Ecology

The cosmos is full of bizarre and even scary phenomena, ranging from stars that suck the life out of their own kind to giant black holes that are billions of times larger and more massive than our Sun. Below are the scariest things in outer space.

planet is a ghost

Many astronomers have said that the huge planet Fomalhaut B has sunk into oblivion, but it seems to be alive again.

Back in 2008, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope announced the discovery of a huge planet orbiting the very bright star Fomalhaut, just 25 light years away from Earth. Other researchers later questioned this discovery, saying that scientists had actually detected a giant dust cloud being imaged.

However, according to the latest data from Hubble, the planet is showing up again and again. Other experts are carefully studying the system surrounding the star, so the zombie planet may be buried more than once before a final verdict is made on this issue.

Zombies are stars

Some stars are literally coming back to life in a brutal and dramatic way. Astronomers classify these zombie stars as Type Ia supernovae, which generate huge and powerful explosions that send the "innards" of stars into the universe.

Type Ia supernovae explode from binary systems that consist of at least one white dwarf- a tiny, superdense star that has ceased to pass through the fusion of a nuclear reaction. White dwarfs are "dead", but in this form they cannot remain in a binary system.

They can come back to life, albeit briefly, in a giant explosion along with a supernova, sucking life out of their companion star or by merging with it.

Stars are vampires

Just like the vampires fiction, some stars manage to stay young by sucking the life force out of unfortunate victims. These vampire stars are known as "blue stragglers" and "look" much younger than their neighbors with whom they were formed.

When they explode, the temperature is much higher, and the color is "much bluer." Scientists believe this is the case because they suck huge amounts of hydrogen from nearby stars.

Giant black holes

Black holes may appear to be objects science fiction- they are extremely dense, and the gravity in them is so strong that even light is not able to escape from them if it approaches them at a close enough distance.

But these are very real objects that are quite common throughout the universe. In fact, astronomers believe that supermassive black holes are at the center of most if not all galaxies, including ours. Milky Way. Supermassive black holes are mind-boggling in size. Scientists recently discovered two black holes, each with the mass of 10 billion of our Suns.

Unfathomable cosmic blackness

If you are afraid of the dark, then being in deep space is clearly not for you. It is a place of "extreme blackness", far from the comforting home lights. Outer space is black, according to scientists, because it is empty.

Despite the trillions of stars scattered throughout the cosmos, many molecules are at a huge distance from each other to interact and scatter.

Spiders and witch's brooms

The skies are filled with witches, glowing skulls and all-seeing eyes, in fact you can imagine any object. We see all of these forms in the diffuse collection of glowing gas and dust called nebulae that are scattered throughout the universe.

The visual images that appear before us are examples of a special phenomenon in which human brain recognizes shapes of random images.

Killer asteroids

The phenomena cited in the previous paragraph can be eerie or take abstract form but they do not pose a threat to humanity. What cannot be said about large asteroids that fly at a distance close to the Earth.

Experts say that a 1 kilometer wide asteroid has the power to destroy our planet in a collision. And even an asteroid only 40 meters in size can cause serious harm if it hits a populated area.

The influence of an asteroid is one of the factors that affects life on Earth. It is likely that 65 million years ago it was an asteroid 10 kilometers in size that destroyed the dinosaurs. Lucky for us, scientists are scanning the sky, and there are ways to redirect dangerous space rocks away from Earth if the danger is detected in time.

active sun

The sun gives us life, but our star is not always so good. Serious storms play out on it from time to time, which can have a potentially devastating effect on radio communications, satellite navigation and the operation of electrical networks.

Recently, such solar flares have been observed especially often, because the sun has entered its especially active phase of the 11-year cycle. The researchers expect that solar Activity will reach its peak in 2013.

While mankind has been observing the stars since ancient times, it is only recently that we have made incredible strides in the study of outer space. Using mathematics, telescopes and satellites, we continue to study the Universe surrounding our small blue planet. However, there remains much more to be learned, much we do not know and cannot explain. Most of the universe is full mysterious phenomena beyond the scope of our understanding. Curious to travel among the stars and find out what puzzles scientists?

Here are 25 Strange Things Happening in Outer Space That Can't Be Explained.

1. Zombie Star

When stars explode, they usually die and remain dead. But recently, scientists discovered a supernova that exploded, died, but then exploded again. Such zombie stars, scientists believe, can only partially explode while keeping the core intact, and then explode several times before finally dying.

ASASSN-15lh is the largest star explosion ever detected by astronomers. They believe that it is 20 times brighter than our entire Milky Way. They are not sure which galaxy the light from the explosion came from, but they believe it is 3.8 billion light-years away. They are still not sure what exactly and how could produce such a release of energy.

