Incredible Curiosities #5

1. You are looking at the past

Many centuries ago, physicist thought that the speed of light was infinite. However, that being proved impossible, the speed of light, c, was recognized as being 3 x108( 10 followed by 8 zeros)  meters per second. Then, this led to the conclusion that everything we see is actually from the past. Why?



Well, think about the sun. Its light takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach Earth. Therefore, we are looking at our sun like it was 8 minutes ago. Not a big deal, right? But, for galaxies billions and billions of light years away, we are looking at our universe as it was billions and billions of years ago.

2. The farthest object ever seen

The Hubble Telescope has detected the galaxy GN - z11, a 13.4 billion years old galaxy. It was created when the universe was only 400 million years old; a cosmic baby. It is the most distant object our telescopes have ever observed. Discoveries like this are extremely important, because they allow us to see how the universe was when it was still young, so we can confirm modern theories and also make predictions about our future.

3. Messages for Aliens

The spacecraft Voyager 1 represents the farthest point any manmade object has ever gone to . It is now in interstellar space,traveling “in the space between stars”. However, the most interesting thing about this craft is that it carries messages to our prospective cosmic neighbors. The great astronomer Carl Sagan placed a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk inside the ship to tell our history to anybody who finds Voyager -- if it ever happens. The disks contains pictures, songs and greeting in 55 different languages, as well as information about the ship and where it came from. You can see the content of the disk on NASA’s website, or by clicking here. The picture you see was taken by Voyager 1 when it approached Saturn.

4. The Nearest Black Hole

Until 1999, scientists thought that the closest black hole was that in the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. However, they discovered a very rare type of black hole, called a micro quasar, only 1,600 light-years away, the V4641 Sgr, located in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way. It is very helpful to  know the locations of black holes in our galaxy, because this can help us understanding its formation and also if we are in danger regarding black holes -- for now, we’re safe.

5. We can create black holes

The Large Hadron Collider crashes particles at enormous speeds. Therefore, it is possible that it can create micro black holes, quantum black holes that last only about 10-27seconds before becoming a “normal” particle. If they were ever created, they could possibly answer a few questions about gravity, like: why is it so weak compared to other forces? Just don’t be afraid that the LHC might create a black hole and kill us all. The black holes would be extremely small and last very little, so no reason to fret.

Credits:

Nasa.gov

http://www.universetoday.com/75723/where-is-the-nearest-black-hole/

http://home.cern/about/physics/extra-dimensions-gravitons-and-tiny-black-holes