Space is a vast, mysterious expanse that has fascinated people for millennia. As we continue to explore and understand the universe, we uncover more of its secrets.
From the planets in our Solar System to distant galaxies, space is filled with phenomena that challenge our understanding of the universe.
Stay tuned for an enlightening exploration of space that will leave you with a renewed sense of wonder and a thirst for more knowledge about the universe we live in.
1: Mars hosts the largest planetary mountain known to man
A shield volcano named Olympus Mons. The volcano is approximately 25 kilometres high and 624 kilometres in diameter. It would almost cover the whole of France! Olympus Mons is still an active volcano, with evidence that the last eruption may have occurred within the last decade.
Olympus Mons is not the only known behemoth in space. The asteroid Vesta is a mountain with a height of 22 kilometres, which is three times taller than Mount Everest.
2: There is no sound in space
Sound is a type of energy made by vibrations. When an object vibrates it causes a pressure wave that travels through the medium surrounding it, such as air. Space is a vacuum with no air, so no sound!
3: Light travels at a speed of 300,000 kilometres a second.
A light-year is the distance light can travel in a year, which is roughly 9500000000000 kilometres, that’s a lot of zeros! The Milky Way galaxy is 105,700 light-years wide.
4: A day on Mars is almost like a day on Earth
A day on Mars, often referred to as Sol, is very similar in length to a day on Earth. While a day on Earth is 24 hours, a Martian day is 24 hours 39 minutes and 35 seconds long. This means that if you were to live on Mars, your daily schedule might not feel drastically different from your current one on Earth. However, over time, these extra 39 minutes and 35 seconds would add up. For instance, after about 37 Martian sols, you’d have an additional full day compared to Earth time.
5: The most abundant element in the universe is Hydrogen.
Hydrogen makes up 70% of all matter.
6: The largest structure in the known universe is the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall
Discovered in November 2013, this object is a galaxy filament. Galaxy filaments are vast groups of galaxies bound together by gravity. The structure is about 10 billion light-years in length. The observable universe is about 93 billion light-years! It stretches between the constellations Hercules, Corona Borealis, Lyra, Boötes and Draco. Another galaxy filament is Perseus–Pegasus which is about a billion light years in length.
7: White holes may exist
It's theorised a white hole is a region of space-time that cannot be entered into but from which vast amounts of matter and light can escape. The opposite of a black hole! Some suggest the Big Bang is a white hole. Others theorise that a white hole would occur if a quantum bounce occurred during the collapse of a black hole.
8: Charon is Pluto’s largest moon
It is also half the size of Pluto! Charon and Pluto are mutually tidal-locked. This means the same side of Pluto and Charon are always facing each other.
9: On Venus, it snows metal and rains sulfuric acid
The extreme heat and volcanic activity on the surface of Venus, cause melted minerals and gases to rise into the upper atmosphere. Venus's atmosphere is not as hot as its surface. Those gases and minerals, cool and condense causing metal-misty snow and sulfuric acid rain.
10: The centre of our galaxy smells like rum and tastes like raspberry
The IRAM radio telescope has detected a chemical called ethyl formate. This chemical is how rum gets its smell and raspberries their unique flavour.
11: Saturn can float in water
Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system, the first being Jupiter. But because Saturn is made of gases like hydrogen and helium, which are less dense than water, it can float!
12: Astronaut means 'Star Sailor'
The word astronaut comes from the Greek words Astro meaning star and Naut meaning sailor. The term was first used by Percy Greg in his 1880 book Across the Zodiac, where Astronaut was the name of a spacecraft.
13: Comets absorb light
Ninety-six percent of the light that touches a comet is absorbed. Only 4 percent gets reflected.
14: Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story has been to space!
Buzz spent 15 months onboard the International Space Station. He returned to Earth on September 11, 2009. Buzz has spent the longest time ever in space on a single mission - giving the crew company and bringing entertainment and joy!
15: The Sun's mass makes up most of the Solar System
The Sun makes up 99.8% of our Solar system's mass. The remaining 0.2% of the solar system's mass is made of dust, comets, asteroids, and the planets.
16: The largest known asteroid is Ceres
Ceres is 965 kilometres wide! Ceres is in the asteroid belt region between Mars and Jupiter. It makes up 33% of the belt’s mass. Ceres is classified as a dwarf planet.
17: Our Moon is pretty small
The diameter of our Moon is merely 3475 kilometres, making it small enough to fit within the confines of Australia!
18: A large unseen structure stretches across the night sky
The Fermi Bubbles were discovered in 2010. Visible in gamma-ray observations, the Fermi Bubbles emerge above and below the galactic centre of our galaxy. The extend a total length of about 50,000 light years, spanning the sky from the constellation Virgo to the constellation Grus.
19: Planets are orbiting Pulsars
These planets are called Pulsar planets. Pulsars are the remnants of stars more massive than our Sun that have run out of fuel and have collapsed in on themselves. This generally creates a massive explosion called a supernova. The remaining dense material is known as a neutron star. A pulsar is a neutron star that spins and pulsates radiation. The smallest pulsar in the known universe is Vela Pulsar. Which is only 9.56km in diameter. For objects to survive a supernova and then the extreme gravitational effects and radiation of a pulsar is extraordinary.
20: The biggest star ever observed is UY Scuti
UY Scuti is 1700 times more massive than our Sun. To put that into perspective, more than a million Earths can fit inside our Sun, while 5 billion Suns can fit inside UY Scuti! Despite its large volume, its mass is only 30 times that of our Sun. The most massive star is R136a1.
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