Unusual space phenomena. Unexplained events in space
On April 24, 1990, the Hubble Orbiting Telescope was launched. People have always been drawn to space, and when it became known that the stars are real objects in the vast expanses of space, the thirst for knowledge began to play with a vengeance. But often discoveries bring only new and new riddles, and astronomers conduct long discussions, trying to somehow explain the new questions presented to the Universe.
Infinity sign in space. In the central part of the Milky Way, you can see a gas and dust structure in the form of a twisted loop, the length of which is about 600 light years.
Parts of the structure of gas with a temperature of -258.15 degrees Celsius, form an eight - a symbol of infinity. Astronomers cannot explain the shape and nature of this structure.
What even more leads astronomers to a dead end is that the center of "infinity" does not coincide with the center of the Galaxy, but is slightly shifted in relation to it, which contradicts the known scientific laws.
Expansion of the Universe. Scientists at the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Beijing Tu Zhong Liang and Tsai Gen Rong proved that the Universe evolves inhomogeneously: some parts of it develop much faster than others.
Experts believe that with the help of the theory of the inhomogeneity of the Universe, it will be possible to explain the hypothetical existence of parallel worlds.
Moving the Earth away from the Sun. The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is 1.496 × 1011 meters. Previously, it was believed that this distance is constant, but back in 2004, Russian astronomers discovered that the Earth is gradually moving away from the Sun by about 15 cm per year.
Why this is happening, scientists cannot answer. If the Earth's removal rate does not change, the planet will "freeze" in hundreds of millions of years. But what if the speed suddenly increases? ..
Where are the "Pioneers" flying. The interplanetary probes Pioneer 10 (launched in 1972) and Pioneer 11 (1973) were the first spacecraft launched this far.
After completing the planned programs, the probe equipment transmitted information for many years to come. In November 1995, Pioneer 11, having moved 6.5 billion km from the Sun, stopped communicating. Signals from Pioneer 10, which was 12 billion kilometers away from Earth, were received until January 2003.
From the Earth, the probes are no longer visible. It became known that the probes are moving away from the solar system more slowly than expected. They are affected by an incomprehensible braking force, which scientists cannot explain.
Water on Mars. Experts believe that in the early stages of Mars' history, 3.8 - 3.5 billion years ago, the planet's climate was warmer and wetter, and the northern hemisphere was an ocean.
The Martian channels in the Chryse Plain may indicate that there may be lakes of liquid water and underground springs a few meters below the surface.
"Monolith" on Phobos. On the Martian satellite is a very mysterious object called "Monolith", approximately 76 meters high. The first to notice him was NASA astronaut Edwin Eugene Aldrin, who was the second to set foot on the moon in 1969.
An object that looks like a tower or a dome was discovered in 1998 in images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor research station. The "Monolith" rises on the side facing Mars.
NASA does not comment on the presence of the artifact on Phobos. Many serious scientists believe that "Monolith" is an artificial structure.
Black planet. In 2006, astronomers discovered a black exoplanet whose surface reflects less than 1% of the light from the star it revolves around. Moreover, it is always turned to the star with one side.
The planet almost completely absorbs light instead of reflecting it, and the temperature of its atmosphere is over a thousand degrees Celsius.
The planet was explored with the Kepler telescope, but until now scientists cannot solve its riddle.
Sedna- our neighbor in the solar system, was opened on November 14, 2003. Some astronomers consider it to be the 10th planet in the solar system.
The distance from Sedna (NASA artwork) to the Sun is three times that of the Sun to Neptune, but most of the planet's orbit is even further away.
In 2076, Sedna will pass perihelion, the orbital point closest to the Sun.
Great attractor. This gravitational anomaly is located in intergalactic space at a distance of 250 million light years.
The mass of the object is tens of thousands of times the mass of the entire Milky Way. Scientists believe that it is here that the chance of the existence of another civilization is very high.
New moon of Saturn. Not so long ago, a new moon began to form on Saturn.
It was possible to observe how a natural satellite was formed on one of the ice rings and scientists cannot understand in any way what was the impetus for this.
Radio signals from space. More than ten years ago, fast discrete radio pulses were received from space. They tried to explain intergalactic bursts of radio emissions in different ways, there is also a theory that they may be of a technological nature.
Many scientists believe that these fast radio pulses can be used by an extraterrestrial civilization as a means to accelerate their spacecraft.
"We do not know of any astronomical object capable of generating such a level of radio emission with such a level of brightness, tens of billions of times higher than the brightness of the same powerful pulsars known to us," scientists say.
"Construction" on the star. The star KIC 8462852, named "Tabby", attracted the attention of astronomers with strange properties: the nature of the reflected light may indicate that real construction work is underway around the star.
The possibility of the existence of a highly developed extraterrestrial civilization, engaged in the construction of structures for the accumulation of stellar energy, was announced by Tabeta Boyajian, the lead author of the NASA study.
The magnetic field of the moon. For many thousands of years, the Moon did not have its own magnetic field, but recent research has shown that this was not always the case: about four billion years ago, the molten core of the satellite suddenly began to rotate in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the mantle surrounding this core.
The moon was able to generate a magnetic field much stronger than on Earth. Currently, none of the scientists understands how such a small celestial body could develop such magnetic activity.
This field was held for quite a long time, possibly due to the constant meteorite bombardment, which fueled the lunar magnetism. Many believe that the phenomenon is artificial.
