The universe is huge and scary. Not only because, figuratively speaking, we barely scratched the surface of what is beyond our blue-green ball with our fingertips. But also because most of what we discovered can kill us instantly and without regrets.
Here are 10 of the creepiest things in the famous Universe
10. Zombie stars come back to life, stealing substance from neighboring stars
Such stars - white dwarfs - are called "Type Ia Supernovae" (Ia Supernovas). They are almost dead, but can be reborn if they are in a close binary system. In this case, the substance can begin to flow from the donor star to the white dwarf.
And this will continue until the “star zombie” sucks out enough material to become a supernova and spew its “guts” throughout the universe.
9. Cannibal galaxies
Cannibalism is a taboo subject in most places on Earth. However, in the endless depths of space there are cannibals who are always ready to devour smaller "relatives". And one of these monsters is relatively close to us.
About two billion years ago, the Andromeda galaxy actually ate the sister-galaxy of the Milky Way. And approximately after 4.5 billion years, the Milky Way awaits the same fate. Anyone who lives up to this moment is waiting for an amazing light show!
8. The coldest place in the universe
Living in the coldest city in the world is not easy. But there are much colder places in the universe. This is how the Boomerang Nebula has a temperature of −272 ° C.
In appearance, this nebula resembles a bow tie, but Mr. Frost could have worn it except on an unimaginably huge scale.
It owes its formation to the flow of gas from a central star or an entire star system. It moves at a speed of 600,000 km / h, while rapidly expanding. Because of this expansion, the nebula is so cold. Perhaps this is not the worst part of space, but you can not call it a resort.
7. The harmony of beauty and death on the planet HD 189733 A b
In the constellation Chanterelle is a blue planet, on which it rains from molten glass. Due to the proximity to the parent star, the surface temperature of HD 189733 A b reaches 930 C on the light side and 425 C on the dark side.
Obviously, this beautiful planet will kill you instantly if you decide to walk along its surface.
The original hypothesis was that there was a lot of water in the atmosphere of this planet. However, later studies found that the colors of HD 189733 A b are due to the presence of particles of silicates in its atmosphere. They scatter visible light in the blue part of the spectrum.
6. The Great Attractor
The great attractor, he is the Great center of attraction - a real astrological anomaly. This is something that lies in the far corners of space, and has a huge gravitational attraction. It captures almost everything that is nearby. The mass of the Great Attractor is 10 quadrillion times the mass of the Sun.
It becomes strange that the detected mass of galactic clusters is not enough to justify such a large gravitational attraction. The avoidance zone is an area in the plane of the Milky Way, which is so densely occupied by a star, galaxies and cosmic dust that obscures visible light, which is why scientists cannot observe distant galaxies. This is important because the Great Attractor is located there.
And behind it, in the region of the Shapley supercluster, an even more massive cluster of galaxies was found.
What is so bad about this? The very existence of the Great Attractor speaks of how little we know about outer space, and that potential variables in the great game of mankind and space lie in every corner of the Universe.
5. The darkest planet in the universe
TrEs-2b is an incredibly sinister place, similar to space Hell. This black gas giant reflects less than 1% of all light that enters from outside. Therefore, TrEs-2b was officially named the darkest planet ever discovered by NASA.
Its impenetrable darkness is partially associated with the absorption of light by gases, which occupy most of the planet's surface.
Despite this, astronomers are still not quite sure how this planet can be just as incredibly dark and incredibly hot. TrES-2b glows a bright red color, as its surface is heated to 1100 degrees Celsius.
When a commercial intergalactic journey becomes a reality, it is safe to assume that TrES-2b will not be a very popular holiday destination.
4. A trillion lightning bolts in a black hole
One of the most incredible things in the universe is in the center of the galaxy known as 3C303. A supermassive black hole was discovered there, which is not uncommon in the case of most galaxies. It is made special by magnetic fields that generate the largest electric current in the entire history of the Universe. - 10 in the 18th degree amperes.
This electric current is equivalent to one trillion lightning on Earth combined. In other words, this current can do a little more than make your hair stand on end.
Lightning in itself can be quite scary, especially at close range. Anyone who has ever encountered a major storm can attest to this. But remember that even the most severe storms on our planet are just a child’s game for this great electricity leviathan, which is behind the stars.
3. Superempty Eridan
Another scientific anomaly that has the potential to turn everything we know about space upside down is Eradan's Super Hollow or Relic Cold Spot. It is a huge and completely empty area in space. Its width is about 500 million light years, and its depth is billions of light years, and there are no traces of ordinary matter or dark matter in it. Absolute nothing.
Moreover, the sheer size of Super Hollow makes it the largest thing in our universe discovered by NASA to date.
Even more frightening is that scientists do not have clear answers about how this empty pocket came about. Some researchers even suggest that Super-hollow is the creation of a giant black hole, or even the imprint of another Universe outside of ours.
2. Hyper speed stars
This name is given to stars rushing through space at a frantic speed. This happens when a pair of stars is captured by the gravitational attraction of the black hole of their galaxy. While one of these stars simply disappears into the void, the other is thrown into space as a result of a massive and sudden change in gravity at a speed reaching 10,000 kilometers per second.
Hyper-speed stars travel so fast that they can free themselves from gravity and travel the universe without limits. Imagine, if you like, a massive sun that quickly penetrates through space, like a knife through oil. Imagine the devastation that this can cause any poor planet in its path. And worst of all, these stars are more than just a concept: they are reality.
1. Wandering black holes
Black holes, as most people know, are an area of space-time that has such a strong gravitational attraction that it does not release objects moving at the speed of light. Even the quanta of the light itself disappear in it.
In general, black holes are extremely scary in themselves. On the other hand, at least most of them are completely satisfied with their position and remain motionless. However, there are black holes that have a more adventurous character. They are known as wandering black holes.
These black holes travel aimlessly throughout the universe, absorbing everything and everything in its path. Even more disturbing is that they are moving at a speed of about 5,000,000 kilometers per hour, or about 1389 kilometers per second. And no one knows what is on the other side of the black hole. At least, if you stand in the way of an accelerating star, the result will be obvious.
But the mysterious world-eaters are a completely different story, and the fact that some of them are in motion does not inspire optimism.