Editor, CNBC Indonesia
Tech
Tuesday, 15/08/2023 21:00 WIB
Pictured: The view from the edge of space is seen from Virgin Galactic’s manned rocket tourism spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, during a test flight over Mojave, California, U.S., December 13, 2018. Virgin Galactic/Handout via REUTERS.
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Space and various objects in it hold many mysteries that have not been revealed. However, from the research of scientists, there are some interesting facts that have been known.
Here are 12 interesting facts about outer space, planets, and the objects in them, quoted from Mashable, Tuesday (15/8/2023).
Neutron Stars Can Rotate 600 Times Per Second
Neutron stars are leftover stars formed from supernova explosions. The explosion made a giant star which has the mass of 10-25 times the sun collapse and create smaller stars.
As a consequence of physics, Neutron stars spin very fast, starting at 60 times per second after birth. Under certain conditions, the rotation can be up to 600 times per second.
Outer Space Is Completely Soundless
Sound waves need a medium to propagate. Since there is no atmosphere in a vacuum, the interstellar realm will always be quiescent.
On Earth and other planets, noise is a daily companion because there is air and atmospheric pressure to transmit sound waves.
Infinite Number of Stars
No one has been able to determine the number of stars in the entire universe. In fact, in the Milky Way Galaxy where the Earth stands, the number of stars cannot be counted.
Astronaut Footprints in the Apollo Mission to the Moon Can Last Up to 100 Million Years
The moon also has no atmosphere. That way, there is no wind and water there. As a result, when pressure is applied, the marks left behind will last a long time.
For example, the footprints of the astronauts on the Moon, are estimated to last up to 100 million years. It’s not forever, because the Moon is bombarded with many micro-meteorites which cause erosion.
99% of the Solar System’s mass is the Sun
The sun is extremely dense, making up 99% of the mass of our entire solar system. That is what allows the Sun to dominate the gravity of all the planets.
Every second, the Sun melts about 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium. The sun also converts about 4 million tonnes of matter into energy as a by-product.
When the sun dies, it will become a red giant and cover the Earth and everything in it. However, it is predicted that the Sun will not die for the next 5 billion years.
The energy emitted by the sun every hour is greater than the planet’s needs for 1 year
Over the last 15 years, the use of solar energy has increased by 20%. According to Yale Environment 360, throughout 2017, there were 98.9 gigawatts of solar energy produced.
Even though it looks big, this amount only accounts for 0.7% of the annual electricity use on Earth. In fact, the energy emitted by the Sun every hour is very large and far more than that produced by humans.
If 2 Identical Metals Touched in Outer Space, They Would Join Forever
This effect is called ‘cold welding’. This is because the atoms that make up the metal flakes do not know that they are separate entities. Therefore, in space, they will stick together when they touch.
This effect does not occur on Earth, because there is air and water separating the atoms.
The Largest Asteroid in the Solar System is a Giant Rock Named ‘Ceres’
Asteroids, which are usually called dwarf planets, have a diameter of about 600 miles. The asteroid is by far the largest and lies between Mars and Jupiter.
The surface of Ceres is more or less the same as the mainland in India or Argentina. In October 2018, an unmanned aircraft named Dawn successfully orbited Ceres and provided new knowledge about the asteroid.
1 Day on Venus 1 Year on Earth
Venus has a very slow axis of rotation. For 1 rotation cycle, it takes 243 Earth days. Because it rotates clockwise, the Sun on Venus will also rise in the West and set in the East.
Jupiter’s Red Spot is Shrinking
Jupiter’s infamous Red Spot has been shrinking over the past decades. The spot used to contain about 3 Earths, but now it only fits 1 Earth.
Interestingly enough, as the width decreases, the speck increases in length. Scientists are still confused about why this phenomenon occurs.
Saturn Has a Moon of 2 Colors
Lapetus is one of the 62 Moons that orbit Saturn. Lapetus is quite unique because it has 2 different colors. One side is darker than the other.
This phenomenon is not found on the Moon on other planets. As it turns out, Iapetus is far beyond Saturn’s rings. Because of this, lapetus is hit by a lot of space debris from objects that may pass through its orbit.
Additionally, another moon named Phoebe, which is completely dark and farther from Iapetus, rotates clockwise around Saturn. Phoebe emits a steady stream of particles.
Meanwhile, Iapetus rotates counterclockwise. This means that only one side of Iapetus is exposed to the particles ejected from the Phoebe as they circle past one another. This explains why Iapetus isn’t completely dark, but only partially.
The Position of the North Star Can Change
Navigation will get weird when Polaris stops being the North Star in the next 13,000 years. This is because the Earth’s axis experiences a movement called ‘precession’. That is, the planetary axis will change and follow the shape of a cone.
It takes about 26,000 years for the axis to completely trace the shape of the cone. When the Earth experiences precession, the North Star which is currently Polaris will also shift.
In 3,000 BC, the North Star was believed to be Thuban otherwise known as Alpha Draconis. In 13,000 years time, the star Vega will become the North Star.
However, in 26,000 years, Polaris will return to being the North Star as Earth continues to precess.
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