Exciting astronomy facts that kids are not taught at school
Stars and space make for a fascinatingly subject that intrigues many. From exoplanets to supernovas, black holes and the ever-expanding universe, the scope for exploration is limitless. Here are a few exciting astronomy facts that are not included in your little ones’ curriculum.
Hot ice
About 33 light years away is an exoplanet called Gliese 436 b, composed of different water elements and forms what can be called burning ice. How is that possible? The ice on the planet remains solid due to pressure, while the extreme surface temperature of 300° C super-heats the water, causing it to come off as steam.
The alcohol cloud
Way up beyond our atmosphere, there’s a gas cloud made from alcohol about 1,000 times the diameter of our entire solar system. There’s enough alcohol there, about 400 septillion pints of beer (that’s 400 followed by 24 zeros).
Space junk
There are over a million pieces of trash orbiting the earth. Space junk is a real problem because even something as small as a paper clip could wreak havoc on our satellite system. Scientists are looking for solutions but so far, there’s no way for us to clean up the junk.
Uranus rotates sideways
Uranus is the only planet that rotates on its side. Some theories conclude that the planet’s orientation may have been altered at some point by a titanic collision with an asteroid or another planet.
Looking into the past
Since stars are so far away and their light takes so long to reach Earth, it’s possible the star you’re looking at is already dead. The Pillars of Creation are part of a region called the Eagle Nebula that’s 7000 light-years away from us. These pillar-like clouds of dust and gas were first imaged by the Hubble Telescope in 1995 and are known to have been destroyed at least 6000 years ago by a supernova. The time it takes for their light to reach us is so long, that we actually perceive what they looked like 7,000 years ago.
The changing North Star
Polaris, our North Star will leave us in 12,000 years, and will be replaced by the star Vega. This happens due to the rotation of the Earth. As our planet’s axis changes over a very long 26,000-year cycle, the north eventually shifts to different stars.