Galaxies – Nature Noon

The Hottest Place in the Universe

This is about the hottest place in the universe. It has 540 million degrees Fahrenheit—the Sun has 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. So if you want to know where the hottest place in the universe is, then you’re in the right place. Let’s get started! The Hottest Place in the Universe Indeed, our own planet, Earth, hosts some truly extreme environments. For instance, Death Valley in California currently holds the record of 134º Fahrenheit. But, tiny Earth is a mere blip on the overall cosmic radar. Distant locations across the universe host environments that are truly unimaginable to human beings. The hottest planet is 870º F. But, where is the hottest place in the universe? Let’s take a look: The Hottest Place in the Universe Surrounding a Galaxy Cluster X-ray telescopes aboard a Japanese spacecraft called Suzaku located the current record-holder. Over five billion light-years away, in the constellation Virgo, a cluster of galaxies sits bunched together. And surrounding the galaxies is a fiery-hot cloud of gas. In fact, the cloud’s temperatures reach a staggering 540 million degrees Fahrenheit (300 million Celsius). By comparison, our extremely hot Sun only reaches 27 million degrees, even deep within its core. Plus, in our article about supernovae, we explained the process of nuclear fusion. And, if our Sun’s measly temperatures can kick off wild phenomena like fusion, imagine what can happen at these sweltering temps. The extreme temperature findings were the result of multiple combined sources. The Japanese images, along with photos from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, delivered the record-breaking gas. Actually, a 450,000 light-year region contains the burning gas. In other words, tiny compared to the overall galaxy cluster’s five million light-year width. Zooming through space at 2,500 miles per second, massive galaxy collisions are a recipe for true chaos. Tokyo University of Science professor Naomi Ota claims galaxy cluster collisions produce the highest energy since the big bang. Further reading and breathtaking photos of galaxy collisions can be found all over NASA’s official website. Hubble has also collected several amazing images of galaxies colliding, like the one shown here. What causes this hottest place in the universe? Currently, astronomers are unsure exactly why this region is so hot. However, this galaxy cluster has likely seen multiple collisions with other clusters. Therefore, the energy and heat.

Astronomy

Dragonfly 44 Galaxy: 99.9% Dark Matter

This is about the galaxy Dragonfly 44. Dragonfly 44 is made of 99.9% dark matter. So if you want to learn more about the Dragonfly 44 galaxy, you’re in the right place. Let’s jump right in! Galaxy Dragonfly 44 Discoverd Using the W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, astronomers have located a unique galaxy, Dragonfly 44. Tucked 70,000 light-years away in the Coma Cluster, Dragonfly 44 has approximately the same mass as our own Milky Way galaxy. Yet, it contains less than one-hundredth of our star count. But, how can that be? If this galaxy contains drastically less matter than ours, how could it have the same mass? Astronomers believe this inconsistency is because Dragonfly 44 is composed of around 99.9% dark matter. What Is Dark Matter? The short answer: nobody really knows. But, dark matter is a type of matter that does not interact with the electromagnetic spectrum. In other words, it does not interact with the matter that our entire worlds and lives are based upon. Because of this, scientists are not able to directly observe, test, or see dark matter, hence the name. In fact, we now know that all of the normal matter in our known universe only accounts for less than 5% of its total mass. That means that all of the stars, planets, galaxies, and everything else you can imagine is only a fraction of the universe. So, when you look at the night sky, the black space in between stars is not quite as empty as you may think. How Do We Know Dragonfly 44 Is Made of Dark Matter? Currently, we are only able to observe dark matter through its impacts on surrounding visible matter. Astronomers can accurately measure a galaxy’s mass based on the motions of the galaxy’s stars. Basically, certain levels of mass cause specific speeds and motions of stars. However, when astronomers observed Dragonfly 44, stars were moving remarkably fast compared to the mass contained in the galaxy. Actually, their measurements indicated that around one one-hundredth of one percent of Dragonfly 44’s mass was in the form of visible matter, like stars. They knew something must be causing these puzzling speeds. This was when researchers became convinced that the missing mass must be in the form of dark matter. Why Is Dragonfly 44 Important? Unraveling the dark matter mystery is currently at the top of nearly very astronomers’ and physicists’ lists. This invisible matter that accounts for a very large portion of the known universe will be the discovery of the century, no doubt. Dragonfly 44 is relatively nearby in cosmic terms, allowing it to be observed much easier than distant, ancient galaxies. Also, if the galaxy truly is composed almost entirely of dark matter then, what better place to study the elusive material? Finally, with an unusually low surface brightness and sparse star count, Dragonfly 44 allows for clear, uncluttered observation. But, again, this can only help with attempting to understand dark matter. What Is Next For Dragonfly 44? Needless to say, the dark matter debacle will not likely be resolved in the very near future. But, Dragonfly 44 will certainly be a nice stepping stone to help with the quest. This galaxy sits in a group of more than a thousand identified galaxies, known as the Coma Cluster. Researchers are already seeking and identifying other galaxies in the cluster with similar low brightness to Dragonfly 44. Perhaps these peculiar entities will be one of the keys to solving modern astronomy’s arguably biggest mystery, dark matter.

