You’re on a plane heading to an important astronomy convention when you see a large figure outside your window that eclipses the whole Sun. You spit out all of your coffee, and everyone in the plane stares outside in shock. You then notice that it has rings like Saturn. You were supposed to fly to Japan, but you’re forced to land in California.As soon as you land, you look up in the sky and see some more giant planet-like structures floating around in the sky. Everyone is taking pictures and trying to figure out what’s going on. Suddenly you notice a huge ball of fire crashing down near the airport. Everyone scrambles for safety, and luckily, it ends up in the middle of the runway with no one around. The bad news is that there’s no more runway for planes to land.
Misinformation and myths abound in various forms of media, leading people to believe in falsehoods that can shape their perspectives and actions. It is crucial to critically evaluate information and seek reliable sources to navigate through the sea of misconceptions.
You decide to go out for a morning jog for the first time in your life. You put on your headphones and get ready for something hard and unpleasant. But as soon as you go outside, you feel an extraordinary lightness. At first, you enjoy it and speed up, but then you realize that something’s wrong. You’re running too fast and too easily. You feel like you’ve just taken off a heavy backpack that you’ve been carrying all your life. You’re so fast you think you must have a superpower now. But, you notice another athlete running as quickly as you. You notice a puddle ahead of you and jump over it. You jump so far and so high it feels physically impossible. You fall to the ground, shocked.
You take off from Earth and park your spacecraft somewhere near the Moon. You’re now almost 240,000 miles away from your home planet. That’s almost 100 widths of the United States. Now, you take out a giant hammer and an enormous chisel using the robotic arms of your spaceship. You place the chisel at the Earth’s North Pole and strike its head with the hammer. Earth splits open like an eggshell, and you see it... Another planet.It’s Theia. And it’s hiding inside our planet like a yolk in an egg. You’d need to go back in time 4.5 billion years to find out how it got there. This beautiful nebula will soon become our Solar System. Colored dust and various space debris are slowly coming closer toward the common center. Soon this jigsaw puzzle of debris becomes too heavy and dense. The temperature inside the giant is rising. Soon, it gets so high that it triggers a nuclear chain reaction.
The NASA hotline is ringing off the hook! The call center operator is all sweaty from stress. They barely have time to answer the phone, and all the messages they get say the same thing. There’s something glowing on the Moon. Indeed, hundreds and thousands of amateur astronomers were watching the Moon that night. And suddenly, there was a bright light on it. As if someone had lit a powerful spotlight on the surface. Scientists immediately began to look for an explanation to this phenomenon. They first thought it was simply the glow of an airplane flying between the observers and the Moon. But then it wouldn’t have been seen by so many people from different parts of the world at the same time.
The Sun, our majestic and life-sustaining star, has been a constant presence in our skies since time immemorial. Its radiant energy provides warmth, light, and the conditions necessary for life to thrive on Earth. But have you ever wondered what would happen if our Sun suddenly vanished and was replaced by another star?Arcturus. A huge red star. It’s just bursting from inside out! The red sea of plasma on its surface rages and pulsates. This star burns anything that comes close to it. And now... flop! Arcturus is gone! But at the same moment, it reappears at the center of our solar system, replacing the Sun. What we see in the sky isn’t a small yellow dot anymore, but a giant red ball. It’s 25 times wider and 30% heavier than the Sun.
People stop their cars on the highway, get out of them, and lift their heads in wonder. In the cities, everyone takes to the streets. Balconies and rooftops of houses are full of people staring at the Moon in shock. It’s red. Some people scream that it’s the end of the world; some seek shelter. Indeed, the usual white Moon now looks like it has been doused in red paint. There’s no need to be afraid if you see such a thing. On the contrary, enjoy the view, because you have witnessed a rare astronomical phenomenon. This is a total lunar eclipse.