The mysterious island of Titan. Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is very reminiscent of the primitive Earth, with its atmosphere, substances and possibly geological activity.
In 2013, the Cassini spacecraft, while exploring the satellite, discovered a completely new piece of land on its surface, which suddenly appeared in the second largest sea of Titan - Ligeria Mare.
Shortly thereafter, the "mysterious island" also unexpectedly disappeared into the translucent methane-ethane sea. Then he appeared again, but already increased in size.
Black holes. Scientists believe that black holes are formed when a giant star collapses: an explosion in a relatively small space causes a gravitational field of such intensity that even the surrounding light is affected by it.
However, in practice, scientists have not seen any of the Black Holes. We can only guess what it really is.
Dark matter is another of the main mysteries for modern astronomers. Having understood what exactly it is like, it means in fact to reveal the secret of the Universe, which is 27% dark matter.
April 12 marks 56 years since the appearance of man in space. Since then, astronauts have regularly told incredible stories that happened to them in space. Strange sounds that cannot propagate in an airless space, unexplained visions and mysterious objects are present in the reports of many astronauts. Further, the story will go about what so far there are no unambiguous explanations.
Several years after the flight, Yuri Gagarin attended one of the concerts of the popular VIA. Then he admitted that he had already heard similar music, but not on Earth, but during a flight into space.
This fact is all the more strange, since before Gagarin's flight, electronic music did not exist in our country, and it was precisely such a melody that the first cosmonaut heard.
Similar sensations were experienced by people who visited space later. For example, Vladislav Volkov spoke about the strange sounds that literally surrounded him while in space.
“The earthly night was flying below. And suddenly from that night came ... the barking of a dog. And then the cry of a child became distinctly audible! And some voices. It is impossible to explain all this,” Volkov described his experience.
Sounds followed him for almost the entire flight.
American astronaut Gordon Cooper said that, flying over the territory of Tibet, he could see houses with the surrounding buildings with the naked eye.
Scientists have named the effect "an increase in terrestrial objects", but there is no scientific explanation for the possibility of viewing something from a distance of 300 kilometers.
A similar phenomenon was experienced by cosmonaut Vitaly Sevastyanov, who said that when flying over Sochi, he was able to see his own two-story house, which caused controversy among optical specialists.
Candidate of technical and philosophical sciences, test cosmonaut Sergei Krichevsky first heard about inexplicable space visions and sounds from his colleague, who spent six months on the Mir orbital complex.
When Krichevsky was preparing for the first flight into space, a colleague told him that while in space, a person can be subject to fantastic daydreams that many astronauts have observed.
Literally, the warning was as follows: “A person undergoes one or several transformations. Transformations at that moment seem to him to be a natural phenomenon, as if it should be so. The visions of all astronauts are different ...
One thing is similar: those who have been in a similar state determine a certain powerful flow of information coming from the outside. None of the astronauts can call it hallucinations - the sensations are too real. "
Later, Krichevsky called this phenomenon "the Solaris effect", which was described by the author Stanislav Lemm, whose fantastic work "Solaris" predicted inexplicable cosmic phenomena quite accurately.
Although there is no definite scientific answer to the occurrence of such visions, some scientists believe that the occurrence of such unexplained cases is due to exposure to microwave radiation.
In 2003, Yang Liwei, who became the first Chinese astronaut to travel to space, also witnessed the unexplained.
He was aboard the Shenzhou 5 when he heard a strange crackling sound outside one night on October 16.
According to the astronaut, he had the feeling that someone was knocking on the wall of the spacecraft in the same way as an iron ladle was knocking on a tree. Liwei says that the sound did not come from outside, but not from inside the spacecraft.
Livey's stories were called into question, because in a vacuum, the propagation of any sound is impossible. But on subsequent Shenzhou missions in space, two other Chinese astronauts heard the same knock.
In 1969, American astronauts Tom Stafford, Gene Cernan, and John Young were on the dark side of the moon, quietly shooting craters. At that moment, they heard “otherworldly organized noise” emanating from their headset.
“Space Music” lasted for one hour. Scientists have suggested that the sound was due to radio interference between spacecraft, but could three experienced astronauts mistake the usual interference for an alien phenomenon.
May 5, 1981 Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot-cosmonaut Major General Vladimir Kovalenok noticed something inexplicable in the window of the Salyut station.
“Many astronauts have seen phenomena that go beyond the experience of earthlings. For ten years I have never talked about such things. At that time we were over the South African region, heading towards the Indian Ocean. I was just doing some gymnastic exercises when I saw an object in front of me through the window, the appearance of which I could not explain ...
I looked at this object, and then something happened, which is impossible according to the laws of physics. The object was elliptical. From the side it seemed as if it was rotating in the direction of flight. After that, there was a kind of explosion of golden light ...
Then, after one or two seconds, there was a second explosion somewhere else and two spheres appeared, golden and very beautiful. After this explosion, I saw white smoke. The two spheres never came back. "
In 2005, American astronaut Leroy Chiao, the ISS commander, led it for six and a half months. One day he was setting up antennas 230 miles above the Earth when he witnessed the inexplicable.
“I saw the lights that seemed to line up. I saw them fly and I thought it looked awfully strange,” he later said.
Cosmonaut Musa Manarov spent a total of 541 days in space, of which he remembered one more than others in 1991. On the way to the Mir space station, he managed to film a cigar-shaped UFO.
