Did you know that Margaret Hamilton, the NASA lead developer for the Apollo 11 mission, hand-wrote the code that eventually took a man to the moon? We bet you didn't.Science can be so astounding that, at times, it seems unbelievable. It all seems almost beyond our comprehension, from black holes to planets to parallel universes. The study of quantum physics gives most of us headaches. However, some people have gone over and beyond to analyze and understand how our universe- which may very well be just one of the multiple universes- works. Science today has entered the realm of science fiction- but it is not fiction. It's the fabric of existence.Today, we will look at 40 mind-blowing facts about our solar system, galaxy, and the universe you've certainly never heard about.
The Reality of the Sun's Size
We all seem to understand that the sun is gigantic. We also think that the planets must be pretty close to it in size. In that regard, however, we may be wrong. This picture depicts how much space all the planets will take if lined side-by-side on the sun's surface.
The largest planet is Jupiter, whose radius is 69, 911 km. Yet, with the sun's radius at 696,340 km, Jupiter is still about ten times smaller than it is. Our dear Earth is only 6,371 km. Therefore, it only makes sense that all the planets wouldn't even span half the sun's radius.
How Many Bags of Poop on the Lunar Surface?
While Buzz Aldrin was the second man to land on the moon, he was the first to pee on its surface. The last thing you may expect to find on the moon is a bag of human excreta. Not to worry, you won't find a bag; you'll find 96 bags.
When astronauts are in space, a bag attached to their backsides is the only way to defecate. When they are leaving, they have to leave the bags of detritus behind to reduce the weight of the spacecraft. Hence, the 96-odd bags of Poop that are left on the moon. Add that to the fact that due to the lack of atmosphere and gases- everything stays the same on the moon.
The Ratio of Water and Air on Earth
The total volume of water on earth is said to amount to 1.386 billion cubic km. You can easily assume that we will never exhaust this water source at this vast number. However, this is only if we manage it properly because this water isn't even up to a hundredth of the earth's volume.
The earth is estimated to have a volume of one trillion cubic kilometers. The picture above shows the amount of air and water present on earth in comparison to the planet itself. Now that doesn't look like a lot of water, right?
The Unfathomable Milky Way
Here's a fun fact: If you were to travel at nearly the speed of light, it would still take you 100,000 years to cross the Milky Way galaxy. This means at the incredible speed of 300,000 km per second; you would still be unable to travel the entire Milky Way unless you were immortal.
The Milky Way is the Galaxy that includes our Earth and its solar system. It is described this way because of its appearance from here on Earth, which is a foggy band of light in the night sky. It has a radius of 100,000 light years. Light is the fastest known thing that exists, yet it has got nothing on the Milky Way.
Margaret Hamilton hand-wrote the code that took man to the moon
Everyone knows Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin were the first men to land on the moon. It is a part of our history because it marks a significant improvement for humanity. However, no one ever asks about the work that had to be done before these people could land on the moon. No one wants to know who did the said work.
This is a picture of Margaret Hamilton standing beside the code she wrote for the Apollo 11 mission. The sheer amount of paper, just about her height, that's standing beside her is enough to estimate the enormous amount of work that must have gone into it. So, when you remember Neil's words on the moon, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", remember this too.
The Bishop Ring
The bishop ring is a space habitat originally proposed by Forrest Bishop of the Institute of Atomic-scale Engineering in 1997. The idea behind it is the creation of artificial gravity by employing centrifugal force.
It was originally proposed to be 1,000 km in radius and 500 km in width, which would contain 3,000,000 square kilometers of living space. It is, however, still hypothetical as it has not been put into practice.
White Holes Are The New Black (Holes)
We all know that black holes are regions of spacetime that only allow objects to enter but never to leave, including light. This is the result of their powerful forces of gravity. Black holes are often formed from the remnant of a large star. But what about white holes?
While black holes are often discussed and referred to, white holes are rarely discussed. White holes are essentially the opposite of black holes. Whereas black holes do not allow substances to leave, white holes allow nothing to enter. They can spontaneously spit out light and matter.
The Man Who Fell from Space
We often talk about the people who successfully made it out of Earth and back alive. But did you know that there is someone who not only didn't make it back alive but actually fell to his death all the way from space?
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov was a Russian Soviet test pilot and aerospace engineer. He confiscated the first spaceflight that allowed more than one member aboard. He was also the first man to die in a space flight. On the 24th of April 1967, he flew the Soyuz spacecraft alone. He crashed to the ground on the same day and in the same flight when his parachute failed. his last words are said to be curse words for the spaceship's engineers.
A Bullet Flying in Space
The fastest known object is light which travels at 300,000 km per second. A Bullet is nowhere close to this; its speed can not hold even a candle to the speed of light. Yet, it is still considered to be quite fast at the speed of 0.805 km per second. This is twice the speed of sound.