Recently, Chinese scientists discovered something interesting on the Moon... An unusual crystal. Moreover, they found out that this crystal contains an element that can literally replace nuclear fuel! Let’s find out more. The composition of the Moon has long remained a mystery to us. Half a century has already passed since the Apollo mission. Unfortunately, we haven’t traveled to the Moon much since then, so it’s not surprising that it’s not so easy for us to study it. But recently we’ve made a breakthrough in this area! In December 2020, Chinese scientists sent a Chang’e-5 probe to the Moon. The mission was named after the ancient Chinese deity of the Moon, Chang’e. Quite poetic, isn’t it?
I hate to break this to you, but money isn’t actually made of paper, which also proves that money doesn’t actually grow on trees. Most banknotes are 25% linen and 75% cotton, which is why they have such a distinct look and feel. Back in the 19th century, money was made of parchment paper. That’s why people could very easily counterfeit it, unlike now.
About 8 billion inhabitants of planet Earth found the same terrible news in one day. Someone saw it on TV. Others heard it on the phone while scrolling through social media or listening to music. Some witnessed this news in a dream while sleeping. Someone’s voice said it in all languages to ensure everyone understood it. “I have good and bad news for you. Let’s start with the bad news. You’re all characters in YouTube videos in which your planet gets into a situation where the Moon breaks in half. For the audience, it will be a hypothetical story. But for you, these events will become a reality. The good news is that... I was joking. There is no good news. But don’t worry, the apocalypse won’t start on your planet. Maybe just a little bit. Have a nice day.”
The moon shines brightly and illuminates the black water of the ocean. Thick fog descends on it in ominous silence. Then, it’s suddenly broken by the creaking of wooden boards, followed by a rippling of the waves. Through the fog, you see the outline of an old large ship. Its hull is rusty, and a strange cold is coming from it... But the most unsettling thing is that there’s no one on the deck.
Among all the planets of the Solar System, our Earth is unique since it’s the only one that has developed life. But what if we got a competitor? What if a second Earth appeared out of nowhere? Then there would be two different scenarios. The first is the destruction of both planets. The second has an unexpected but pretty logical ending. But let’s start with the catastrophic scenario. The second Earth with the same conditions could exist only if it received absolutely the same amount of sunlight as our planet. The orbit that our Earth follows is perfect for getting the necessary amount of solar heat. If we were a little further away, the entire surface of our planet would resemble Antarctica. And if Earth was a little closer to the Sun, we’d all live in a huge desert inhabited by very few living beings. So, for the second Earth to be identical to ours, it’d need to follow the orbit of our planet.
Millions of people around the world go out on the streets and rooftops to look at the amazing cosmic phenomenon. Another planet... right next to the Moon! A big red one. At first, everyone’s excited. Mars showing up out of nowhere is having a strange effect on humanity.Just as the moon can affect the psychological and physical state of some people, Mars’s unexpected visit is causing people to behave pretty strangely. Every night, the sky is lit up by the white light of the Moon and the red glow of Mars.Many people get a sort of instant insomnia. Some even stop drinking coffee because they no longer feel sleepy. Mars brings out the energy and a little wildness in people, makes them laugh more, and even drives a few poor people crazy. They begin to go out of their houses more often and enjoy the unusual night sky.
Aah, beautiful. You’re walking with your friend, and look up at the sky. The sun looks a bit different today... like it has some kind of ring around it, a rainbow-type thing. Huh... "Look at that!’’ Your friend pulls his head up out of his phone. “You shouldn’t look directly at the...stop everything,” he says. “It’s a sun halo, we need to find shelter now, unless you have the world’s biggest umbrella on you!”A sun halo is nature’s sign that there’s a snow or rainstorm on its way. It’s caused by clouds that are made of bazillions of small ice crystals, flying around at 20,000 feet (6 km)! Sunlight goes through those crystals, which causes the light to split and refract, like when there’s a rainbow. Now, don’t look at the sun halo directly. It’s gonna be tempting because it’s not something you see every day, plus it’s really beautiful... but ultraviolet light can burn the exposed tissue of your retina and cause serious damage. So not worth it.
