So you may have already seen our video of the Top 10 Scariest Things in Space.
And if you haven't, then why not? Go and
watch it, right after this video.
Your shower can wait and those kids can raise themselves. Trust me, it's a good video.
But rather than scary mysteries today we're going to look at some of the downright mysterious things in the universe that science cannot explain.
For example, have you heard about the giant roar coming from the edges of the universe?
What about the mysterious probe that is seemingly following the Earth?
And why is there a giant void 250 million light years across in the middle of space where nothing exists?
For any Strange Mystery subscribers needing alone time,
That sounds like the perfect place to relax.
But before you do, let's take a look at the top 5 unexplained mysteries of space!
[Intro Music]
Number 5 - The Missing Matter.
When a kitty cat goes missing, you might put up posters.
When your keys go missing, you might check your pockets and behind the sofa.
But what do you do when you can't find half the visible matter in the universe?
Check behind the fridge?
ehhh... no, that's not there.
So where is it?
The universe is theorised as being comprised of 95% Dark Energy and Dark Matter.
So we're already dealing with a whole bunch of mysterious stuff before we've even begun
..because we know diddly-squat about either of these things.
But the remaining 5% of the universe is something that we do know about
... as we're pretty sure its made up of atoms and ions.
For example, the material that makes up our stars, planets, gas, dust
...chihuahuas, burritos, geese, this lamp, this other lamp,
... and those hats you wear on St. Patrick's Day - I could go on
But I'd have to name everything made of anything in the universe,
And YouTube doesn't let you make videos that long
This material is called Baryonic Matter, and if the Standard Model of the Big Bang Theory is correct..
.... there should be at least twice as much out there as we can currently detect.
So where the hell is it? Did space pirates take it??
Have we vastly overestimated how much matter there is in the universe?
Did some unknown forces of the Big Bang fire this matter into another dimension?
Is the Big Bang theory even correct?!
If not, is the TV show still shitty?
Ask your local Christian pastor and they'll say no-siree bub
But ask a rational person and they may give you a different answer to this strange space mystery
Scientists initially believed that much of this undetected matter was located in diffused gas between the galaxies.
And this theory seemed to have been given credence when the Chandra X Ray Telescope
... discovered that our own Milky Way was surrounded by a cloud of gas...
... hundreds of thousands of light years across.
This halo of hot gas which is roughly equivalent in volume to my own emissions after Tuesday Taco Night...
... is estimated to be similar in mass to all the stars in the Milky Way combined.
We still don't know for sure if this is where the remaining Baryonic matter in the universe is located...
... but if it's true, it turns out that it wasn't missing at all. We were just looking in the wrong place.
And if these Baryons are hiding in this halo of hot gas surrounding the Milky Way...
... what else is lurking in there which we don't know about?
Are we also looking in the wrong place for Dark Matter, Dark Energy and many of the unexplained mysteries of the universe as well?
And finally, are we sure? Are we definitely super-sure? Are we definitely super-duper super sure...
... that we definitely didn't check behind the fridge?
At #4 - the supercharged - Space Rays.
In the wintry landscape of the South Pole, sits one of the most awesomely named scientific outposts on Earth.
The Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory
Now I don't know if the observatory was named after rapper and actor Ice Cube...
...or if there are other stations named after Ezy E and Dr. Dre..
I am going to choose to believe that this is in fact true, even in the face of logic and evidence..
Basically I'm exactly what Hillary supporters do when they say that she is a decent human being.
See, you asked me to rag on everyone equally, and now I have.
I am, your humble servant.
The function of the Ice Cube Neutrino Observitory
is mostly to capture signs of the elusive subatomic particles
known as neutrinos.
But shortly after it's construction in 2010
it discovered something else which is proved just as mysterious...
And no, it isn't the answer to how Ice Cube's wife's breasts
seem to defy physics.
Although that would admittedly be a study I would like to participate in ;)
Heelloo, you're from Vermont aren't you?
Hmhmhmhm [flirty laugh]
The problem with Neutrino Observatories
is that they are constantly bombarded
with a whole heap of different signals.
And whilst most of this is considered background noise
one set of signals was considered far to mysterious to ignore.
The observatory noticed that huge amounts of super-powered cosmic rays
were hitting one part of the sky in the Earth's Southern hemisphere.
Most cosmic rays are hypothesized as being high-energy radiation
emitted from stars which have gone supernova.
But when these rays hit the Earth
they've usually lost a great deal of their energy
after travelling for hundreds of millions of light-years.
These cosmic rays are far too powerful to have originated from such an event.
Especially one so far away.
And they have been detected by laboritories
with an alarming frequency within recent years
So where are they coming from?
And what has happened to generate them?
Some have speculated that previously undetected objects
or super-massive black holes are to blame.
And others think that an alien civilization
maybe manipulating these signals to contact us in some way.
The last theory is a little crazy, admittedly.
But scarily, the question of where these rays are coming from
may not be the most important thing to ask!
We know that exposure to cosmic rays
can cause health problems for astronauts.
So what happens if there are more of these mysterious rays
on their way that can effect people here on Earth?
Charged particles are known to directly effect natural phenomena.
Such as volcanoes and earthquakes.
So we could be about to see some increased aggressive activity from mother nature coming up.
And highly charged particles have also been proven
to alter the minds of physical beings.
Humans and animals can have their emotions and cognitive perception
changed from a blast of cosmic rays!
So the next time your dog bites your neighbor's ass...
Or you accidentally call your best friend's mom a [BLEEP]
Just use the excuse: "High powered cosmic rays made me do it!"
At 3: The Mysterious Void.
Quite often, some of the greatest mysteries involve not the presence of something strange
but an eerie absence where something should be.
If you see huge footprints in the snow
you can only wonder what unknown ferocious creature must have made them.
And when you find out it's just an out of work actor
in giant modified snowshoes, it kind of spoils the mystery.
When an object or a person leaves behind nothing of their evidence of existence
that can be more frightening than actually seeing whatever caused it.
And this is definitely the case when you look into the night sky.
And you witness the spookiest place in the universe
The Boötes void.
The Boötes void was discovered by the astronomer Richard Kirshner, in 1981.
And it describes an area some 250 million light-years across
which contains about as much matter as a bottle of Mountain Dew contains essential nutrients!
i.e. barely any.
We know that space, as it's name suggests, is mostly an empty void anyway.
But this, is taking it a bit too far.
This area is 700 million light-years from Earth.
And is located near the Boötes constellation.
But there is barely anything observable in this patch on sky
Which measures a million cubic mega parsecs.
So what gives?
What in the universe could possibly have created a void this big?
Has something exploded or imploded to wipe out most stars in a 100 million light-years?
Is there a reason stars can't even exist in this particular area?
Did God take a really rancid dump in the middle of space
and told all the stars to just leave it a while?
The Boötes void is the largest known void in the entire universe.
And we have no idea why it exists.
There are actually a handful of galaxies which are present in the Boötes void.
And by a handful, we mean 60.
Compared to the 10,000 galaxies it should have, based on it's size.
One of the most interesting, and therefore crazy explanation of the Boötes void
is that it has been deliberately constructed by a super advanced civilization.
The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a civilization's advancements
based on the amount of energy they can harness from stars.
And the universe around them.
A civilization on the highest rung of this theoretical ladder
a Kardashev III race of beings would theoretically have the ability to encompass a whole star
with a device called a Dyson Sphere.
Which is a device capable of harnessing all of the energy