Despite its relatively high speed, if a bullet is let loose in space, it will never hit. This is because space expands faster than the bullet flies. Space expands at the speed of 73 km per second. This is almost a hundred times the speed of a flying bullet.
Hubble vs Webb Space Telescopes
The Hubble space telescope, named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble, was launched on April 24, 1990. It still operates today. The Webb space telescope, named after James Webb, conducts infrared astronomy. It was launched on December 25, 2021.
The picture above is a side-by-side comparison of the images of the pillars of creation captured by both telescopes. You can see them glowing in ultraviolet light, coming off the giant stars at the top. You should also see them releasing streamers of gas. This is the beauty of astronomy; it's breathtaking.
Unidentifiable Object in Galaxy M82
There are several seemingly unsolvable mysteries on our planet. The theory of how we came into existence is in itself controversial. There are many theories, including the popular big bang theory, which is called a theory but is proven right. In 2010, an unknown object added itself to this plethora of mysteries.
On the 13th of December, 2010, an object in the galaxy started emitting strange radio waves. Scientists say they don't know what it is as it is unlike anything they have ever seen. The object has maintained its brightness and a steady spectrum ever since.
Water on Mars
The question of whether there is water on Mars has several answers. It is assumed that the Red planet was once filled with water some billion years ago. This is what the dry river beds and the likes lead us to assume. Some 4 billion years ago, however, Mars lost its magnetic field.
This led to the loss of most of the water on Mars. The water left is in the form of ice. There are speculations that there is a lake beneath the giant sheet, but it is not certain. All these make the joke in the picture somewhat valid. Also, we absolutely admire the creativity that must have gone into this.
Escape Velocities of Planetary Bodies
Escape velocity is the least speed a body must possess to escape the gravitational attraction of a planet or planetary-mass object, like the moon. For instance, the escape velocity of the earth, disregarding atmospheric resistance, is about 11.2 km per second.
This is the lowest velocity a rocket must have to escape into space. While the escape velocity of the sun is 618 km/s, it is almost inconsequential. This is because at the super-hot temperature of the sun's surface, even if you were light, there's no escaping for you. This is also the reason light cannot escape black holes: The escape velocity it needs to break from the black hole's gravity is bigger than the speed of light!
The Beauty of the Interconnected Universe
Discoveries are like dominos; one often leads to the other. With the invention of machines and the formation of laws, we have come to see that several objects in the universe look alike, act alike, or are simply just Interconnected. Two vastly different things can be so similar.
The picture above can be tagged as pure coincidence or the symbol of something greater. Even if it were simply coincidence, in less literal terms, it lets us know that everything in the universe shares the same patterns: some spiral, some wavy, ETC.
Pluto's Heart-shaped Sea of Poisonous Ice
Pluto is often referred to as a dwarf planet, but that does not make it any less spectacular than any of the properly classified planets. Tom W. Tombaugh discovered it, and it has a poisoned heart. Unrelated? Strange? Please stick with us.
On Pluto is a heart-shaped sea of frozen carbon monoxide and methane. This combination would be highly poisonous to people. Hence, the popular saying is that Pluto has a poisonous heart.
Hector- The Space Rat
This may come as a bit of a shock to you but mice were among the first animals to go to space and come back alive. In 1960, the Soviet Sputnik 5 took dogs, a rabbit, 42 mice, two rats, and several fruit flies into space. It was the first mission to return animals alive after space travel.
One year later, France launched a rat named Hector into space. Hector reached a height of over ninety miles before he was brought back. He made it out alive as well. Taking this as a good sign, France launched two more rats into space the following year.
The Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda galaxy, originally called the Andromeda Nebula, is the nearest galaxy to our Milky Way. This is despite its distance of 2.5 million light years away from our Earth. The picture below is that of this galaxy, also known as Messier 31 or M31.
The Andromeda galaxy is enormous, way bigger than the Milky Way. It is said to contain about a trillion stars. This makes it easy to sport on a dark, cloudless, and moonless night. Just look up to the night sky, on the northeastern side. You should find it.
Jupiter Through Time
Everything changes, for better or worse, with time. Space crafts and planets are no exceptions. These evolving pictures of Jupiter are enough proof that with time, it all gets better. As you will see, with each image, the picture gets clearer.
The most recent pictures of Jupiter were taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft which has only been orbiting Jupiter for six years. It was launched in 2011 and reached Jupiter in 2016. Juno was the first spacecraft to send the clearest pictures of Jupiter's poles.
A Hole in the Sun
A gigantic hole in the star of our solar system may seem like a sure recipe for disaster, but it's not. Holes in the sun's atmosphere seem to be a common affair, however, this one may have made the news because of its size.