1991 VG is a mysterious object discovered by astronomer James Scotti. Only 10 meters in diameter, it has the same orbit as the Earth, and many believed that it could be an asteroid, an alien spaceship or an old Russian probe.

4. Signal "Wow!"

In 1977, astronomer Jerry Ehman discovered a radio signal from space. It captured a 72-second burst of radio waves. He circled them on a piece of paper and wrote “Wow!” next to them, which is how the signal got its name. For decades, no one knew where he came from, but many believed that they were aliens. However, a recent theory suggests that the radio waves were released by a pair of comets.

5. Dark stream

Clusters of galaxies near the constellations Centaurus and Hydra are moving at a speed of a million kilometers per hour in a certain direction. This is called the dark stream. However, the dark stream is debatable because it technically shouldn't exist, and scientists can't explain why it's there. Its existence also points to something outside our universe that is pulling these clusters of galaxies.

In 2015, astronomers saw that something strange was happening to the star KIC 8462852. Its brightness was constantly changing, and many have suggested that this may be caused by the presence of an alien megastructure. But upon closer examination, the scientists concluded that it is possible that a cloud of dust orbiting the star blocks the light every 700 days or so. More research is needed.

7. Re-ionization of the Universe

While the main theory of the creation of the universe is Big Bang, after which there was a period of time called the Reionization Era, which remains obscure. It is believed that this period lasted 1 billion years until galaxies and stars appeared that reionized the hydrogen in the universe. The problem, however, is that all the galaxies and stars known today would not have enough energy to do this.

8 Rectangular Galaxy

In 2012, astronomers discovered a rather unusual galaxy called LEDA 074886. What is so strange about it? The fact is that such rectangular galaxies have never been discovered before. Scientists thought that this shape could be explained by the effect of a gravitational lens, but this was considered implausible.

9. Baryon matter

Astronomers have trouble finding dark matter and dark energy in the universe, but they also can't figure out baryonic matter. Baryon matter is the atoms and ions that make up the planets, stars, dust and gas in the universe. Most of them mysteriously disappeared, and scientists are not sure what caused it.

10. Dark energy

Dark energy is a hypothetical material that scientists claim is part of an ever-expanding universe, but no one really understands what it is. Recently, some astronomers have come out with the claim that dark energy does not exist at all, and that the universe is not accelerating as we once thought.

11. The mysterious moon of Saturn

Named Peggy, the mysterious moon in one of Saturn's rings continues to baffle scientists. It was noticed recently, in 2013, and it is believed that the moon formed in rings, but no one is 100% sure about this. When Cassini crashed into the planet, researchers gained more data about the moon that could help unlock its secrets.

12. Gamma Splash

In the 1960s during cold war, American satellites detected bursts of radiation coming from space. The bursts were intense, brief, and from an unknown source. Now we know that these are gamma-ray bursts. They are short and long and sometimes happen due to the formation of a black hole. However, they do not cease to be a mystery. Why do bursts appear more often in irregular galaxies than in spiral or elliptical galaxies, and why are they usually few and not many?

13. Rings of Saturn

Thanks to the Cassini probe, we have learned a lot about Saturn's rings. But there's still a lot we can't explain. While we know that its rings are made of water and ice, we don't know how they formed or how old they are.

14. UFO sighting by Major Gordon Cooper

Major Gordon Cooper was an astronaut on the Mercury spacecraft that was sent into Earth orbit. While he was in space, Cooper claimed to have seen a glowing green object approaching his capsule. He alerted the tracking station in Muchea, Australia, and they tracked the object on radar. Nobody can explain what it was.

15. Great Attractor

Originally discovered in the 1970s, the Great Attractor remains a mystery because it is located in what is known as the “Zone of Avoidance.” The "Zone of Avoidance" is the middle of our galaxy, where there is so much dust and gas that we can't see anything underneath. The only way to see anything - use x-rays and infrared light. The Great Attractor is, in fact, a huge cluster of galaxies that attracts us to itself. Fortunately, scientists do not believe that we will ever get close to it.

16. Cataclysmic Variables

Cataclysmic variables are rather unique and strange objects in outer space. These are white dwarf stars that are in close proximity to red giants. In fact, they are so close that the red giants rip off all the gas from the white dwarf.

17. White holes

If black holes have blown your mind, then you should prepare for white holes. While black holes suck everything in and don't let matter escape, white holes can be old black holes that regurgitate whatever was once held inside. But this is just one theory. Another theory claims that white holes could be a portal between dimensions.