The video recording lasts two minutes. The astronaut said that this object glowed at certain moments and moved in a spiral in space.
Dr. Storey Musgrave has six degrees and is also a NASA astronaut. It was he who told a very colorful story about UFOs.
In a 1994 interview, he said: "I saw a snake in space. It is elastic because it had internal waves, and it followed us for a fairly long period of time. The more you stay in space, the more incredible things you can see there." ...
Cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliev was tormented by visions in a dream. During sleep in this position, Tsibliyev behaved extremely restlessly, he shouted, gritted his teeth, rushed about.
“I asked Vasily what was the matter? It turned out that he had enchanting dreams, which he sometimes took for reality.
Six cosmonauts on board the ISS, awaiting the arrival of Soyuz-6, observed for 10 minutes translucent figures 10 meters high, which accompanied the station, and then disappeared.
Nikolai Rukavishnikov observed flares in near-earth space during his flight aboard the Soyuz-10 spacecraft.
While resting, he was in a darkened compartment with his eyes closed. Suddenly he saw flashes, which at first he took for signals from a flashing light board, shining through the eyelids.
However, the board burned with an even light and its brightness was insufficient to create the observed effect.
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin recalled, "There was something there, close enough to us for us to see."
"During the Apollo 11 mission on the way to the Moon, I noticed a light in the ship's window, it seemed that it was moving with us. There were several explanations for this phenomenon, another ship from another country, or it was panels that moved away when we removed from the rocket lander. But it was all wrong. "
"I feel absolutely convinced that we faced something incomprehensible. What it was I could not classify. Technically, the definition can be one" unidentified "."
James McDivitt made the first manned flight in Gemini 4 on June 3, 1965, and recorded: "I looked through the window and saw a white spherical object against the black sky. It abruptly changed the direction of flight."
McDivitt also managed to photograph a long metal cylinder. The Air Force command again resorted to the tried and tested method, announcing that the pilot had confused what he saw with the Pegasus-2 satellite.
McDivitt replied: "I report that during my flight I did see what some people call UFOs, namely an unidentified flying object."
At the same time, many of the astronauts' colleagues also observed unidentified flying objects during flights.
They say that the archives of Roskosmos describe an unusual story with the crew of the Soyuz-18 spacecraft, which happened in April 1975 - it was classified for 20 years. Due to the accident of the launch vehicle, the cabin of the ship was shot off from the rocket at an altitude of 195 km and rushed to the Earth.
The astronauts experienced tremendous overloads, during which they heard a "mechanical, like a robot" voice that asked if they wanted to live. They did not have the strength to answer, then the voice said: We will not let you die in order for you to pass on to your own - you need to abandon the conquest of space.
After landing and getting out of the capsule, the astronauts began to wait for the rescuers. When night fell, they lit a fire. Suddenly they heard a growing whistle and at the same time saw in the sky some kind of luminous object hovering directly above them.
By the way, the ISS cameras record unknown space objects with enviable regularity.
Cosmonaut Alexander Serebrov expressed his opinion on this issue: “There, in the depths of the Universe, nobody knows what happens to people. In fact, this is absolutely not the case. "
Vladimir Vorobyov, Doctor of Medical Sciences and Senior Researcher at the Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, states the following: “But visions and other inexplicable sensations in space orbit, as a rule, do not torment the cosmonaut, but give him a kind of pleasure, despite the fact that they cause fear. ..
It is worth considering that this also has a hidden danger. It's no secret that after returning to Earth, most space explorers begin to experience a state of longing for these phenomena and at the same time experience an irresistible and sometimes painful urge to feel these states again. "
While we admire the starry sky, somewhere out there, scientists are discovering new and unexplored areas of outer space. Thanks to telescopes and satellites, we continue to get to know better the neighbors of our beautiful planet.
True, for several decades there has been something that scientists cannot fully explain until now, and here's a part of it.
1. Supernova explosion, or supernova.
Under the influence of enormous temperatures in the core, a thermonuclear reaction begins, converting hydrogen into helium. Even more heat is released, the radiation of which increases inside the star, but is still held back by gravity. If in normal language, then in the process of this phenomenon the star increases its brightness by 5-10 times and at this moment it ceases to exist. Interestingly, as much energy is released every second as the Sun generates for the entire period of its existence.
2. Black holes.
And these are some of the most mysterious objects in all of outer space. For the first time, the genius Albert Einstein spoke about them. Such a huge gravitational force is observed in them that space is deformed here, time is distorted and light is bent. If someone's spacecraft enters this zone, then, alas, he has no chance of salvation. Let's start with zero gravity. You are in free fall, so the crew, ship and all the details are weightless. The closer you get to the center of the hole, the stronger the tidal gravitational forces are felt. For example, your legs are closer to the center than your head. Then you start to feel like you are being stretched. As a result, you will simply be torn apart.
3. A tank was found on the moon.
It definitely sounds strange, but it's true. In one of the photographs of the lunar surface taken from the orbit of a satellite of our planet, ufologists noticed an unusual object that looks like a destroyed tank when viewed from above. True, most experts point out that this is just a psychological illusion, an optical illusion.
4. Hot Jupiters.
They are a class of gaseous planets like Jupiter, but at times hotter. Moreover, they can swell under the influence of powerful radiation from Jupiter. By the way, these planets were discovered 20 years ago. Scientists have found that more than half of all hot Jupiters have orbits tilted in relation to the equators of their stars. Their exact origin is still a mystery, how they formed and why their orbits are so close to other stars.
