The universe is filled with bizarre and frightening phenomena, from stars that can drain the life out of their companions to colossal black holes that are billions of times larger than our Sun.
The “Resurrected” Planet
Fomalhaut b is a giant planet that many astronomers once observed as being dead and shattered into cosmic dust, but recent signs indicate it may be coming back to life.
In 2008, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope announced the discovery of a giant planet orbiting the bright star Fomalhaut, located just 25 light-years from Earth. Other researchers later expressed skepticism about the planet named Fomalhaut b, citing that the discovery team may have merely envisioned a massive cloud of dust.
However, a new analysis of Hubble’s observational results from 2004-2006, which is expected to be published soon in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, has rediscovered the planet Fomalhaut b. Once again, many researchers are voicing doubts about the existence of this planet.
The case of Fomalhaut b is referred to as a “living zombie planet,” having died but now showing signs of revival, albeit not entirely as it was before. Astronomers view “living zombie planets” similarly to Type Ia supernovae—massive explosions that eject the internal components of a star into the universe.
Type Ia supernovae explode from a binary star system that contains at least one white dwarf—a super dense star that has ceased nuclear fusion. White dwarfs are in a “dead” state but aren’t always that way in a binary system. They can be revived, though briefly, in a massive supernova explosion by siphoning material from the companion star or merging with it.
Vampire Stars
Like fictional vampires, some stars in the universe have found a way to “stay forever young” by gradually draining the life force from unfortunate victims. These vampire stars are also known as “blue stragglers,” and they behave much younger than their older neighbors formed around the same time. For instance, they burn hotter and appear bluer.
Scientists suggest that these vampire stars exist by siphoning hydrogen fuel from their companion stars.
Colossal Black Holes
In astronomy, a black hole is defined as a region in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from its boundary, except for matter that may escape through quantum tunneling. In other words, a black hole can consume everything within a sufficient proximity.
There are countless black holes in the universe. In fact, astronomers believe that supermassive black holes reside at the center of most (if not all) galaxies, including our Milky Way. Recently, researchers discovered two black holes capable of containing the mass of 10 billion suns.
The Uncharted Darkness of the Universe
If you fear the dark, the far reaches of the universe are not the place for you. It is an extremely dark area, far from any glimmer of light.
According to scientists, the universe appears black because it is astonishingly empty. Despite thousands of billions of stars scattered throughout the universe, the vast voids between them lack enough molecules to reflect and scatter light.
Witchcraft Weapons
In a space filled with strange shapes like shimmering nebulae, the evil eyes of witches, we see all these forms in the diffusion of glowing gases and dust, known as nebulae scattered throughout the universe. Pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon that tricks the brain, makes us see familiar objects in random shapes. Seeing a spider or a witch’s broom in space is just one example of pareidolia, a phenomenon that tricks the brain into perceiving familiar objects in random patterns.
Killer Asteroids
Experts indicate that an asteroid with a diameter of at least 1 km has the potential to wipe out human civilization if it collides with our planet. Even asteroids as small as 40 meters wide could cause significant damage on a local scale if they were to collide with Earth near densely populated areas.
Asteroid impacts have occurred on Earth. For instance, scientists believe that a 10-km-sized asteroid caused the extinction of all dinosaurs on Earth when it struck our planet 65 million years ago. Fortunately, scientists around the world are continuously monitoring hazardous asteroids in space and devising ways to deflect those that threaten to bombard Earth.
The Sun in Its Most Active State
The Sun provides life to Earth, but it is not necessarily benevolent. Occasionally, the Sun emits massive solar flares that pose potential harm to communication systems, satellite navigation, and electrical grids on Earth.
Such solar outbursts have increased recently as the star entered a particularly active phase in its 11-year cycle. Researchers speculate that solar activity will peak in 2013.