The black spots represent gaps in the sun's corona- the outermost layer of its atmosphere. The brighter spots are the parts where maximum activity is registered. The dark spots, however, mean that only little radiation is being emitted from those areas.
Galileo's Drawings of the Moon
The moon is a celestial body. It is also the Earth's only satellite with a diameter that is about a quarter of the Earth's. The first person to draw the moon was Thomas Harriot in July 1609. It, however, seems that Galileo's drawings, made some months later, had more clarity and are, therefore, more recognized.
The picture above shows what Galileo saw through his telescope that fateful night several centuries ago. The drawings show the moon in different phases. Today, the drawings are still widely recognized and constantly referred to.
The Sun: A Ball of Fire
The sun is the literal center of our solar system. Its gravity holds it together. Without it, most essential life processes on earth would cease. This is how important this flaming ball is to us.
This is a close-up image of the sun. Even as a picture, it's blinding, and we can almost feel the heat coming off our screen in waves. The sun is made of super-hot gasses that give it a surface temperature of 5 500°C. The true color of the Sun is either white or green, it is not yellow at all.
The Concept of Time Dilation
Did you know that you will experience time differently depending on the gravity and relative velocity of your position in the universe? This is why astronauts in space, like those aboard the ISS, tend to age more slowly than the people on earth.
The concept behind this is called time dilation. Time dilation is based on Einstein's theories of special relativity and general relativity. Depending on how fast you are moving through space, one year for you may equal ten on earth. That is why time slows down near black holes: their massive gravity slows time.
Venus in Transit
A transit of Venus happens when Venus passes the front of the sun, and the passage is visible from here on earth. Only Venus and Mercury can pass in front of the sun and be seen from our viewpoint on earth because they are located between us and the Sun.
The orbits of Mercury and Venus are within that of Earth. The tiny black sphere on the sun represents Venus. Venus transit often occurs in pairs that are separated by eight years. Between each pair, there can be a gap of 105.5 or 121.5 years.
A Closer View of Mercury
Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system. It is also the closest to the sun, which means it is extremely hot and almost impossible to see until after sunset (western horizon) or before sunrise (Eastern horizon).
This is a close-up image of Mercury's surface taken by MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging), which is the first spacecraft to orbit the planet. This image suggests an atypical interior and a dynamic history.
The Falcon 9 Rocket's Launch Arc
What happens when a rocket is launched into space is a mystery to many of us. All we know is that it leaves the earth. This picture captured several years ago is a graphical representation of a rocket as it leaves and returns.
On the 18th of July, 2016, Space Launch Complex 40 launched a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket. The first stage of the rocket returned in about nine minutes. The picture above shows its ascent (on the left) and its descent (on the right).
The International Space Station(ISS) orbited Earth more than 100,000 times
The International Space Station is a multinational collaborative space project in which five space agencies- NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada)- were involved. It is, till today, the largest space station in low Earth orbit.
Since the ISS was launched in 1998, as of today, it has orbited the earth over 100,000 times. It orbits the earth at a speed of 7.66 km/s, and each orbit takes 92.9 minutes. This means the ISS goes around the earth approximately 15.5 times each day.
Hubble's Image of the hour-glass Nebula
About nine years after the Hubble Space telescope was launched into space in 1990, it captured an image of the Southern Crab Nebula. It was stunning and mysterious, yet it doesn't hold a candle to this new anniversary picture.
Twenty years later, the Hubble telescope returned its lenses to the view of the Southern Crab Nebula and sent back this stupendous image. We hope to get more magnificent ones in the next few years to come.
The Mystery of Quantum Physics
Quantum Physics is a branch of physics that studies matter at its most fundamental level. Quantum Physics is just a load of incomprehensible words and numbers to many of us. However, it can be fun, enlightening, and even, at times, comprehensible.
This picture states one of the concepts of reality brought about by quantum physics. Here, it states how as you go deeper into the innards of an atom, you find nothing but energy waves. This suggests that an atom is an invisible force field.
The Theory of Wormholes
Wormholes are speculative products of several Einstein theories. It is supposed to be a structure that connects two distant points in spacetime. In more visual terms, it is a tunnel with its ends at two separate points in spacetime.
At the moment, no wormhole has been discovered in the universe. However, several of Einstein's theories and field equations point to the possibility of their existence. This is why it is still speculation for now, but several scientists believe they may find one someday.
A Typhoon as Seen From Space
A Typhoon is a tropical storm common in the western Pacific oceans. A Typhoon, as seen on earth, is terrifying and magnificent simultaneously. It is often destructive, tearing houses down and damaging crops. However, have you ever imagined what a Typhoon might look like from space?
The picture above shows the image of a Typhoon as captured in space. The image was captured by astronauts aboard the International Space Station already mentioned aboard. The eye of the storm is wide and clear, and so is the nearly perfect symmetry.