5. Giant voids.
Scientists have discovered a place in the universe that they call a giant void. This space without galaxies spans 1.8 billion light years. And these voids are located 3 billion light years from Earth. In general, scientists have no idea how they were formed and why there is nothing inside them.
Agree that sounds like the title of a cult science fiction movie. In fact, dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries in outer space. It all began with the fact that in the distant 1922 astronomers Jacobus Kaptein and James Jeans, studying the motion of stars in our Galaxy, came to the conclusion that most of the matter in the galaxy is simply invisible. To date, little is known about dark matter, but only one thing is clear: the universe is 95.1% composed of it and its dark energy.
It would seem, what is mysterious here? But in fact, Mars is fraught with many secrets. For example, there are mysterious dunes on this planet that are the object of research. There is also a high concentration of silicon dioxide, and the sandstone layer is superimposed on the mudstone layer. By the way, it is still unclear where the underground volcanoes come from on Mars.
8. Jupiter's Great Red Spot.
It is the largest atmospheric vortex that the solar system has ever seen. Over the course of several centuries, this spot has managed to change its main color. Do you know what is the wind speed inside this spot? It is equal to 500 km / h. Science still does not know why there is movement within this phenomenon and why it has a reddish tint.
Along with blacks, there are whites. If the former suck in everything that they see, then the whites, on the contrary, throw away everything that they do not need. There is a theory that white holes were black in the past. And someone claims that this is a portal between several dimensions.
10. Cataclysmic variable.
This is a unique comic phenomenon. These are white dwarf stars located near the red giants. These are stars, the brightness of which does not periodically increase many times, after which it decreases to the level of a calm state.
11. Great attractor.
This is a gravitational anomaly, which is located at a distance of 250 million light years from the Earth. It is also a large cluster of galaxies. The great attractor was discovered in the 1970s. It can only be seen with X-ray or infrared light. By the way, scientists do not believe that we will ever be able to get to it.
12. Major Gordon Cooper about UFOs.
He visited Mercury. While the Major was in space, he claimed to have seen a glowing green object approaching his capsule. True, until now science cannot explain what it really was.
We know a lot about Saturn thanks to the Cassini-Huygens interplanetary station. But there are many more phenomena that are difficult to explain. Although the rings are known to be composed of water and ice, it is difficult to tell how they form or how old they are.
14. Gamma-ray burst.
In the 1960s, bursts of radiation emanating from space were detected by American satellites. These outbreaks were intense and short. Today it is known that these are gamma-ray bursts, which can be both short and long. And they occur as a result of the appearance of a black hole. But the mystery is not only why they can not be seen in every galaxy, but also where they actually come from.
15. Mysterious moon of Saturn.
She was named Peggy and continues to confuse scientists to this day. She was first spotted in 2013. And in 2017, the Cassini probe sent the latest photos of Daphnis - a small moon of Saturn, which is located in a "gap" inside one of the planet's rings and generates giant waves in its halves.
Black holes, dark matter, and now also dark energy - only Voldemort is missing. And dark energy is a hypothetical material that has been actively discussed by many scientists lately. Some astronomers claim that it does not exist at all, and that it does not accelerate the Universe, as was previously believed.
17. Baryonic dark matter.
It interacts poorly in an electromagnetic manner. It's hard to find her. It is believed that it consists of a dark gala, dwarf stars, neutron stars, black holes. Most of her disappeared without a trace, but still few people can answer exactly where she disappeared.
18. Rectangular galaxy.
The dwarf galaxy, which received the index LEDA 074886, is located about 70 million light years from Earth. It was opened in 2012. Scientists explain its rectangular shape as a consequence of gravitational lensing (it turns out that everything is so simple). And if in clear language, then its essence lies in the fact that when an observer looks at a distant light source in space through another space object, the shape of the distant light source is distorted. True, this is just an assumption.
19. Reionization of the Universe.
According to modern concepts, the era of recombination, which ended about 380,000 years after the Big Bang, was replaced by "dark ages" that lasted at least 150 million years. During them, the formed hydrogen was collected in gas clusters, from which later the formation of the first stars, galaxies and quasars began. During the period of primary star formation, the secondary ionization of hydrogen by the light of stars and quasars occurs - the era of reionization begins. True, it remains unclear how all the galaxies and stars known to us had enough energy to re-ionize hydrogen.
20. Star Tabby or KIC 8462852.
In comparison with other stars, it is able to sharply reduce its brightness and immediately gain momentum. This is an extremely unusual phenomenon, because even some scientists are inclined to think that "little green men" may be interested in such changes in brightness. This surprised scientists so much that one of the astronomers, Jason Wright, suggested that a Dyson sphere could be built around the star: "Aliens should always be the latest hypothesis, but it looked like alien civilizations were building something."
21. Dark current.
And again, let's talk about the dark side. Astrophysicists drew attention to the fact that some of the galaxies are clearly moving somewhere beyond the limits of the universe known to mankind. As for the potential source of the dark current, the main hypothesis is as follows: a certain cosmic mass at the very beginning of the existence of the Universe, when it was still in a compressed state, had such a strong effect on its structure that to this day, part of it remains in the form of attraction , which also pulls galaxies over the edge.
