In this article we are about to learn lot of mind blowing facts of our Universe which will definitely make us spell bound and fill our minds and hearts with awe. The universe involves all existing matter (including planets, stars, galaxies) ,energy and space with all other forms of matter discovered and yet to be discovered. The universe is vast hence its distribution or spatial size is unknown but still the observable universe is measurable.
The Universe
The word universe is derived from the Latin word "universum". The Universe is physically defined as all of space and time that includes the physical laws (which govern or influence energy and matter) hence it is also defined as "the totality of existence". This space and time involves various forms of energy (electromagnetic radiation and matter) thus including planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and other heavenly bodies. The universe meaning is also related to the world, cosmos and nature.
Universe Facts - Universe size, scale, shape, age and expansion
1. It is believed that Universe does not have center or an edge but undergoes nonstop expansion with uniformly distributed galaxies. The expansion of the universe observed from earth is about 67 to 70 kilometres per second for every mega-parsec or million parsecs (3.3 million light years) of distance. One parsec is approximately 3.26 light-years. Hence as the distance increases the expansion increases, thus we don't know whether the Universe is finite or infinite.
2. The Universe is composed of dark energy, dark matter, electromagnetic radiation, antimatter and ordinary matter. Apart from visible heavenly bodies the universe comprises an unseen and unidentified matter which occupies more than visible bodies called Dark Matter. Based on estimation done at 2015; this Dark matter forms about 25.8% of the Universe, while dark energy that accelerates Universe's expansion is about 69%. The rest 5% is comprised of ordinary matter including visible Planets, Stars and gas clouds. This Planets, Stars and gas clouds forms only about 0.3% of our vast majestic Universe.
3. Observable Universe simply means the part of the Universe that can be observed from our Milky Way. Thus we are the Observer and the observable universe depends on our location. The diameter of this observable universe is incredibly about 93 billion light-years which goes on increasing due to expansion by dark energy.
4. The best estimation of Universe age is about 13.8 billion years and the Universe shape can of flat or curved or bend by gravity and mass which may be open or closed.
5. Early models suggested earth as center of the universe, but later heliocentric model with the Sun at the center of the Solar System was developed by Nicolaus Copernicus.
6. It is estimated there are about 200 to 400 billion stars and 100 billion planets in our Milky way galaxy. Also there are about 200 billion to 2 trillion galaxies in our observable universe. Regarding the Universe stars; one estimation in 2010 estimated that there are around three sextillion (300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) stars in the universe. Astronomers have estimated that 275 million stars are born and die throughout the observable universe every day.
7. Here is a cool fact; Consider the bright star Vega which is nearly 25 light-years away from us. The light we see from that star was left 25 years ago. If a star is formed today 50 light years away from us then we will see its light or the star after 50 years. which means whatever star you see or whatever light you see from the star is from the past of that star.
8. BPM 37093 or Lucy (white dwarf star with a hydrogen atmosphere) is the name of largest known diamond in our galaxy. Lucy weighs about 5 million trillion trillion pounds thus forming a diamond of 10 billion trillion trillion carats (10000000000000000000000000000000000 carats). It is located in the constellation of Centaurus at a distance of 50 light-years.
9. Near the center of our Milky Way Galaxy approximately 26,000 light-years from Earth; a giant vast molecular cloud of gas and dust exists that floats with 10-billion-billion-billion litres of alcohol (ethanol, vinyl alcohol, and methanol). This Unique matter is called as Sagittarius B2 and it spans across 150 light years and it is 3 million times the mass of the Sun.
10. Our Milky way Galaxy has a diameter of about 100,000 light years (1,000,000,000,000,000,000 km ) and it is about 1000 light years thick.
11. When a big massive star reaches the end of its life, it explodes thus creating a black hole. The gravitational force of a black hole is very strong that nothing even light can escape from it. These black holes keep on growing by eating gas and dust around them. Black hole was first characterized by Karl Schwarzschild.
12. Scientists believe there may be a supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy called Sagittarius A. It is almost 30,000 light years (about 8 kpc) away and four million times more massive than our sun. Black holes do not suck anything instead things fall into black them. The closest black hole to earth is V616 Monocerotis which is 3000 light years away. Black holes are of three types based on their masses; they are stellar, super massive and miniature.
13. Anything can become a black hole, if Earth is collapse and condense all of its mass into a very small area of radius, just below 9 millimetres then it can become a black hole. If a human is compressed smaller than a nucleus of an atom then the human ca become a black hole. Sun would become black hole if it is compressed at a radius of about 3 kilometres. This radius at which objects become black hole is called Schwarzschild radius.
14. The most dense and fastest spinning objects in the universe Known to us is Neutron stars which are remains from a supernova event (death or explosion of a star). They are collapsed and incredibly dense or compressed. They are so dense that even a small amount of matter from them that could fit in your hand can weigh up to billions of tons.
15. The fastest-spinning neutron star known to us is called as PSR J1748-2446ad which rotates at a rate of 716 rotations per second. at a speed of over 70,000 km per second at its equator. It is located in a cluster of stars called Terzan 5 at Sagittarius constellation which is 18,000 light-years away from Earth.
16. Researchers (astronomers) have found that at nearly 12 billion light years away from earth, a particular quasar called APM 08279+5255 has a floating water reservoir which is equivalent to 100 to 140 trillions time the mass of all waters found on earth. It is located in the constellation Lynx.
17. It is believed that when a Super massive black hole is at a place where density of matter is higher than usual, then those high density matter falling into them creates extremely brightness which is called quasar. The temperature can rise up to millions of degrees. This phenomena is still in debate. Quasar are the brightest known objects in our observable Universe.
18. These quasars are so intense and luminous that they are 100 times more brighter than our entire Milky Way.The nearest known quasar to earth was IC 2497 which is 730 million light years away but in 2015 observations at Markarian 231 galaxy showed presence of two supermassive black holes whirling around each other thus making it as the closest quasar (powered by double black holes) known, which is at 600 million light years away.
19. Many researchers and scientists believe in the theory of multiverse which means in other dimensions there may exist an infinite number of parallel universes. Multiple universes along with our universe.
20. In some parts of the space the solar winds, interstellar gas clouds, Gas between stars can even reach millions of degrees in temperature but the general cosmic background temperature of outer space is -270.42 Celsius. Technically, as the space is vacuum it has no temperature. The heavenly bodies produce heat and in their absence we experience cold. The space is also completely silent because of the absence of atmosphere. Astronauts use radio waves to communicate in space
Universe Future
There are many theories regarding the future of our universe such as Big Freeze or heat death (the expansion of the universe will continue forever thus cooling as it expands to a point where life ceases to exist), Big Rip ( the density of dark energy increases causing inn expansion of the universe thus disintegrating universe objects), Big Crunch (the expansion of the universe stops and starts to contract) followed by this big crunch the another big bang happens to create another universe this is called big bounce. This big crunch and bounce is also called as pulsating theory.
False vacuum or Vacuum decay is another such theory which states that our universe may be at a false ground state or false vacuum when it drops to the true ground state or true vacuum the collapse would expand at light speed destroying everything in the way, expanding ever. This is called Bubble nucleation, the system moving to a lower energy state. This false vacuum or Vacuum decay is highly theoretical.
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