How Big Is the Milky Way (Human Comprehendible Format)

Astronomy

How Big Is the Milky Way Really?

This is about how big the milky way is. In plain numbers, the milky way is 52,850 light-years big. However, if you want to understand the milky way’s size and distances in a human comprehendible format, then you’re in the right place. Let’s do this! Milky Way’s Size in a Human Comprehendible Format Indeed, our universe is truly gigantic. But, even small parts of our universe are still absolutely vast. In fact, even our home galaxy proves truly mind-boggling when it comes to distance. So, just how vast is our native galaxy? We break it down with Milky Way distances on scales that even we tiny humans can understand. Let’s get started! What is a Light-Year? As we explore the amazing Milky Way distances in this article, it’s helpful to understand the speed of light. Simply put, light is the fastest thing in our universe, our cosmic speed limit. So, how fast is that? Without anything in its way, light travels at a staggering 186,000 miles per second. Yes, per second. In other words, light can travel all the way around planet Earth seven times in a single second. Compared to Our Solar System Previously, we explained our solar system distances in human-friendly terms. But, our solar system is a mere blip or pixel of our entire galaxy, the Milky Way. In fact, over 500 solar systems have been discovered in our Milky Way. Not to mention, our Milky Way is simply one of at least 100 billion galaxies in our observable universe. But what does that mean for our galaxy’s size? Simply put, our solar system is a speck compared to the Milky Way. Our Milky Way galaxy is a whopping 587 trillion light-years across. In other words, you could travel across our entire solar system 53,000 times and still not equal one trip across the Milky Way. Even NASA’s New Horizons, known for its ground-breaking 2015 Pluto flyby, currently holds the spacecraft speed record at 36,000 miles per hour. Still, New Horizons would take 1.9 million years to journey across the Milky Way galaxy. Put another way, that is the time since the Bible was written, multiplied by 930. Compared to Earth Next, how does our life-bearing home planet, Earth, compare to the Milky Way. After all, Earth is just one of at least 100 billion planets thought to exist in our galaxy. Plus, Earth’s size is, at best, very average and quite unimpressive. Still, at over 7,900 miles wide, Earth is huge to humans. But, you would have to line up nearly 75 billion Earths to stretch across the Milky Way galaxy. Plus, at 24,000 miles around, it would take more than 24 billion trips around planet Earth to equal one cross-Milky-Way trip. Even the United States of America, at 2,600 miles across, feels truly large to us. Still, 220 billion trips across the USA would not quite equal one journey across our Milky Way. Mount Everest, standing tall at 29,000 feet high, is planet Earth’s highest mountain. But, it takes almost 107 trillion Everest climbs to equal one Milky Way voyage. Compared to Human Beings Last but not least, we seven billion people are the only life, as we know it, in our entire universe. No other planet is known to contain animals, spacecraft, technology, insects, or anything else. So, how big is the Milky Way compared to humans? We all know bullets travel fast. In fact, they are capable of around 1,700 miles per hour. However, even these lightning speeds are a mere 0.0001 percent of light speed. Therefore, a bullet would take nearly 40,000 years to travel across our Milky Way. Also, sound, another phenomenon synonymous with quick speeds (761 miles per hour). Therefore, a sound wave would take nearly 88 million years to journey across our galaxy. In other words, that’s more than 32 billion days, or, 771 billion hours. Currently, The Koenigsegg Agera R holds the record for the fastest automobile at 273 miles per hour. But, the Agera R, constantly traveling at top speeds, would take almost 90 billion days to cross our galaxy. Now, at 105 miles per hour, man’s fastest baseball pitch would take over 230 billion days to float across the Milky Way. Strike! Even the fastest known animal, the cheetah, bolting at an impressive 61 miles per hour would take a billion years to span our home galaxy. In other words, that’s 400 billion hours or 9.6 trillion hours. Finally, those truly ambitious aspiring astronauts could choose to walk across the Milky Way. However, be forewarned that your journey would last for nearly 190 quadrillion hours. Indeed, that is “190,” followed by 12 zeros. Simply put, a Milky Way walk would take more than 41,000 times planet Earth’s entire life (4.6 billion years). Otherwise, your trip would require over 2.6 trillion human lifespans.