
So imagine what would happen if you were subject to temperatures over three and a half times
as cold.
Well that is exactly the type of temperature drop you could expect if you were traipsing
about in space, as the average temperature of space is -455 degrees fahrenheit or -270
degrees Celsius.
This is only 4 degrees fahrenheit and 3 degrees celsius away from the unattainable temperature
of absolute zero.
At this extreme temperature even the movement of atoms slows significantly and without the
proper sweater human survival is an impossibility.
#8.
“Eye-Popping”- Traveling in space is extremely physically demanding.
Even astronauts who have strict work-out regimens and diets that designed to keep them running
at full-health come back from their galactic excursions emaciated with drastically reduced
muscle-mass.
But one of the lesser known maladies that astronauts face is the harsh effects that
living in space can have on the eyes.
In space, microgravity causes fluid from the lower body to flow into the head.
The pressure from this fluid over time actually reshapes the eyes and can permanently damage
them.
There have been several astronauts who have come back from the international space station
and become permanently nearsighted.
#7.
“Space Stink”- If you have ever imagined being able to float about in space performing
a cosmic backstroke you probably never thought to imagine what it would smell like and if
you did you probably thought it would smell clean like the that of sterilized equipment
or have the crisp scent of cold morning dew.
So you might be amazed to find out that space actually has a pretty strong smell and considered
off-putting by some astronauts.
When asked about the smell of space astronauts have commonly reported that it smells sulfurous
like that of rotting eggs, or that it smells like searing a steak.
They have also compared it to the smell of someone welding metal or that of gunpowder.
While these scents may make you think twice about wanting to sniff around space there
are areas in the universe that could possibly smell quite appetizing.
In the center of the galaxy there is a recently discovered gas-cloud named Sagittarius B2
made up of the chemical ethyl formate.
Ethyl formate has the remarkable quality of smelling like rum and is also the chemical
that gives raspberries their sweet taste.
Though this dust cloud is probably not edible, it is fun to imagine it as a delightful cosmic
confection.
#6.
“Quasar Love”- The biggest structure in the known universe is so humongous that it
defies the boundaries of modern astrophysics.
This structure in known as the Large Quasar Group and is a cluster of galaxies in their
juvenile form, also known as quasars.
Previous models of astrophysics and the modern cosmological theory were based upon the notion
that no structure could be over 1.2 billion light years wide, but the Large Quasar Group
shatters that rule.
You see the large Quasar group is over 4 billion light years wide!
This means that it is 40,000 times the size of the Milky Way Galaxy and 40 times the size
of the Virgo Cluster, the cluster of galaxies that the Milky Way calls home.
#5.
“Goodbye Moon”- Just after the Moon was formed around 4.5 billion years ago it sat
a mere 14,000 miles away from the Earth.
Today, the moon sits around 250,000 miles away and is continues moving further away
at a rate of about one and half inches per year.
Because of this increasing separation their could come a point in the distant future where
the Earth is uninhabitable by humans.
The rotation of the earth will become incredible unstable and erratic, which will cause ice
age like conditions during winter and blistering heat in the summers.
Natural disasters will also become rampant as the tides and wind patterns will be unpredictable
as they will no longer be tamed by the moon’s gravity.
Some scientists theorize that eventually the moon will become tidally locked to the earth,
meaning it will stay in the same location at all times.
However this would likely be after the 5 billion year mark, which is when astronomers theorize
the sun will become a red giant and swallow us.
#4.
“The Neutron Dance”- When gigantic stars (far greater than the size of our sun) burst
in a supernova most of the star is shot into space but their cores remain.
These extremely dense cores are about the size of the average American city and after
the supernova continue to collapse on themselves.
The resulting mass is called a Neutron Star, this is due to the fact that it is made up
primarily of neutrons that are formed when electrons and protons become one.
Though relatively small in size compared to stars and planets the density of a Neutron
Star is incredibly awesome, using the original definition of the word.
A single handful of a neutron star would weigh more than ten trillion pounds.
A neutron star also can reach speeds of over 715 rotations per seconds and has the gravity
of 2 billion Earths put together.
While they spin neutron stars shoot off powerful beams of radiation called pulsars and may
even create gravitational waves.
One form of Neutron Star, called a Magnetar, can be a terrifying prospect to anything that
comes close to its destructive realms.
Magnetars are special because they have immensely powerful magnetic fields that can literally
stretch atoms.
When the magnetic field around a magnetar starts to decay it will also start to shoot
off high-energy x-rays and gamma rays at galactically destructive levels.
#3.
“One Gnarly Nova”- Another top-producer of dangerous gamma-rays is the almost all-powerful
Hypernova.
A hypernova is caused when star that is over 30 times the size of our sun collapses to
create a blackhole which shoots out twin jets made up of massive amounts of energy.
A hypernova is ten times brighter than that of a supernova and emits huge bursts of gamma
rays.
These gamma ray bursts can ravage entire galaxies and if Earth was as close as ten light years
away from one, its radiation could permanently damage the DNA of everything on the planet.
One of the theories for why we haven’t found life on other planets yet is that the Gamma
Ray Bursts from Hypernovae are constantly exterminating any extraterrestrial organisms
throughout the universe.
#2.
“Alien Anomaly?”- About 1,300 light years from Earth there is an odd star located in
the constellation Cygnus.
The star is called KIC 8464852 or “Tabby’s Star” and has been confounding astronomers
for the better part of a decade.
It is considered one of the strangest stars in the galaxy because it’s observable behavior
is yet to be explained.
Astronomers have noticed that it’s brightness dims substantially at regular intervals.
Stars dipping in brightness is normal to an extent and is even how astronomers locate
planets and other objects but stars usually only dip about 2% in brightness when even
the biggest planets pass by whereas Tabby’s Star has been observed to dip up to 20 percent.
This means that whatever is orbiting in front of the star has to be gigantic.
There are many theories as to what it could be from a large group of asteroids to interstellar
dust clouds but the most entertaining hypothesis is that of it being an extraterrestrial megastructure
like that of a Dyson Sphere.
#1.
“Universal Recipe”- If day to day life on a planet of billions of people already
gives you a feeling of insignificance then get ready to weep at few astounding facts
about the size of the universe.
We will start off in our own neighborhood.
First off, the milky way is on the smaller side of galaxies in the universe but even
so it is 100,000 light years across.
So if you were trying to travel across the universe at the average highway speed limit
of 65 miles per hour it would only take you a little over 10 million years.
In regards to how big our sun is, you might not know that our sun is 109 times the size
of the earth and its mass makes up an astonishing 99.8 percent of our solar system.
If you think that’s impressive, consider this the sun is only one out of an estimated
one septillion stars in the universe.
That is the number 1 followed by 24 zeros!
Putting this number in perspective there are an estimated 7.5 quintillion grains of sand
on Earth, which means there are just over 133 thousand times more stars in the universe
than grains of sand on the planet.
Furthermore, these stars along with planets, nebulas, asteroids and everything else that
is made up of matter, only count for 4 percent of the totality of the universe.
The other 95 percent?
Well, an estimated 21 percent is dark matter and 75 percent is dark energy, which (to top
all the feelings of insignificance flowing through you right now) we know next to nothing
about.
What scares you the most about space?