What are some odd or generally unknown facts about outer space?
1. The earth shares its orbit around the sun with an asteroid. It's called a trojan, while its official name is 2010 TK7. (Earth trojan)
Most planets have such asteroids in their orbit. And this is one primary argument used by scientists who are in support of naming Pluto back as a planet again.
Earth trojan:
2. Saturn's moon Enceladus, is partly covered with fresh, clean ice, yes the "water-ice". The Cassini spacecraft captured cryovolcanoes (volcanoes which eject volatiles like water and ammonia instead of molten rock) near the south pole shoot geyser-like jets of water vapor, other volatiles, and solid material, including sodium chloride crystals and ice particles, into space, totaling approximately 200 kilograms (440 lb) per second.
This tiny satellite with a mean radius of hardly 14.5% of our moon, is geologically active, with a tectonic activity, which extremely surprising for such a small body. This geological activity is because of the tidal forces of Saturn.
Plumes from Enceladus, have been shown to be the source of the material in Saturn's E Ring. (Enceladus)
Plumes of water shotting into space from Enceladus' surface:
3. The odor of Space:
After going on space walks, most astronauts report a hot “meaty-metallic” scent, others assert that there is a fruity note of raspberry and rum, an acrid odor like welding fumes. No truly inclusive description has ever been created, and NASA’s attempts to recreate the “indescribable” scent have generally met with failure.
The smell, they adds, only occurs on a shuttle or the space station after a spacewalk and is unmistakable to astronauts working with the spacesuits and equipment that was used in the vacuum of space.
4. Alpha Centuari is not a star, it's a star system:
The brightest star in each constellation is called the Alpha Star, the next brightest Beta, and so on. And hence, the Alpha Centuari, the second closest star to the Earth, is named so because it is the brightest star in the constellation Centuarus.
But what many people don't know is that Alpha Centuari is not a star, but a star system, consisting of 3 stars, the pair Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B and a small and faint red dwarf, Alpha Centauri C—better known as Proxima Centauri—that is probably (but not certainly) gravitationally bound to the other two.
To the unaided eye, the two main components appear as a single object of an apparent visual magnitude of −0.27, forming the brightest star in the southern constellation
alpha centuari-a , alpha centuari-b, with Proxima circled:
5. Uranus’s moon Miranda is the weirdest moon of all. It seems to have been blasted apart, and then put together again. (Miranda (pictures, video, facts & news))
Also at just 470 km in diameter, Miranda is one of the smallest objects in the Solar System known to be spherical under its own gravity. Of the bodies that are known to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, only Saturn's moon Mimas is smaller.
Miranda, as captured by Voyager 2, which is the only spacecraft to have flown past it until today:
Most planets have such asteroids in their orbit. And this is one primary argument used by scientists who are in support of naming Pluto back as a planet again.
Earth trojan:
2. Saturn's moon Enceladus, is partly covered with fresh, clean ice, yes the "water-ice". The Cassini spacecraft captured cryovolcanoes (volcanoes which eject volatiles like water and ammonia instead of molten rock) near the south pole shoot geyser-like jets of water vapor, other volatiles, and solid material, including sodium chloride crystals and ice particles, into space, totaling approximately 200 kilograms (440 lb) per second.
This tiny satellite with a mean radius of hardly 14.5% of our moon, is geologically active, with a tectonic activity, which extremely surprising for such a small body. This geological activity is because of the tidal forces of Saturn.
Plumes from Enceladus, have been shown to be the source of the material in Saturn's E Ring. (Enceladus)
Plumes of water shotting into space from Enceladus' surface:
3. The odor of Space:
After going on space walks, most astronauts report a hot “meaty-metallic” scent, others assert that there is a fruity note of raspberry and rum, an acrid odor like welding fumes. No truly inclusive description has ever been created, and NASA’s attempts to recreate the “indescribable” scent have generally met with failure.
The smell, they adds, only occurs on a shuttle or the space station after a spacewalk and is unmistakable to astronauts working with the spacesuits and equipment that was used in the vacuum of space.
4. Alpha Centuari is not a star, it's a star system:
The brightest star in each constellation is called the Alpha Star, the next brightest Beta, and so on. And hence, the Alpha Centuari, the second closest star to the Earth, is named so because it is the brightest star in the constellation Centuarus.
But what many people don't know is that Alpha Centuari is not a star, but a star system, consisting of 3 stars, the pair Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B and a small and faint red dwarf, Alpha Centauri C—better known as Proxima Centauri—that is probably (but not certainly) gravitationally bound to the other two.
To the unaided eye, the two main components appear as a single object of an apparent visual magnitude of −0.27, forming the brightest star in the southern constellation
alpha centuari-a , alpha centuari-b, with Proxima circled:
5. Uranus’s moon Miranda is the weirdest moon of all. It seems to have been blasted apart, and then put together again. (Miranda (pictures, video, facts & news))
Also at just 470 km in diameter, Miranda is one of the smallest objects in the Solar System known to be spherical under its own gravity. Of the bodies that are known to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, only Saturn's moon Mimas is smaller.
Miranda, as captured by Voyager 2, which is the only spacecraft to have flown past it until today:
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