22. Signal Wow!
It was recorded on August 15, 1977 by astronomer Jerry Eiman. Interestingly, the duration of the Wow signal (72 seconds) and the shape of the graph of its intensity over time correspond to the expected characteristics of the extraterrestrial signal. However, a theory has recently emerged that the signal belongs to a pair of comets emitting radio frequency.
23. NLO 1991 VG.
This mysterious object was discovered by astronomer James Scotty. Its diameter was only 10 m, and its orbit is similar to that of the Earth. That is why there is an opinion that this is not a UFO, but an asteroid or an old probe.
24. Bright supernova ASASSN-15lh.
The supernova, called ASASSN-15lh, according to astronomers' observations, is 20 times brighter than all the combined (more than 100 billion) stars in our Milky Way galaxy, which makes it the brightest supernova in the history of observing such objects. It is twice the maximum brightness recorded for this type of star. True, the true origin of the supernova remains in question.
25. Zombie stars.
Usually, when stars explode, they die, go out. But recently, scientists discovered a supernova that exploded, extinguished, but then exploded again. And instead of cooling as expected, the object continued to maintain an almost constant temperature of around 5700 ° C. However, this star has survived not even one, but five such explosions.
Every day, an incredible amount of new information and data from telescopes directed to various corners of the universe passes through observatories around the world. Each part of this data is of great interest to science, but not all information deserves public attention. And yet, some discoveries turn out to be so rare and unexpected that they attract the attention of even those people who are almost completely indifferent to space.
The Hubble Space Telescope recently witnessed a very rare cosmic phenomenon - the spontaneous destruction of an asteroid. Usually, cosmic collisions or too close approach to larger cosmic bodies lead to such a coincidence of circumstances. However, the destruction of asteroid P / 2013 R3 under the influence of sunlight turned out to be a somewhat unexpected phenomenon for astronomers. The increasing influence of the solar wind caused the rotation of R3. At some point, this rotation reached a critical point and broke the asteroid into 10 large pieces weighing about 200,000 tons. Pieces of the asteroid, slowly moving away from each other at a speed of 1.5 kilometers per second, ejected an incredible amount of small particles.
The birth of a star
While observing the object W75N (B) -VLA2, astronomers witnessed the formation of a new celestial body. Located just 4,200 light-years away, VLA2 was first detected in 1996 by the VLA (Very Large Antenna System) radio telescope at the San Augustin Observatory in New Mexico. During their first observation, scientists noted a dense cloud of gas emitted by a tiny young star.
In 2014, during the next observation of the object W75N (B) -VLA2, scientists noted clear changes. For such a short period from an astronomical point of view, the celestial body has changed, but these metamorphoses did not contradict the previously created scientifically predicted models. Over the past 18 years, the spherical shape of the gas surrounding the star has acquired a more elongated shape under the influence of accumulated dust and space debris, in fact, creating a kind of cradle.
Unusual planet with incredible temperature changes
Space object 55 Cancri E has received the nickname "diamond planet" because it is almost entirely composed of crystalline diamond. However, scientists recently discovered another unusual feature of this cosmic body. The temperature difference on a planet can spontaneously change by 300 percent, which is simply unimaginable for a planet of this type.
55 Cancri E is perhaps the most unusual planet within its system of five other planets. It is incredibly dense, and its full orbital period takes 18 hours. Under the influence of the strongest tidal forces of the native star, the planet faces it with only one side of it. Since the temperature on it can vary from 1000 thousand degrees to 2700 degrees Celsius, scientists suggest that the planet may be covered with volcanoes. On the one hand, this could explain such unusual temperature changes, on the other hand, it could disprove the hypothesis that the planet is a giant diamond, because in this case the level of carbon contained would not be adequate.
The volcanic hypothesis is supported by evidence found in our own solar system. Jupiter's moon Io is very similar to the described planet, and the tidal forces directed at this moon turned it into one continuous giant volcano.
The strangest exoplanet - Kepler 7b
Gas giant Kepler 7b is a revelation for scientists. At first, astronomers were struck by the incredible "obesity" of the planet. It is about 1.5 times the size of Jupiter, but at the same time it has a much lower mass, which could mean that its density is comparable to that of foam.
This planet could easily be on the surface of the ocean, if, of course, it was possible to find an ocean the size that could fit it. In addition, Kepler 7b is the first exoplanet for which a cloud map has been created. Scientists have found that the temperature on its surface can reach 800-1000 degrees Celsius. Hot, but not as hot as expected. The fact is that Kepler 7b is located closer to its star than Mercury is located to the Sun. After three years of observing the planet, scientists have figured out the reasons for these inconsistencies: clouds in the upper atmosphere reflect excess heat from the star. Even more interesting was the fact that one side of the planet is always covered with clouds, while the other is always clear.
Triple eclipse on Jupiter
A common eclipse is not such a rare occurrence. And yet, a solar eclipse is an amazing coincidence: the diameter of the solar disk is 400 times the size of the moon, and at this moment the sun is 400 times farther from it. It so happens that the Earth is the perfect place to observe these cosmic events.
Solar and lunar eclipses are truly beautiful phenomena. But in terms of entertainment, the triple eclipse on Jupiter outperforms them. In January 2015, the Hubble telescope captured three Galilean satellites - Io, Europa and Callisto - in a row in front of their "gas daddy" Jupiter through the lens of its camera.