The 4 Ways the World May End
While most scientists are coming around to the idea of the Big Bang as the ultimate source of creation, there are still disparities in how they think the world may end. There are four common ways scientists presume our universe might end.
The idea of the Big rip involves the dark energy that causes our universe to expand. Scientists think it may become overbearing and rip everything apart. The Big Freeze, as you may have, involves a drop in temperature until everything freezes over. The Big Crunch seems to assume the universe is folding in on itself, while the Big Slurp involves a singular force obliterating the universe.
River Nile As Seen from Space
Several images of objects in space have shown how magnificent anything can be when viewed from a different perspective. However, nothing does justice to the beauty of the earth than this image of the Nile River as seen from space.
The almost green line snaking its way along the surface of the sphere is the River Nile. At night, the Nile River looks good when viewed from space. This is what Scott Kelly, a NASA astronaut, tells us that he sees when he looks down from his place aboard the International Space Station.
An Earth-like is swallowed at every second
A black hole, as previously described, is a region of space-time with such powerful gravity that nothing can escape from it. Recently, scientists have discovered the fastest-growing black hole some seven billion light years away. It is growing at break-neck speed.
This black hole is named SMSS J114447. 77-430859.3”, or “J1144”, is swallowing the mass equivalent of our earth every second. Take a second to imagine that. It is extremely bright and can be easily seen with regular astrology backyard equipment. It has been called the fastest-growing black hole of the last nine billion years.
Flying on Saturn's Largest Moon- Titan
Not all planets in our solar system allow winged flight. This is because of the ratio of atmospheric density to surface gravity. Thanks to this, only a very select few worlds allow winged flight. They include Venus, Mars, Earth, Titan, and the outer gas planets.
Titan is Saturn's largest moon, with a very high ratio of atmospheric density to surface gravity. This has greatly reduced the wingspan required for an airborne object to remain in the air. The gravity is so low and its atmosphere so thick that a human could easily attach wings to their back, wear a spacesuit and fly through Titan's atmosphere.
Saturn's Hexagon North Pole
Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system, right after Jupiter. It is separated from the sun by five other planets. This planet is a giant ball of gas almost a hundred times bigger than the earth. Saturn's north pole, however, is a more interesting subject.
Saturn has a persistent nearly hexagonal cloud pattern around its north pole at about 78°N. It is often called Saturn's hexagon. Scientists believe that this hexagon is a result of the vortexes that occur at Saturn's north pole and create a horizontal jet near the equator.
The Spaghetti Nebula- Simeis 147
The Spaghetti Nebula, also known as SNR G180.0-01.7 or Sharpless 2-240, is a remnant of a supernova in the Milky Way. It is about 3,000 light years away from earth, straddling the border between Taurus and Auriga.
The Simeis 147 is very large and while the picture above is quite bright, it is way dimmer than the image depicts. The Spaghetti Nebula was first discovered by Grigory Shajn and his team at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in 1952 at by Grigory Shajn. They used a Schmidt camera and a narrowband filter.
Crater on the Moon
A crater is a bowl-shaped hollow, usually large, found in the ground or on a celestial body, like a planet. Craters are often caused by explosions or the forceful impacts of meteorites. One of such objects was found on Mars decades ago.
The picture above is that of the Korolev crater discovered on Mars by the European Space Agency. The image was captured by the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). It shows an 82 km wide bowl filled with water ice.
Warning About Solar System Collapse
Scientists warned us about how a passing star can alter our solar system and even cause it to collapse. They let us know that the solar system might collapse even if Neptune's orbit is altered by as little as 0.1 percent by a passing star.
The picture depicts a stellar flyby, which is a common occurrence in the cosmos, and how it can lead to a catastrophic occurrence. Scientists created this condition about 3000 times, and several of them concluded with a conclusion.
Comet Leonard
A comet is a celestial body made of dust and ice. It usually orbits the sun with a long tail, emitting gas and dust. This explains where it got its name which in Greek means long-haired. The comet Leonard is one of these beautiful objects.
The comet Leonard was first spotted in January 2021 by G.J. Leonard at Mount Lemmon Observatory. No wonder it's called comet Leonard, right? The picture above is that of the comet and its wondrous gaseous tail.
A Compilation of Nebulae
A nebula is a giant cloud of gas and dust in outer space. The gas and dust particles may be the remnants of the explosion of a dying star, like a supernova. A nebula is often visible in the night sky as a hazy bright patch or a dark silhouette against other bright matter. It is also the place where new stars are born. The cradle of stars, if you wish.
This is a picture showing several Nebulas, supernovas, and stars. It goes a long way to show just how complicated and beautiful the concept of space, and its elements, is.