Category: Astronomy

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Astronomy Physics Planet Earth

10 Amazing Facts about Space

Milky Way
Milky Way is our home galaxy in the universe. It is a barred spiral galaxy with a diameter between 150,000 and 200,000 light-years (ly). It is estimated to contain 100–400 billion stars. Earth is a part of the Milky Way Galaxy which, in turn, is a part of a cluster of galaxies known as the Local Group. Further, the Local Group is a small part of the Virgo Supercluster which is a cluster of cluster of galaxies, comprising of thousands of other galaxies. Like the Virgo Supercluster, there are countless other superclusters as well. Until the early 1920s, most astronomers thought that the Milky Way contained all the stars in the Universe. Then, observations by the American astronomer Edwin Hubble (November 20, 1889 - September 28, 1953) showed that the Milky Way is just one of many galaxies.

The endless depths of the sky intrigue almost all humans alike. Space is like an abstract dream coming to life when it unfolds into a number of unseen horizons. The enormous nebulas, staggering hypernovae and the smattering of countless planets and stars make it a canvas of muse.

We are but a speck of dust in a desert full of possibilities when compared to the vastness of space. There are many realities prospering in the skies above us, it is only natural that we are still unaware of the majority of phenomena taking place on and around the stars.

Just like the count of stars, there are unlimited obscure and consternating facts dwelling in the depths of space. Most of them are surprising and are reminders for us that we are just an addition to the universe. Let us take a swim into the sky with these 10 amazing facts which are bound to fascinate you.

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Astronomy

The Milky Way as You’ve Never Seen It Before (video)

Milky Way from Las Campanas Observatory. Photo by Yuri Beletsky
This is a picture of nighttime sky - the best kind of nighttime sky that anybody on Earth could hope to see. It was taken from the Las Campanas Observatory in northern Chile by astronomer Yuri Beletsky. In this photo, you're seeing a fairly realistic image of what the nighttime sky should really look without light pollution. Notice there's a red dot at upper right corner: it is a total lunar eclipse. And at the left handside, you can see the large and small Magellanic clouds, which are two irregular dwarf galaxies, orbiting the Milky Way. In other words, they are the satellite galaxies of our galaxy. You can also see the Earth's multi-colored airglow.

In April 2018, the European Space Agency’s Gaia observatory released its second data catalog, which includes the distances to over 1.3 billion stars. In the video published by the American Museum of Natural History, the museum’s astrophysicist Jackie Faherty breaks down why this information is so revolutionary and explains how this information is helping scientists and non-scientists alike understand the universe like never before.

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Planet Earth Astronomy Places

50 Interesting Facts About Earth

The Blue Marble
In December 1972, Apollo 17 spacecraft took a photo of Earth from space, at a distance of about 45,000 kilometers (28,000 miles). This image, with the official NASA designation AS17-148-22727, became known as "The Blue Marble", one of the most iconic photos of Earth from space. In fact, it was not the first clear image of Earth taken from space - similar photos had already been taken as early as 1967. But, the 1970s were the scene of a big surge in environmental activism. For example, on April 22, 1970, the first "Earth Day" was organized by Gaylord Nelson, former senator of Wisconsin, and Denis Hayes, a Harvard graduate student. Millions of people gather in the United States for the event. So, in today's terms, image AS17-148-22727 went "viral" and became a symbol of the environmental movement, as a depiction of Earth's frailty, vulnerability, and isolation amid the vast expanse of space. According to NASA archivist Mike Gentry, it is among the most widely distributed images in human history.

One of the most surprising facts about the Earth is how we easily forget that what an amazing and interesting planet we live on. As Carl Sagan pointed out, “It’s home, it’s us”. It is the only known planet to support an atmosphere with free oxygen, liquid water on the surface, and, perhaps this is the most important amazing, life. Here are 50 interesting facts about Earth.

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Photography Astronomy Solar System

This is probably the most beautiful Solar Eclipse photo ever

Great American Total Solar Eclipse photo (Jon Carmichael)
Photographer Jon Carmichael chose another way. He got aboard a Southwest Airlines aircraft and captured the Great American Total Solar Eclipse from an unusual vantage point at 39,000 feet (11,890 meters). And the result is probably the most beautiful Solar Eclipse photo ever. Carmichael shot over 1,200 photos in two minutes at 39,000 feet and managed to perfectly capture the total eclipse over Snake River, a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. The result was so beautiful that Inc. calls it "the most amazing image ever taken from a commercial airplane". Limited edition prints of this wonderful image are now available for purchase via the photographer's website

More than a year ago, on Monday, August 21, around 2 million to 7.4 million Americans traveled to see the first total solar eclipse in 99 years to go coast to coast in the United States. Photographer Jon Carmichael chose another way. He got aboard a Southwest Airlines aircraft and captured the Great American Total Solar Eclipse from an unusual vantage point at 39,000 feet (11,890 meters). And the result is probably the most beautiful Solar Eclipse photo ever.