Anyone on Jupiter at that moment could have witnessed a psychedelic triple solar eclipse. The next such phenomenon will not occur until 2032.
Giant Star Cradle
Stars are often found in groups. Large groups are called globular star clusters and can contain up to one million stars. Such clusters are scattered throughout the universe, and at least 150 of them are located within the Milky Way. All of them are so ancient that scientists cannot even imagine the principle of their formation. However, more recently, astronomers have discovered a very rare space object - a very young globular cluster, filled with gas, but without stars inside it.
Deep in the Antennae group of galaxies, 50 million light-years away, there is a gas cloud whose mass is equivalent to 50 million Suns. This place will soon become a "nursery" for many young stars. Astronomers have discovered such an object for the first time, and so they compare it to "a dinosaur egg about to hatch." From a technical point of view, this "egg" could have "hatched" a long time ago, since, presumably, such regions of space remain starless for only about one million years.
The importance of the discovery of such objects is colossal. Since they can explain some of the most ancient and yet unexplained processes in the Universe. It is quite possible that it is precisely such regions of space that become a kind of cradles of incredibly beautiful globular clusters, which we can now observe.
The rare phenomenon that helped solve the cosmic dust puzzle
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is installed directly aboard the upgraded Boeing 747SP aircraft and is designed to study various astronomical events. At 13 kilometers above the Earth's surface, there is less atmospheric water vapor that would interfere with an infrared telescope.
Recently, the SOFIA telescope helped astronomers solve one of the space mysteries. Surely many of you, who have watched various programs about space, know that all of us, like everything in the Universe, consists of stardust, or rather, of those elements of which it also consists. However, scientists could not understand for a long time how this stardust does not evaporate under the influence of supernovae, which carry it across the entire Universe.
Examining the 10,000-year-old supernova Sagittarius A East with its infrared eye, the SOFIA telescope found that the gathering dense regions of gas around the star act as pillows, repelling cosmic dust particles, shielding them from the heat and shock generated by the explosion.
Even if 7-20 percent of cosmic dust could survive the meeting with Sagittarius A East, then it will be enough to form about 7000 space objects the size of the Earth.
Collision of the Perseid meteor with the Moon
Every year from mid-July to about the end of August, the Perseid meteor shower can be observed in the night sky, but it is best to start observing this cosmic phenomenon with observing the Moon. On August 9, 2008, amateur astronomers did just that, witnessing an unforgettable event - the impact fall of meteorites on our natural satellite. Due to the lack of atmosphere in the latter, the fall of meteorites on the moon occurs quite regularly. However, the fall of the Perseids meteors, which, in turn, are fragments of the slowly dying comet Swift-Tuttle, was marked by especially bright flares on the lunar surface, which could be seen by anyone who has even the simplest telescope.
Since 2005, NASA has witnessed about 100 such meteorite falls on the moon. Such observations may one day help develop methods for predicting future meteorite strikes, as well as defenses for future astronauts and lunar colonists.
Dwarf galaxies containing more stars than huge galaxies
Dwarf galaxies are amazing space objects that prove to us that size doesn't always matter. Astronomers have already done research to figure out the rate at which stars form in medium to large galaxies, but there has been a gap in tiny galaxies until recently.
After the Hubble Space Telescope provided infrared data on the dwarf galaxies it observed, astronomers were surprised. It turned out that star formation in tiny galaxies is much faster than star formation in larger galaxies. The surprise is that larger galaxies contain more gas, which is required for the appearance of stars. Nevertheless, tiny galaxies form as many stars in 150 million years as in standard and larger galaxies in about 1.3 billion years of hard and intense work by local gravitational forces. And interestingly enough, scientists don't yet know why dwarf galaxies are so prolific.
Space is a truly mysterious place. There is something extremely unusual happening all the time in the Universe, so it is not surprising that it is full of secrets that we desire to uncover. From the earliest days of space exploration, astronauts and ground explorers have experienced a range of incredible phenomena. From UFOs to mysterious glow, something inexplicable is constantly observed outside the atmosphere of our planet right in the middle of a limitless vacuum. 
Is there intelligent life in the universe besides us? How can we explain the strange events that we manage to register on our still insufficiently advanced devices? There are many more questions, but scientists are now only at the beginning of the thorny path of exploring our world. Do you want to know about 25 interesting cases from their practice?
25. A knock in a Chinese spaceship, the origin of which has not been clarified
Photo: wikipedia.commons.com
Taikonaut (member of the Chinese space program) Yang Liwei was the first person to be sent into space by the PRC authorities on the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. During his 21-hour flight, the hero cosmonaut heard a strange noise, as if someone outside was knocking on the hull of his ship. The pilot was never able to determine the source of the mysterious sound, and none of the Chinese experts was also able to offer a sufficiently convincing version of the nature of the incident. Some believe that it was all about the ship's reaction to the effects of the space environment. Probably, the hull of the ship was contracting and expanding, while making sounds that disturbed Livey.
24. NASA astronaut Story Musgrave saw space eels
Photo: wikipedia.commons.com
When the American astronaut Storey Musgrave was on his next space mission, he allegedly saw some mysterious objects resembling wriggling eels in shape. The astronaut claims to have seen them twice. Experts are sure that it was some kind of space debris, but Musgrave continues to stand his ground - it was something else ...
