Think of what you know about outer space— stars, planets, asteroids, black holes, and space junk. Those pretty much sum up what the average person knows about what is floating out and about in outer space. But take note, the universe is a vast and immense space, making it possible for it to harbor strange things that you wouldn’t believe exist. To get to know some of these bizarre things, read on.
Quasars. Quasars are beacons of light that shine on our planet and are believed to be located right at the very edge of the universe. Most scientists believe they are massive black holes found in the hearts of very distant galaxies. . What is so fascinating about them is that they tell scientists exactly how the universe came to be. Another amazing thing about quasars is that the amount of energy they release equals to more than the energy released by a hundred galaxies put together. The picture of the quasar provided above is that of 3C 273 and was taken way back in 1979.
Cannibalism. Just like some plants, animals, and people on earth who eat their own kind, galaxies can “eat” one another as well and thus evolve over time. One example is Andromeda, a galaxy near the Milky Way Galaxy that is currently making a meal out of one of its satellites. This galaxy is not a very neat eater, though, because all around it are dozens of star clusters that are remnants of her past meals.
Exoplanets. There was a time when the only planets everyone knew about were the ones found in our solar system. However since then, more and more planets have been found by astronomers, and to date, they have found more than 500 exoplanets scattered all over the outer space. What makes these extra-solar planets interesting is that they range from being gas giants that are bigger than Jupiter to being tiny rocky planets that orbit around red dwarfs.
The outer space is literally infinite. However, with the leaps and bounds made in technology, who knows what scientists may discover in the next several years? But without question, they are bound to be exciting! And whatever they will be, we can be sure the people of planet Earth are in for great discoveries.