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6 Extraordinary Facts about the Universe

Think you know all there is to our universe? What about these incredible facts that will make you rethink how we view ourselves within the mighty cosmos.

By People! Just say Something!Published 3 years ago 3 min read
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It's impossible to comprehend the whole scope of the universe's complexity since it's so enormous. Humans can barely scratch the surface of its vastness, yet we get incredible data and photos that are both awe-inspiring and perplexing every time we do. Because the leading space exploration organisations have made what we do know easily available to the public, here are some of the most fascinating facts for your enjoyment.

The Tallest Mountain in our Solar System is on Mars

Satellite image of Olympus Mons on Mars

On Mars, Olympus Mons is the highest mountain on any of the Solar System's planets. The mountain is a massive shield volcano (similar to those found in the Haiiwain Islands) with a height of 26 kilometres and a diameter of 600 kilometres. To put this in perspective, the mountain is about three times the height of Mount Everest.

Sagittarius B has a massive alcohol cloud inside it

Sagittarius B is a massive molecular cloud of gas and dust in the Milky Way's centre, 26,000 light-years from Earth, with a diameter of 463,000,000,000 kilometres and a staggering 10-billion-billion-billion-litres of alcohol. The vinyl alcohol in the cloud isn't the most flavourful drink in the cosmos, but it's a crucial organic chemical that reveals how life-forming molecules get their earliest building blocks.

There are roughly 400 million stars in our galaxy

Our Sun is vital to humans as the centre of our Solar System and a source of light and energy, yet it is only one of the countless stars that make up our Milky Way home galaxy. According to current estimations, our galaxy contains about 400 billion stars.

We are made from Stardust

This may sound fantastic, but nearly every element found on Earth and everything that makes up life on Earth was generated in the blazing core of a star. Thus our bodies are comprised of stardust. NASA has conducted a considerable study on stardust, which you can learn more about on their official website.

A Day on Venus is longer than a year

Venus

Venus is our Solar System's slowest revolving planet, taking longer to revolve fully than it does to complete its orbit. As a result, Venus' days are longer than its years. It's also home to one of the most hostile ecosystems imaginable, complete with electrical storms, high CO2 levels, and sulfuric acid clouds.

We can look billions of years back into the past using the Hubble Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Telescope allows us to peer into the universe's furthest reaches. NASA has generated some stunning photos thanks to this great piece of engineering, one of which is the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The fantastic image, which was created using photos from the telescope from 2003 and 2004, depicts a tiny area of the sky in remarkable clarity; it comprises 10,000 objects, most of which are newborn galaxies, and functions as a doorway back in time. We are transported 13 billion years into the past in one image, only 400 to 800 million years after the Big Bang, which is very early in the universe's history.

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People! Just say Something!

Quirky Writing created by Artistic Creativity and the power of AI with the goal of learning something new every day!

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