23. Astronauts participating in the Apollo program said they saw strange flashes of light in space
Photo: NASA on The Commons / flickr
Many scientists who took part in the flight of the Apollo 11 spacecraft and subsequent launches in the framework of the same program (the lunar expeditions of Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16, 17) claim that they saw strange flashes of light in space. The astronauts stated that the glow was visible even when they closed their eyes, and that it was white, blue, or yellow. Scientists believe that such visions were caused by contact with cosmic rays (elementary particles and atomic nuclei moving with high energies in outer space).
22. American astronauts aboard the ISS saw a strange orange glow
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On her maiden flight to the ISS, Samantha Cristoforetti, the third female astronaut of the European Space Agency and the first female astronaut of the Italian Space Agency, saw something very strange. Approaching the station, she noticed that the ISS was glowing with an unusual blood-orange light. Nobody could explain this phenomenon.
21. Major Gordon Cooper claims he saw a strange green ball in space
As a member of the Mercury space program, Major Gordon Cooper circled the Earth in an orbital capsule. According to the astronaut, during his mission, he saw a green sphere, confidently approaching him, and then suddenly disappeared. At the same time, the equipment of the Australian center for deep space communications recorded an unusual signal. Coincidence?
20. Astronauts from NASA deliberately lit a fire aboard the ISS
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Of course, the last thing you want to see aboard a spacecraft as a passenger is a fire. However, NASA decided that there would still be fire in space. In fact, this venture had a purely scientific purpose - the researchers wanted to observe the behavior of the flame in microgravity. What's the lesson? First, in such unusual conditions, fire takes the form of a sphere or a drop. Secondly, the flame usually follows the source of air from ventilation systems, and does not just rise up under any circumstances, as is most often the case on Earth. Scientists are going to conduct several more similar experiments in order to find out more about the nature of the spread of fires, how quickly they can flare up and which materials pose the greatest risk for astronauts in the event of an uncontrolled fire on board.
19. Astronauts flew into space, taking with them an unusual satellite - terrestrial bacteria
Photo: wikipedia.commons.com
Living organisms in space behave differently than on our planet. In this case, bacteria are no exception. Astronaut Cheryl Nickerson was tasked with taking a sample of Salmonella into space, and the bacteria spent 11 days in space. Upon returning to Earth, the bacterium was quickly injected into an experimental mouse to check how the infection with Salmonella, which survived a trip through space, would proceed. Usually mice with salmonellosis die after 7 days, but laboratory animals, which were infected with "space" bacteria, died 2 days earlier and from a lower dose. Similar experiments were carried out with other bacteria, but the results were always unpredictable and ambiguous. To date, scientists still have not figured out how exactly the flight outside the earth's atmosphere and return back affects various microorganisms.
18. During the flight in the orbit of the moon, the participants in the Apollo 10 mission heard strange music
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When the astronauts circling the moon were at the farthest point from us, they heard sounds that were later called "the music of outer space." At that moment, they had no connection with the flight center in Houston, and the astronauts were completely cut off from the rest of the world. Upon returning home, none of the mission participants told about what had happened, but several years later, on the recordings of their flight, scientists heard a low-frequency whistling noise of unknown origin ...
17. Neil Armstrong may have seen aliens on the moon
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Of course, you may doubt this, but it is rumored that Neil Armstrong sent a secret message to NASA, in which the pioneer claimed that during his legendary mission he met with an extraterrestrial civilization. In a classified report, the astronaut wrote something like this: "They are watching us from the far side of the moon!" Armstrong himself denies all this.
16. Mysterious flashes of light from space that no astronomer can explain
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This phenomenon was discovered in February 2007. At the same time, these mysterious flashes of unknown nature were called "fast radio bursts", which last only a few milliseconds. Scientists do not yet know what these radio pulses are, or what exactly provokes their occurrence. There are several theories, including the version that these outbursts are somehow related to neutron stars, black holes, or even aliens.
15. Astronauts who spend a lot of time on a mission get taller
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One of the interesting effects of a relatively long stay in space is a change in the growth of astronauts. Due to the influence of microgravity, the spine does not experience the usual load and pressure, as it happens in the conditions of the earth's gravity at home. Therefore, upon returning home, the cosmonauts seem to "stretch" by about 3% of their height. However, over time, the previous growth returns, and the reason for this is the same force of attraction.
14. At a distance of 10.7 billion light years from Earth, there was a real cosmic cataclysm
Photo: wikipedia.commons.com
While we soar in our cozy galaxy, something frightening happens regularly in the Universe ... For example, recently, researchers have recorded a sudden burst of X-rays at a distance of about 10.7 billion light years from Earth. Astronomers believe that this was some kind of extremely destructive phenomenon that can be compared to a cosmic cataclysm. The energy released by the burst was a thousand times more powerful than the energy that all the stars in our galaxy can release! No one yet knows what kind of event it was, or what caused it, and whether any special consequences await us.
13. Russian cosmonaut saw in the window a mysterious object the size of a finger
Photo: wikipedia.commons.com
During the mission on board the Salyut-6 orbital station, the Russian cosmonaut, Colonel-General Vladimir Kovalenok, saw an object the size of an ordinary finger in space. While the astronaut was examining this strange object, trying to understand what it was, the mysterious thing exploded and split into 2 parts. The golden shards disappeared as soon as they fell into the shadow of the Earth.