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Astrobiology Astronomy Earth from Space Life on Earth Plants Prehistoric Space Exploration

Earth can be a model for detecting vegetation on exoplanets

Amazon from space
This image of the Amazon rainforest is from a 2010 global map of the height of the world's forests based on multiple satellite datasets. Image: NASA The Amazon rainforest is the biggest rainforest in the world. It covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 km2 (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations. The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

Back in December 1990, during its flyby of Earth, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, which studied the planet Jupiter and its moons, as well as several other Solar System bodies, pointed its instruments towards Earth, at the urging of Carl Sagan. And, it has found evidence of life on our planet. This can be a key to detecting vegetation on exoplanets – which is key to a possible intelligent extraterrestrial life.

In a paper published in Nature, researchers wrote “The Galileo spacecraft found evidence of abundant gaseous oxygen, a widely distributed surface pigment with a sharp absorption edge in the red part of the visible spectrum, and atmospheric methane in extreme thermodynamic disequilibrium. Together, these are strongly suggestive of life on Earth.”

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Solar System Astronomy Science Fiction Space Exploration

5 Surprising Facts about Mars

Mars - Valles Marineris Hemisphere Enhanced
Mars may once have been more hospitable to life than it is now. Scientists think the magnetosphere of Mars collapsed around 3.7 billion years ago, and it eventually lost its atmosphere. Now, Mars has a very thin atmosphere: the atmospheric pressure on the Martian surface averages 600 pascals (0.087 psi; 6.0 mbar), about only 0.6% of Earth's mean sea level pressure of 101.3 kilopascals (14.69 psi; 1.013 bar). Photo: NASA

For eons, skywatchers have been fascinated by the pale red dot that not only unpredictably moves backward in the night sky but also shines a compelling blood-red. Its color, indeed, is one of the first features we notice about Mars. It seizes our attention, and its compelling ambiguity has evoked a deep visceral reaction from the nomad in ancient savannas to modern astronomers.

The ancient astronomer may be satisfied to know that, in fact, Mars is literally blood-red: the same chemical reaction that occurs in the iron in Mars’ soil is the same as the same chemical reaction that occurs in the hemoglobin molecule. Mars, is, quite literally, blood red. Even with our cutting-edge technology and science, Mars still bewitches and amazes us as seen with these five surprising facts about Mars.

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Astronomy

7 Biggest Stars in the Universe

A star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud
A star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. A star is type of astronomical object consisting of a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its own gravity. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. At a distance of about 50 kiloparsecs (~163,000 light-years), the LMC is the second or third-closest galaxy to the Milky Way, after the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal (~16 kpc) and the possible dwarf irregular galaxy known as the Canis Major Overdensity. Image: Wikipedia. The image is from the European Space Agency. It is listed as the LH 95 star forming region of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The image was taken using the Hubble Space Telescope (ESA/Hubble).

What is the biggest star in the Universe? In fact, it is really hard to give an exact answer to this question since the universe is big, neighboring and the other galaxies are billions of light-years away from us. But, we can give it a try. Here are the top 7 biggest stars in the universe currently known by radius.

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Astronomy Space Exploration

Top 21 Common Misconceptions about Space

Common misconceptions about space: a spacecraft is navigating through space rocks like depicted in movies.
Common misconceptions about space: An asteroid belt does not look like this. Despite Hollywood depictions of dense asteroid fields -like in Star Wars or 65- the real Asteroid Belt is incredibly sparse. The average distance between objects is about 600,000 miles (965,606 km), which is over 2.5 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. In reality, a spacecraft wouldn't need to dodge swarms of rocks; the belt is mostly empty space. Flying through it is far safer and less dramatic than movies suggest, making scenes of perilous asteroid-dodging highly unrealistic.

There are countless misconceptions about space, fueled by science-fiction movies with poor science and sensational tabloid headlines. These myths distort our understanding of the universe. Here are 21 common space myths that we need to stop believing.

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Space Exploration Solar System

Lunar Landmarks meets Debussy’s “Moonlight” in this Amazing NASA Video

NASA Lunar landmarks video "Moonlight"
NASA's Lunar landmarks video "Moonlight". NASA has published an amazing video titled "Moonlight (Clair de Lune)", which attempts to capture the mood of the French composer Claude Debussy's (22 August 1862 - 25 March 1918) best-known composition, Clair de Lune (moonlight in French). The piece's name comes from the French poet Paul-Marie Verlaine’s (30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) poem Clair de lune, “moonlight” in French. It is written in 9/8 meter, marked andante très expressif, and to be played mostly pianissimo.

NASA has published an amazing video titled “Moonlight (Clair de Lune)”, which attempts to capture the mood of the French composer Claude Debussy’s (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) best-known composition, Clair de Lune (moonlight in French).

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Astrobiology Solar System

Life on the Moon? New study suggests there was a habitability window 4 billion years ago

Rotating Moon
NASA APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) published an amazing video showing a rotating Moon. In fact, no one sees the Moon rotate like this. We see only one side of the moon, because the Moon is tidally locked to Earth. But, thanks to modern digital technology combined with many detailed images returned by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a high-resolution virtual Moon rotation movie has been composed.

The Moon is completely uninhabitable and lifeless today – a dusty, dry rock. It has no atmosphere, there is no liquid water on the surface, and, maybe most important, it has no magnetosphere to protect its surface from solar wind and cosmic radiation. But, according to a new study published in Astrobiology, it may have looked quite different around four billion years ago: its surface was not as dry as it is today, and conditions to support simple life on the Moon existed twice during the early years.

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