The 10 most insane space discoveries

Humanity has reached great heights in the exploration of the cosmos. It is in the relentless search for undiscovered wonders, incredible riches and terrible secrets lurking in the depths of extraterrestrial canyons. The main goal was achieved in the XX century: the first man flew into space.

In fact, the cosmos has more secrets than one can imagine. There are planets that look almost like the Earth. Also there are supermassive black holes, absorbing galaxies and radio waves. They can contain ice and dirt. It seems that scientists will never be able to say with certainty that they really know and understand space. After all, much remains unexplained.

The article presents 11 new interesting discoveries, which prove that space remains unexplored.

Two-headed flat worms

Scientists are passionate about resolving an extremely exciting question: does space contain life? That's why they sent flatworms there. Flat worms are known for their regenerative abilities, and it was interesting to observe how they behave in space.

When cutting into pieces, flat worms can be fully restored to full-fledged organisms. But in space they not just grew: some of them were reborn not with one head, but with two. This is an anomaly that many of us have not even heard of.

We live in a cosmic desert

It does not look strange at all, that everything interesting is at a great distance from us. The galaxy is too huge and far to explore! There seems to be reason to believe that there is a cosmic void, and our Milky Way is a part of it.

The universe is like a Swiss cheese. It has dense regions filled with galaxies, and holes that are relatively empty. The KBC emptiness, named after the three astronauts Keenan, Barger and Cowie that discovered it in 2013, is the largest one ever to be seen. Its radius is more than 1 billion light years.

Gravitational waves

Gravitational waves existed for centuries, but no one could prove that they are real. Finally, in February, LIGO (Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Observatory) announced that they were finally discovered. They contribute to the stretching and compression of space. Gravitational waves carry unique information about the space, objects and events that create them. This information can not be obtained in any other way!

This year, LIGO has twice discovered gravitational waves. They came from two colliding black holes that swirl around each other. These processes have been invisible for many years.

Earth supplies oxygen to the Moon

Yes, we are losing air. Its quantity is not more than 90 metric tons, so there is nothing to worry about. It turns out that the small moon Luna receives most of this oxygen.

Some atoms and molecules in the upper part of our atmosphere are lost and go into space. Some of them fall on the lunar surface, and eventually - in the particles of the lunar soil, which the astronauts of the Apollo spacecraft brought to Earth. Scientists were bewildered by the fact that the isotopes of oxygen-18 and oxygen-17, which are on the Earth, were found on the Moon. Now the secret is revealed!

Planet Nine is hiding behind Pluto

Researchers seriously believe that there is a planet the size of Neptune. It really is very big and hiding somewhere behind Pluto. Its orbit is probably quite distorted, because it is almost impossible to observe it. Nevertheless, the so-called "planet nine" definitely affects the motion of other bodies in the outer part of our solar system. Somewhere there lies a massive celestial body, and scientists will soon find it!

The Sun has a lost twin

Recent studies show that most stars are born with at least one companion. The nearest neighbor of the sun Alpha Centauri conceals in itself not one, but three stars! Now scientists are more than ever confident that our own sun once had a twin. Conditionally it is called Nemesis.

Most likely, it was not a huge twin, it just dissipated in the Milky Way, leaving no trace. Scientists believe that this is the fate of most double stars, which simply go in different ways.

The beauty of Jupiter

NASA's Yunona spacecraft recently reached Jupiter. This flight provided humanity with some of the most surreal and spectacular images of the giant formations of the planet. Although no major scientific discoveries have been made so far, photographs taken by JunoCam prove that people should not fly too far to enjoy the beauty of the universe. The shots made from the ship "Juno" are simply amazing!

The huge ice sheet on Mars

Mars hides one of the largest ice deposits known to mankind. It is about the size of New Mexico and contains up to 85% water, and the rest of the content is mostly dirt. The volume of this ice cover is really amazing - it surpasses the Upper Lake, which contains more than 12,000 cubic kilometers of water.

Building block of life

Methyl isocyanate molecules were found in the dust and gas that surrounds the protostars. They are very similar to our sun at the beginning of its existence. It is believed that the Earth and other planets were formed from the material left after the formation of our sun. Thus, by studying young stars, scientists are approaching the understanding of how life was born on our planet! Not for the first time the community of ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter / sub-millimeter Array) notices something interesting. Not so long ago a group of astronomers made an interesting discovery: the gas surrounding the young star contains real sugar molecules.

Proxima b - new Earth

Proxima Centauri is a star that is only two steps away from the sunlight of the Earth. To achieve it, 4.2 light years are required. Scientists have discovered a planet in the so-called liveable zone. On the Centaurus Proxima, liquid water can exist, which increases the chances of life developing on it.

Dubbed Proxima b - this newly discovered planet. It has a mass similar to the mass of the Earth. Members of the fund's council called Breakthrough Foundation Mark Zuckerberg, Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner announced that they will build a spacecraft the size of a microchip to explore inhabited worlds. The project was called Breakthrough Starshot.

With the discovery of Proxima b, it is likely that the planet will become the target for a new-model spacecraft.