I’m sure many of you are fascinated about space and what lies beyond the unexplored. Space has been considered the ultimate frontier of human exploration and the constant discoveries of exoplanets and distant star systems has continuously baffled scientists.
Today, I’ll be covering some general facts about space, and what are some mysteries our night sky.
One: The size of our galaxy
Our humble milky way, a spiral galaxy, is about 100,000 light years in diameter. This may seem like a small fact, but that is actually a very large distance. 1 light year represents the distance light travels in 1 year, which is a baffling 9.461 to the power of 12 kilometers! Multiply this by 100,000, that would give our galaxy a total diameter of 9.461 ^ 17 kilometers, and we’re just at one end of the spectrum!
Two: Our closest solar system
The closest star system from us is called Alpha Centauri A, which is a solar system consisting of 2 stars orbiting one another. This star system may be the closest, but it is still a whopping 4.3 light years away from us! Maybe space travel will be possible one day and we will be exploring there.
Three: What lies in the center of galaxies
Astronomers has found out that in the center of every galaxy, there lies a supermassive blackhole! These objects are spheres where its density is so high that it pulls everything in. Nothing can escape a black hole’s gravity pull, even light, hence it is black.
Black holes in the center of galaxies are very massive, but because of their age, these are less active black holes and are considered gentle black holes.
This gravity around the galaxy is what causes some galaxies to have spiral arms such as ours and causes rotation in the galaxy as well.
Four: Weight vs Mass
Weight and mass are 2 different things in the context of space. In technical terms, mass is the amount of matter you have in you. Weight is the amount of gravity that is acting on said mass. That’s why mass is usually measured in grams while weight is measured in newtons.
So, you can be in a completely different planet whose gravity is much stronger, on Earth you would weigh about 80kg, but on the other planet you could be 160kg!
Five: The boötes void
There exists an area in another constellation Boötes, where there is a void of space where there are very little galaxies in it. The void is approximately 330 million light years in diameter, and with only 60 galaxies in it!
To put things in perspective, you can fit 3,300 milky ways in it from one end to the other, and you can still fit in another 3,300 in all other directions!
Until this day, no scientist can explain what the cause of this void area is, and studies are continuously being run to find out what has happened over the past few million years to have caused this!
“If the milky way had been in the center of the Boötes void, we wouldn’t have known there were other galaxies until the 1960s” – Astronomer Greg Aldering
Six: Neutron stars
There exists a type of very small star called a neutron star. Such a star is the remains of a dying star which went through a supernova explosion. Gravity has been tightening against the protons and electrons in the star which combines into neutrons, hence the name.
These stars have so strong gravity pulls, it is around 2 billion times as strong as the ones here on earth! These stars spin very fast as well, as fast as 43,000 rotations per minute!
Seven: Sound in space
You may have heard sounds of flying lasers in the Star Wars / Star Trek movies. These sounds are impossible, and you can’t hear anything when in space.
Sound requires a medium to travel through, e.g. particles that will transfer the sound energy to another until it reaches your ears. In space, there is no such particles as space is just a void! Sound will not travel from one planet to another because there is no medium in between them
However, we can hear planets and the sun even, which sounds a little ominous! Listen for yourself here:
Eight: Nebula
Nebulae are formations that happen after a supernova. Waves of air pushes the gases out into space to form majestic shapes in space! These nebulae can span over hundreds of thousands of light years long and are really a spectacle to look at!
Here is one example, the Pillars of Creation. To read more visit us at www.infolores.com
