Fascinating Stories About the Universe and Life

British spelling.

The universe burst into existence 13.8 billion years ago, and so did time itself.

The Origins of Timekeeping: How Humans Created Days, Months, and Years.

The universe is believed to have come into existence through a colossal expansion, marking the beginning of space and time.

We, as humans, have devised a timescale to suit ourselves.

A day corresponds to the time it takes for the Earth to complete one rotation on its axis.

A month reflects a timescale aligned with the Moon's cycle around the Earth, while a year represents how long the Earth takes to complete one orbit around the Sun.

We often talk about "yesterday" in everyday conversation, but far back in the distant past, there must have been a day where there was no "yesterday". Yes, it's difficult for us to comprehend that statement.

How would we manage without our organised timescale?

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An average-sized adult consists of approximately 7 octillion atoms; an octillion is a 1 followed by 27 zeros.

The atoms that make you are ancient, formed in stars and during supernova explosions. They are going through an endless process of recycling.

The most abundant elements in our bodies are hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. Together, they make up about 96% of the atoms that form you and me. An element, after all, is simply a pure substance composed of only one type of atom.

As we go about our lives, billions of atoms are constantly leaving and joining our bodies, a reminder that we are always changing.

The lightest atoms, hydrogen and helium, have existed for roughly 13.8 billion years, forming just after the universe was born.

The heavier atoms, however, came much later, mostly forged within stars and during supernova explosions.

Interestingly, under normal conditions, atoms cannot be destroyed; they are endlessly recycled, moving through time and space from one form to another.

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Human existence: are we here because of evolution?

Despite doubt, evolution best explains our origins.

Billions of people do not believe in the evolution of life, but I struggle to find a more credible explanation for our existence.

Evolutionary biologists believe that humans, along with every other living species, share common ancestry with simple, bacteria-like early life forms.

These early life forms can be traced back at least 3.7 billion years.

Over countless generations, small changes have occurred, with the more favourable ones passed on to future generations.

This gradual process, known as natural selection, has been one of the main forces shaping life since it first appeared on Earth.

It is likely one of the main reasons we exist today.

The one thing evolution requires, though, is time, a great deal of it.

Our lives are too short to witness the tiny changes as they happen, although small evolutionary changes can still be observed.

What are your thoughts?

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Comets are lonely space travellers.

Comets are objects in our solar system made of dust, rocks, and ice.

Comets orbit the Sun in highly elliptical (oval-shaped) paths.

As they get closer to the Sun, they warm up and release gases and other debris.

This outgassing produces a coma, sometimes referred to as a tail.

In 1986, my two young children and I watched the most famous short-period comet, Halley, as it made its closest approach to the Sun on its long journey through space.

There’s a chance my children will see it again. In 2023, in a region further out than the most distant planet, Neptune, it turned around and began its long trek back towards the Sun, arriving here in 2061.

Depending on when you were born, some people will see Comet Halley twice. I saw it once; I will never see it again.

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