MYTHS AND TRUTH ABOUT SPACE

Now, as much as we enjoy epic SpaceBattles with blasters cutting through the black void and causing cheerful booms, that's not exactly what happens when something explodes in the big black space. Space is basically a vacuum, meaning it has no oxygen. And oxygen is essential for any burning process here on Earth. You might argue that stars can burn and explode into Supernova, but that's not exactly true either. Stars don't rely on oxygen, so they're not burning. There are constant thermonuclear reactions going on inside them. So, a spaceship can only explode like that if it has a nuclear power plant installed in it. If it doesn't, then the only special effect you get is a brief flash that disappears quickly. Liquid oxygen, which is often on board spaceships, burns out very quickly in the vacuum of outer space. As for the boom, oxygen plays a crucial role here too. Sound only travels through air molecules bumping into each other. Since there's no air in space, the whole scene would be silent. And that's not a bad thing either. Just imagine how deafening the sun would be if sound could travel in space. Despite what many sci-fi directors want us to believe, there's no dark side to the Moon. Our satellite is tidally locked with Earth, meaning it's always turned towards us with one side while the other always looks away. The sun is much farther from us than the moon, and we're both turning round and round, warming and lighting this side and that. In turn, it means that once in every short while, the Moon is lit by the Sun from either side. It's just that we can't see it from where we are. While things appear weightless in outer space, there's actual gravity all over the place. It becomes weaker the further you get from a heavy object like our planet, but it's still there. In fact, there's not a single place in the universe that isn't affected by the gravity of this or that cosmic object. Everything that has mass has gravity as well, yes, even you and me. But space objects are so massive that they tug smaller things towards them. That's why the planets of the solar system orbit the sun.Stronger gravity implies that celestial bodies can maintain stable rings after their formation. Some experts speculate that Earth may have had a ring system in the past, possibly formed from a collision with a Mars-sized object. This collision could have created a dense ring of debris around our planet, which eventually coalesced to form what we now know as the Moon. Additionally, scientists propose the existence of a mysterious planet, referred to as Planet 9, lurking at the outer edges of our solar system beyond Neptune. If Planet 9 does exist, it is believed to be similar to Uranus or Neptune but approximately ten times more massive than Earth. It likely orbits the Sun at a distance about 20 times farther than Neptune. Another intriguing theory suggests that Planet 9 could potentially be a black hole the size of a grapefruit, warping space similar to a large planet. Contrary to previous beliefs, water is actually quite abundant in our solar system. It can be found in asteroids, comets, craters on the Moon and Mercury, and even at the poles of Mars, mostly hidden beneath layers of ice and the planet's dusty surface. Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, is considered the most promising candidate for hosting life outside of Earth. It is believed to have a vast ocean of liquid water beneath its frozen surface, potentially containing twice as much water as all of Earth's oceans combined. Despite being significantly farther from the Sun than Earth, Neptune surprisingly emits more heat than it receives. It also exhibits greater atmospheric activity compared to its neighboring planet, Uranus, even though Uranus is closer to the Sun. The reason behind Neptune's extremely strong winds remains unknown.On May 20th, the docking with the station was successfully completed. Alongside another engineer named Serge, they diligently carried out their space duties. They embarked on multiple spacewalks, conducted repairs, took care of the station, and even conducted scientific experiments. Living in space became more manageable with company and a lot of work. However, things took a turn for the worse on the day Serge was supposed to return home. According to the mission plan, the mission was meant to last for 5 months, and a new astronaut was scheduled to replace the old ones. The transport ship finally docked with the station on October 10th, but only one astronaut returned to Earth. Serge was left alone at the mere station, continuing his work as the sole flight engineer of the crew. The station couldn't remain empty, so they had to send someone to replace Serge. Although he wasn't prepared for such a long stay in space and hadn't trained for it, there was no other choice. One month passed, and Sergey was informed that he would soon return home. However, an unexpected turn of events occurred. They contacted Sergey and informed him that he couldn't return because the country that promised to bring him home no longer existed. Meanwhile, a major crisis unfolded in Russia, making the cosmonaut's return impossible due to lack of funds. Just imagine the condition Serge found himself in - hundreds of miles away from home, alone in the vastness of outer space, with no idea how many days he had left to endure. The days passed slowly, turning into weeks, and then into months. It would have been much easier if being in space didn't harm one's health. However, in the conditions of zero gravity, the human body suffers significant damage. The muscles weaken due to the lack of necessary load, leading to atrophy. Although astronauts perform daily exercises, it is insufficient to maintain their physical condition. Additionally, the bones start to weaken, leaving the person feeling weak. Even after six months of such a life, it takes a considerable amount of time for an astronaut to regain their previous physical shape upon returning home. Furthermore, there are numerous other challenges to overcome.