18 Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Whether you believe it or not, there is much about Jupiter's existing vortex, the Great Red Spot, that we cannot explain. While we know it's been there for 150 years and is spinning at 643 km/h, scientists aren't sure what creates this vortex or why it has a reddish hue.

Mars is simply the master of all sorts of mysteries. Many scientists believe that Mars had a much more extended CO2 atmosphere. But, if so, the question remains: where did she go? Some people think that the absence magnetic field led to the fact that the solar winds dispersed the bulk of the atmosphere in space. As for the planet's remaining atmosphere, most of it is made up of methane, but scientists don't know where the methane came from. There is also the question of water and life on Mars. Puzzled scientists are actively trying to get to the bottom.

20. Dark matter

Dark matter remains one of the biggest mysteries in outer space. First conceptualized in 1977, it is believed to make up 27 percent of the universe and is essentially behind all the invisible matter in space. But there's a lot we don't know about her yet.

21. Giant void

Scientists have discovered a place in the universe they call the "Giant Void". It turns out it lives up to its name. At 1.8 billion light-years across, it is a completely empty patch of space without any galaxies. It is located at a distance of about 3 billion light years from Earth. Scientists are not sure what the void really is and how it became void.

22. Hot Jupiters

Hot Jupiters are gas giants like Jupiter but much hotter. They orbit very close to their stars. Since there is nothing like it in our solar system, scientists thought it was something strange. But, in fact, it is our system that can be considered strange, since Hot Jupiters are much more common than first thought. These giants are surrounded by many mysteries, such as how they formed and why they orbit so close to their stars.

23. Tank on the Moon

UFO hunters claimed to have found a tank-shaped object in a black-and-white photograph of the Moon's surface. It could be a tank, but most likely just an oddly shaped boulder.

24. Black holes

There are many things we know about black holes, such as that their mass is enormous and even light cannot escape them, and they are probably the product of an exploding star. However, many questions still confuse scientists. For example, how does a black hole suck in gas and dust orbiting around it, even though it should always keep them in orbit? In addition, although we are familiar with small black holes formed from exploding stars, scientists are still not sure how supermassive black holes form.

25. Explosions of stars

When stars explode, they turn into giant fireballs called supernovae. But it remains a mystery how this happens. While astronomers have used computer simulations to better understand the mechanics of the process, what happens inside a star at the moment of the explosion is still a mystery.

Back in the early 20th century, scientists believed our galaxy was unique. Today, astronomers estimate that the visible part of the universe alone contains more than 125 billion (stop and think about that number) galaxies.

How many stars are in each? Trillions. Their mass does not lend itself to real understanding - even theoretical physicists hide behind equations.

Imagine now that somewhere out there, so far away that we don’t even see it, there is an incredibly huge something. And this something gradually attracts our part of the Universe to itself. Scientists call this "something" the Great Attractor. And among themselves they call the most terrible thing in space!

motion search

From the introduction, you roughly understood how majestic and immense the Universe is. You can move on to the details: in the vicinity of the solar system, theoretical physicists have counted approximately 130 superclusters of galaxies. All this is within a radius of 1.5 billion light years. It's all moving. But where?

Where are we flying

The Milky Way, in the company of the galaxies of the constellation Virgo and the supercluster of galaxies of the constellation Coma Veronica, and even an immense amount of cosmic matter that has not yet been explained, flies at a terrible speed of 600 kilometers per second. We are pulled by an incredible, unimaginable source of gravity. What will happen when we all finally get there? It's not clear yet.

frightening calculations

Once physicists realized that everything was moving, they began to calculate the mass of the ultimate source of gravity. According to the very first estimates, the total mass of this object exceeds that of several tens of thousands of large galaxies.

funnel of fate

And now the entire part of the Universe visible to us is gradually drawn into this very funnel. Scientists cannot yet imagine how much matter this cosmic anomaly has already collected. In 1986, the physicist Alan Dressler, amazed by his calculations, called it the Great Attractor.

Yes, what is it!

The modern development of technology simply does not allow scientists to "see" what exactly is in such a distance. The nature of the object is controversial and constantly discussed.

A few years ago, a group of MIT physicists suggested that the Great Attractor is a relic curvature of space-time that formed at the dawn of the Universe.

We will ask you once again to stop and consider all of the above. Just try to imagine a time when the universe itself did not exist!

Grand Magnet

After years of study, scientists can only say one thing: The Great Attractor is the largest supercluster of galaxies in the universe. But even this incredible mass of galaxies is not enough to explain the attraction!

