11 Mysteries of Space

From the mysterious black holes to unbelievable white holes, here are 11 mysteries of space you will find hard to believe. Subscribe for weekly wacky videos and learn interesting facts about the world with awesome top 10 lists and other amazing videos. 6 - The Planet of Burning Ice - Scientists have recently discovered a new Neptune sized exoplanet, called Gliese 436 b. Despite its size, the planet is not a gas giant and instead has a rocky core and a surface covered in ice. It orbits a red dwarf star, known as Gliese 436. Gliese 436 b’s orbit is very close to the star and because of this proximity, the planet’s temperature can reach 980 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s obviously very hot, definitely hot enough to melt ice, so how is it that Gliese 436 b’s surface is still covered in ice? Apparently the proximity to the star also produces another effect – immense gravity. Scientists theorize that the temperature is so hot that the ice actually burns, and yet the gravitational pull is so strong that it does not allow the water vapor to escape and instead compresses it back into a solid form of ice. 5 - Gliese 581 c - Astronomers for the first time have found an “Earth-like” planet outside of our solar system that they believe could support water and harbor life. The planet is in what scientists call the “Goldilocks zone” – not too close to a star to be too hot, or too far to be too cold. The planet is 50% larger than the Earth and has about 5 times its mass. It is located closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun, however it orbits a red dwarf, which is about 50 times dimmer than the Sun, which is why its proximity to the star does not drastically increase its surface temperature. Plus it is “only” 20.5 light years away, which is relatively close for a star system. 4 - Black Holes - A black hole is a singularity in space in which the gravitational force is so strong that it doesn’t even allow light to escape. Scientists believe some black holes were created when the galaxies first formed, while others, known as stellar black holes, can form when very large stars, up to 20 times the mass of the sun, become supernovas and then collapse in on themselves. “Supermassive” black holes are the biggest and can have a mass greater than 1 million Suns. Scientists have also discovered that every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center. The black hole at the center of the Milky Way is called Sagittarius A, and it has a mass equal to about 4 million Suns. 3 - White Holes - White holes are theoretical constructs thought to exist in the universe. They are the opposite of black holes; while black holes suck all matter in to them and don’t let anything escape, including light, white holes don’t allow anything in and instead exhibit continuous eruptions of matter and energy. Another way of looking at it is that black holes pull, while white holes push. Justification for white holes can be found in Einstein’s theory of relativity, which states that if a black hole exists, a white hole should as well, as it is a time reversal of a black hole. As a matter of fact, some scientists even believe that the Big Bang was a result of a white hole. 2 - Dark Matter - All of the known planets, stars, and galaxies only make up 4% of the universe. The other 96% is made up of matter scientists cannot directly observe, and includes dark energy and dark matter. Dark matter is difficult to observe because it does not emit light or energy, thus making it hard to detect. Most scientists theorize that dark matter is made up of WIMPS – or weakly interacting massive particles, which have ten to a hundred times the mass of a proton, but weak interactions with normal matter. And even though scientists can’t detect it, they know dark matter exists because they can see how light bends around it. 1 - Space Electrical Current - Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered a nearly limitless source of renewable energy. The only problem is it is located 2 billion light years away. It is being created by a cosmic jet and registers 1018 amps, making it the strongest current ever detected, which is equivalent to about a trillion bolts of lightning. Scientists are not exactly sure why this electricity is being created, but they think it has something to do with the black hole at the center of its galaxy. They believe that the gravitational field of the black hole is interacting with the electrical field and driving the current outward. They estimate that the electrical field extends 150,000 light years across, which is greater than the diameter of the Milky Way.