12. The Milky Way has a rather "bloodthirsty" past
Photo: NASA.gov / commons.wikimedia.org
Using the Hubble orbiting telescope, NASA scientists have discovered an interesting phenomenon of "galactic cannibalism" from our home, the Milky Way. American astronomers faced this phenomenon while they studied 13 stars on the outer edge of our galaxy's halo to better understand how the Milky Way formed. According to experts, over time, our galaxy grows, and this happens by eating smaller star clusters.
11. During the flight of the Atlantis reusable spacecraft under the STS-115 program, the shuttle collided with a UFO
Photo: wikipedia.commons.com
During the STS-115 mission, a small unidentified object hit the Atlantis. The astronauts even had to conduct a full inspection of the ship to make sure it was not damaged and could continue its mission. According to experts from NASA, it was just some kind of space debris or a wandering shard of ice. Of course, there were those who are sure that such statements are just a cover, and that something more significant happened in space then.
10. Leroy Chiao saw strange flashes of light in space, emerging from nowhere
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During his next mission, American astronaut Leroy Chiao saw five bright lights in the opposite direction from the Sun. According to the researcher, he was amazed at what he saw to the depths of his soul, and he could not understand what these luminous objects were, or where they came from. The astronaut claims that the lights flew very quickly and in a specific order, except for the second. Later, scientists from NASA tried to figure out what happened, but they did not go beyond theories. Probably, these were some reflections from the Earth.
9. One very distant quasar has an incredibly huge supply of water
Photo: NASA.gov
About 12 billion light-years from Earth, on one of the quasars we discovered (the active galactic nucleus), according to scientists, there is a huge supply of water, the mass of which is supposedly 140 trillion times the mass of water in all of Earth's oceans. By itself, water in space is not so rare. However, in this case, the researchers were amazed at how much water was concentrated in one place.
Photo: Scott Kelly
American astronaut Scott Kelly loves to share his flight experiences on social media. In one of his tweets, the scientist posted a photo of India taken from space. However, the most interesting thing in this picture was not our planet. In the corner of this photo, users have noticed 2 strange white lights. Many immediately believed that this was new evidence of the existence of UFOs and aliens, although experts were never able to establish the nature of the mysterious objects. It could be a flying saucer or just a lens flare.
7. After a long stay in space, the researchers' eyes are deformed
Photo: www.theguardian.com
Astronauts who have been on a mission for too long (more than a month) sometimes start complaining about their eyesight upon returning home. According to a new study, many astronauts undergo certain changes in the eyeball due to the long exposure to microgravity. The deformity also affects the optic nerve and pituitary gland. This condition is closely related to intracranial hypertension (increased pressure in the cranial cavity).
6. ISS cameras captured an object very reminiscent of the Millennium Falcon spacecraft
Photo: Kory Westerhold / flickr
Enthusiast Jadon Beeson is passionate about everything related to space and the activities of astronauts. During one of the live broadcasts from a NASA video camera installed on the ISS, a man saw something very strange. According to Beeson, it was a pair of lights illuminating an object, the shape of which very much reminded him of the fictional ship "Millennium Falcon" from the famous TV show "Star Wars". The enthusiast took a snapshot of this broadcast moment and sent it to NASA experts. There was no explanation from their side.
5. There is still a ninth planet in our solar system
You've probably heard more than once that in 2006 Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet from the honorable ninth planet of the solar system. However, the title of the ninth planet is now and then remembered in the scientific community, and today some researchers are almost sure that there was once this planet 9 in our planetary system, but it was long ago thrown to a distance farther from the Sun. Astronomers believe that it was the size of Neptune, and right now they are working on new data that can prove this claim. The elliptical orbit of this planet is presumably so large that it takes about 15 thousand years to complete a revolution around the Sun. This is not 365 days for you ...
4. Soviet cosmonaut Musa Manarov captured a mysterious UFO
Photo: UR3IRS / Russian Wikipedia
In March 1991, Soviet cosmonaut Musa Manarov was aboard the ISS, and at the same time he managed to photograph something very unusual. A strange white object got into the frame, and Manarov is still sure that it was not some ordinary space debris.
3. NASA interrupted live broadcast from space as soon as a UFO hit the frame
Photo: wikipedia.commons.com
On January 15, 2015, during a live broadcast from the ISS, an unidentified object hovering directly above the Earth fell into the field of view of the lens. As soon as the UFO became absolutely clear, NASA interrupted its broadcast without any explanation. What was this object, and why the Americans tried to hide it - these are the main questions ...
2. Due to the long stay in space, the space shuttle crew members have less bone mass
Photo: wikipedia.commons.com
You might be surprised to find that microgravity even affects human bones. If astronauts are on a mission for too long, their bone mass changes noticeably. Bones are a very active organ, and they are constantly developing, which largely depends on the physical activity of their owner (running, walking, or vice versa a passive lifestyle). The less the load, the weaker and lighter the bones.
1. A live bacterium was found overboard the ISS
Photo: wikipedia.commons.com
Previously, it was generally accepted that living organisms are not able to survive in the permafrost vacuum in space. However, astronauts recently found out that this is not at all the case, and this was proved by the find of a living bacterium, a sample of which was taken directly from the surface of the ISS. In connection with this discovery, some researchers began to argue that this is the first proof of the existence of life outside the Earth. However, other experts believe that this phenomenon can be explained in a much more trivial way - ascending air currents could pick up these bacteria from the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere, from where these microorganisms got to the outer shell of the ISS.