Physicists suggest that outside the part of space that we see, there is still some kind of grandiose structure that is part of the Great Attractor. Maybe there's an incredible amount hiding there dark matter, which is still unknown to us.

unknown factor

The fog is also added by the fact that recently scientists were able to simulate the process of the formation of the Universe on supercomputers.

The equations included all the forces known to science, but as a result, the model did not show any attractor. In other words, this structure simply cannot exist in nature. And in general, what causes galaxies to “flock together”? Perhaps galaxies are not just collections of matter. Perhaps they are even intelligent. Maybe.

multiverse

Scientists are leaning more and more towards the multiverse theory. Our universe is just one of these universes that do not touch each other.

This theory could indirectly explain the existence of the Great Attractor: what if our Universe “leaked” and now we are all simply sucked into the neighboring Universe by a kind of pressure drop?

Of course, all this sounds very strange - but the very existence of the Great Attractor simply defies comprehension.

The most terrible planets in the universe are presented. Space exploration is a great adventure. Its mysteries have always fascinated us, and new discoveries will expand our knowledge of the universe.

The most terrible planets in the universe are presented. Space exploration is a great adventure. Its mysteries have always fascinated us, and new discoveries will expand our knowledge of the universe. However, let this list serve as a warning to avid intergalactic travelers. The universe can also be a very scary place. Let's hope no one ever gets stuck in one of these ten worlds.

10 Carbon Planet

The ratio of oxygen and carbon on our planet is high. In fact, carbon makes up only 0.1% of the entire mass of our planet (because of this, there is such a shortage of carbon materials such as diamonds and fossil fuels). However, near the center of our galaxy, where there is much more carbon than oxygen, the planets may have a completely different composition. This is where you can find what scientists call carbon planets. The sky of the carbon world in the morning would be anything but crystal clear and blue. Imagine a yellow mist with black clouds of soot. As you descend deeper into the atmosphere, you will notice seas of crude oil and tar. The surface of the planet seethes with stinking methane fumes and is covered with black mud. The weather forecast is also not encouraging: it is raining gasoline and bitumen (...throw away cigarettes). However, there is a positive aspect to this oil hell. You probably already guessed which one. Where there is a lot of carbon, you can find a lot of diamonds.

On Neptune, you can feel the winds reaching such terrifying speeds that they can be compared to a jet engine jet. Neptune's winds carry frozen clouds of natural gas past the northern edge of the Great Dark Spot, an Earth-sized hurricane with winds of 2,400 kilometers per hour. That's twice the speed needed to break the sound barrier. Such strong winds are naturally far beyond what a person can withstand. A person who somehow ended up on Neptune would most likely be quickly torn to pieces and forever lost in these cruel and incessant winds. It remains a mystery where the energy that fuels the fastest planetary winds in the solar system comes from, given that Neptune is located so far from the Sun, sometimes even further than Pluto, and that Neptune's internal temperature is quite low.

8. 51 Pegasi b (51 Pegasi b)

Nicknamed Bellerophon after the Greek hero who wielded the winged horse Pegasus, this giant gas planet is 150 times the size of Earth and is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. Bellerophon is roasted by his star to a temperature of 1000 degrees Celsius. The star around which the planet revolves is 100 times closer to it than the Sun is to the Earth. For starters, this temperature causes the appearance of the strongest winds in the atmosphere. The hot air rises and the cold air goes down in its place, which generates winds reaching speeds of 1000 kilometers per hour. Such heat also causes the absence of water evaporation. However, this does not mean that it does not rain here. We have come to the most important feature of Bellerophon. The highest temperatures allow the iron contained in the planet to evaporate. When iron vapors rise, they form clouds of iron, similar in nature to terrestrial clouds of water vapor. Just do not forget one important difference: when it rains from these clouds, it will be red-hot liquid iron pouring directly onto the planet (...don't forget your umbrella).

COROT-3b is the densest and heaviest exoplanet known to date. In size, it is approximately equal to Jupiter, but its mass is 20 times greater. Thus, COROT-3b is about 2 times denser than lead. The scale of the pressure exerted on a person stranded on the surface of such a planet would be unimaginable. On a planet with a mass of 20 Jupiters, a person would weigh 50 times what they weigh on Earth. This means that an 80 kilogram man will weigh as much as 4 tons on the COROT-3b! Such pressure will break a person's skeleton almost instantly - it's the same as if an elephant sits on his chest.

