Wonders of the Universe

This artist’s impression shows the dust and gas around the double star system GG Tauri-A. Researchers using ALMA have detected gas in the region between two discs in this binary system. This may allow planets to form in the gravitationally perturbed environment of the binary. Half of Sun-like stars are born in binary systems, meaning that these findings will have major consequences for the hunt for exoplanets.

BY SOPHIA WENGIER

In a universe as colossal and boundless as this one, there are infinite possibilities for what will be discovered. With the wonders of our own galaxy and even this planet being vastly unexplored, scientists have barely scratched the surface of the perplex and immeasurable greatness of the cosmos around us. However, with recent advances in technology, some of the oddities of the universe are beginning to be uncovered. The following findings are some of the most extraordinary yet and promise even more marvels to be unearthed in the future.

Triple Sun Planet: Astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center have discovered a planet orbiting three different stars at once (take that, Tatooine). It is assumed that if one were to stand on the surface of this planet, they would experience a sort of “triple sunset.” This planet, called KELT-4Ab, takes about 4,000 years to make one orbit around its stars. Belonging to a category of planets called “hot jupiters” it is unimaginably massive and lies about 680 light years from Earth. All in all, this planet resembles something out of a sci-fi film.

Molten Glass Rain: Orbiting a star 63 light years away is a cobalt blue planet, getting its color from high silicate clouds. These clouds rain molten glass on the planet while fierce, 4500 mph winds cause this “rain” to fly sideways. The planet also has a daytime temperature of 2,000 degrees. While Earth’s diversity and Saturn’s rings may be a spectacle in our solar system, one has to admit that they just don’t compare to a planet that actually rains glass horizontally.

Cosmic Hole: Discovered in 2015 is the largest object ever discovered in space, a supervoid stretching 1.8 billion light years across with enough room to hold almost 10,000 galaxies. A supervoid is a huge cavern of empty space between clusters of galaxies. The reasons for which it is so empty are still unknown however what is truly baffling about this is not just how empty it is, but how it is just too big to exist. If the universe were as old as theorized, an object this big could not possibly be real. Because of the discovery of this void,
scientists have begun to rethink their theories on when and how the universe was born.

Diamond Planet: Far from this solar system is an extremely dense planet, making rotations around its sun in only 18 hours. While this planet is not much bigger than Earth, the density comes from the fact that it is rich with diamonds. While Earth’s system is filled mostly with oxygen and silicates, this one has an abundance of carbon. The carbon, along with the fact that the surface temperature can reach 3,900 degrees, gives this planet the perfect conditions to make the universe just a little more precious.