Space Facts
25. Red Giant Betelgeuse, 1000 times larger than our sun, is a cosmic neighbor and expected to go supernova in the next 1,000 years!
24. Some scientists theorize that life is only possible in the outer edges of a galaxy, where large stars are rare and thus supernovas don't routinely sterilize worlds of life.
23. We ourselves are between two arms of the milky- way, and in a relatively rural part of the galaxy.
22. Extending well past the orbit of Pluto is a massive sphere of icy objects known as the Oort Cloud. These are remnants from the formation of the solar system, held in place by the weak gravity of the very distant sun.
21. Every few million years as we orbit the center of the Milky Way we enter a region of space full of cosmic debris. Some scientists theorize that this debris may disturb the fragile orbits of objects in the Oort Cloud and send them hurtling into the solar system. The timing of our entry into this region of the Milky Way coincides with several mass extinction events here on Earth.
20. Panspermia is the theory that life is transmitted like a virus from planet to planet by asteroid and comet impacts.
19. A meteorite discovered in Antarctica was found to originate from Mars, and after careful examination some scientists believe it shows fossilized evidence of microscopic organisms- giving serious credibility to the Panspermia theory. We might all actually be martians!
18. It's thought that this meteorite was launched into space from Mars when a massive asteroid struck the planet, sending debris hurtling out of the atmosphere. In time its orbit intersected with the Earth and may have brought its martian hitchhikers with it!
17. In 2008 an ESA mission sent tardi grades- tiny microscopic organisms- into space. After ten days of exposure to the vacuum of space, ultraviolet radiation from the sun, and cosmic rays, they were returned to Earth still alive!
16. Before the tardi grades, only some lichen and bacteria were known to survive exposure to space- meaning Panspermia may be a valid theory for the origin of life on earth.
15. Because there is no atmosphere on the moon,the footprints and tire prints left on the Moon by American astronauts will never disappear unless an asteroid impact wipes them out.
14. Not only does Jupiter have the most moons in our solar system with 79- but as of right now it has the most moons of any known planet in our galaxy.
13. Many scientists think that without Jupiter life on earth would be impossible. That's because the giant of our solar system exerts such a strong gravity that it pulls in many comets and asteroids that might heavy impacted on Earth. Jupiter is like our personal bodyguard!
12. Once thought rare outside of the Earth, water has been found practically everywhere in the solar system even on Mercury where scientists never dreamed it would be possible! In 2011 NASA's Messenger probe discovered water ice in craters on Mercury's north pole. That's despite a surface temperature of 800degrees Fahrenheit (427 degrees celsius) on the day side.
11. Not only does the earth rotate as it orbits the sun, but the sun itself also rotates at a rate of once every 25-35 days.
10. Earth is the only Solar System planet not named after a god.
9. Pluto is smaller in diameter than the United States.
8. The first theory positing the existence of black holes was from an English clergyman named John Michell in November 1784. He even correctly noted that these features would not be visible to the naked eye, but that they could be detected by their gravitational effects on other bodies.
7. Despite proving through General Relativity that black holes could form, Einstein himself did not believe they could form in the natural world. It wouldn't be until 1972 that Cygnus X-1 became the first observed black hole, taking them from the realm of theory to the real mof reality.
6. In 2002 astronomers presented evidence that a supermassive black hole lurks at the center of our Milky Way.
5. In 2012 Suvi Gezari and his team published the first visual evidence of a black hole. Using the Pan -STARRS 1 telescope in Hawaii,they photographed a supermassive black hole 2.7 million light years away swallowing are giant.
4. In 2015 gravity waves from the merging of a pair of black holes into one were detected. The violence of their merging created a ripple through space -time that was detectable here on Earth millions of light years away!
3. Not only did general relativity predict that black holes were possible, but it also predicted that white holes could also be possible! The polar opposite of a black hole, a white hole is a region of space -time where matter cannot enter.
2. A growing theory suggests that white holes are the opposite ends of black holes, and that our own Big Bang was a supermassive white hole that existed for fractions of a second.
1. Afraid that returning astronauts might be carrying unknown and deadly lunar germs, the Apollo astronauts were quarantined immediately after their arrival on earth.
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