On Mars, a dust storm can form in just a few hours, which will cover the surface of the entire planet in a few days. These are the largest and most violent dust storms in our entire solar system. Martian dust funnels easily exceed their Earth counterparts - they reach the height of Mount Everest, and the winds rush in them at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour. After its formation, a dust storm can last for several months until it completely disappears. According to one theory, dust storms can reach such large sizes on Mars due to the fact that dust particles absorb solar heat well and warm up the atmosphere around them. The heated air moves towards colder regions, thereby forming winds. A strong wind kicks up even more dust from the surface, which in turn heats up the atmosphere, causing more wind to form and the circle to continue anew. Surprisingly, most dust storms on the planet begin their lives in a single impact crater. The Hellas Plain is the deepest crater in the solar system. The temperature at the bottom of the crater can be ten degrees warmer than at the surface, and the crater is filled with a thick layer of dust. Differences in temperature cause the formation of wind, which picks up dust, and the storm begins its further journey around the planet.

In short, this planet is the most hot planet of all currently open. Its temperature, which provides such a title, is 2200 degrees Celsius, and the planet itself is in the closest orbit to its star, compared to all other worlds known to us. Needless to say, everything known to man, including the person himself, in such an atmosphere would instantly ignite. In comparison, the surface of the planet is only twice as cold as the surface of our Sun and twice as hot as lava. The planet also revolves around its star at an incredible speed. It completes its entire orbit, located only 3.4 million kilometers from the star, in one Earth day.

Jupiter's atmosphere is home to storms twice as large as Earth itself. These giants, in turn, are home to winds that develop speeds of 650 kilometers per hour, and colossal lightning, which is 100 times brighter than terrestrial lightning. Beneath this intimidating and dark atmosphere lies an ocean 40 kilometers deep, made up of liquid metallic hydrogen. Here on Earth, hydrogen is a colorless, transparent gas, but in the core of Jupiter, hydrogen turns into something that has never been on our planet. On the outer layers of Jupiter, hydrogen is in a state of gas, as well as on Earth. But with immersion in the depths of Jupiter, the pressure of the atmosphere increases dramatically. Over time, the pressure reaches such a force that it "squeezes out" the electrons from the hydrogen atoms. Such unusual conditions Hydrogen turns into a liquid metal that conducts electricity and heat. It also begins to reflect light like a mirror. Therefore, if a person were immersed in such hydrogen, and a giant lightning flashed over him, he would not even see it.

(Note that Pluto is no longer considered a planet) Don't let the image fool you - it's not winter fairy tale. Pluto is a very cold world where frozen nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane cover the planet's surface like snow for most of Pluto's year (approximately 248 Earth years). These ices transform from white to pinkish brown due to interaction with deep space gamma rays and distant sun. On a clear day, the Sun provides Pluto with about the same amount of heat and light as the Moon gives the Earth on a full moon. At Pluto's surface temperature (-228 to -238 degrees Celsius), the human body would freeze instantly.

Temperatures on the side of the planet facing its star are so high that they can melt rock. Scientists who modeled the atmosphere of COROT-7b believe that the planet most likely does not exist volatile gas ( carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen), and the planet is made of something that can be called a molten mineral. In the atmosphere of COROT-7b, such weather events are possible during which (unlike terrestrial rains, when water droplets collect in the air) whole stones fall on the surface of a planet covered with a lava ocean. If the planet still doesn't seem uninhabitable to you, it is also a volcanic nightmare. According to some indications, scientists believe that if the orbit of COROT-7b is not perfectly round, then the gravitational forces of one or two of its sister planets can push and pull on the surface of COROT, creating a movement that warms up its interior. This warming can cause strong volcanic activity on the planet's surface - even stronger than on Jupiter's moon Io, which has more than 400 active volcanoes.

Very little was known about Venus (its dense atmosphere does not transmit light in the visible region of the spectrum) yet Soviet Union did not launch the Venus program during the space race. When the first automated interplanetary spacecraft successfully landed on Venus and began transmitting information to Earth, the Soviet Union achieved the only successful landing on the surface of Venus in human history. The surface of Venus is so changeable that the longest time that one of the AMS has endured was 127 minutes - after which, the device was simultaneously crushed and melted. So what would life be like on our most dangerous planet solar system- Venus? Well, a person would almost instantly suffocate on the toxic air, and even though the gravity on Venus is only 90% of Earth's, a person would still be crushed by the sheer weight of the atmosphere. The pressure of the Venusian atmosphere is 100 times the pressure we are used to.

Venus's atmosphere is 65 kilometers high and so dense that walking on the planet's surface would feel no different than walking 1 kilometer deep underwater on Earth. In addition to these "pleasures", a person would quickly catch fire due to a temperature of 475 degrees Celsius, and over time, even his remains would be dissolved by high concentration sulfuric acid that falls as precipitation on the surface of Venus.

Tags: planets, most