If you landed on Mercury, the first thing you’d notice would be how close it is to the Sun. It’s actually the closest planet to the big ball of fire and the smallest. But it’s not the hottest planet. Venus takes credit for that. It takes Earth 365 days to orbit the Sun, and it takes Mercury more than 3 months. Well, 88 days, to be exact. The days are boiling hot, with the temperature reaching above 800 °F (425 °C). But on the other side of the planet that the Sun doesn’t reach, the temperatures drop to −300 °F (-180 °C). Mercury’s atmosphere can’t hold any heat when it’s nighttime, just like a desert. Deserts have no atmosphere, which is why they have no moisture, and no clouds or rain.If you manage to get from one end of the planet to the other and always stay in between the scorching heat and freezing cold, then you can survive. But oxygen isn’t a friend to Mercury’s atmosphere. So you’d just live for as long as you can hold your breath. Plus, there’s a magnetic field that has solar winds from the Sun that create plasma tornadoes.
It all started with a minor change on our planet. At first, people noticed the Moon had become brighter and a little bigger. But nobody paid attention to this. The Moon affected tides all over the world. The water flooded the beaches, but it wasn’t a tragedy. A lot of fish came close to the shores. People found giant squid, anglerfish, and other creatures next to the coast, although they usually live in the dark depths. New, stranger things happen every day. Birds no longer fly to the south in winter. They gather in huge groups flying around cities with no purpose. The Moon used to help them navigate in nature, so they can’t figure out which way to fly anymore.
There are many myths around arguably the greatest structure ever built by humans — the Great Wall of China. Some say it’s so grand that it’s visible from space; others claim that you can see it from as far as the Moon. Other theories suggest that the builders of the wall were left inside. Sorry to disappoint you, but all these impressive stories are just myths. But even with those stories busted, the Great Wall of China is an impressive and truly breathtaking structure, so let me tell you its true story.
You’re in the countryside, in the middle of nowhere, when it happens. You look up at the sky and notice that it’s taken an ominous yellow hue. Suddenly, a terrifying thought pops up in your mind — haven’t you read somewhere that the yellow sky means an approaching tornado? Wait, stop running! Let’s figure out if it’s true!
Somewhere near California, there’s a curious place with over 5,200 underwater holes located right on the seafloor. No one was bothered much about them, — those holes were known to the maritime community and weren’t a big deal. Everyone just thought it was due to underground gas. However, back in 2019, the seafloor was investigated with a robot, and guess what — no gas was found there.They did find something, though. It turned out that 15,000 more holes appeared on the seafloor. Some scientists claim those were fish that had dug those holes. Seems like they just kicked up dust to accommodate themselves, and the dust was simply washed away by the currents. Right, some fish did live in those holes, but most of them were vacant. So, the mystery is yet to be solved!
Now imagine... You’re in Ancient Egypt... It’s 5,000 years ago... Impressed by your fairness and decency, the pharaoh’s wizard summons you. He explains to you that he has chosen you as the heir to his powers to fight the evil forces of the world.You accept the responsibility. All you have to do is call the wizard’s name out loud, and you’ll invoke the power of six Egyptian deities to become invulnerable in every way... Okay, I need to stop you right here before this daydream gets too exciting...Snap out of it this instant! It is not your OG story, it’s Black Adam’s — at least in one version of the comics. You know him, DC Universe’s invincible and immortal hero-but-not-really or in other words villain-but-not-really... Thanks to my very own telepathy power, I can sense that now you want to know what his powers are that make him so indestructible.
The legend of the Black Knight Satellite tells us that a spaceship of extraterrestrial origin has been orbiting Earth for many, many years. Sounds crazy, right? But over the years, the supporters of this theory have gathered a lot of evidence to prove it. So let’s look at it and judge for ourselves. 1899. Famous scientist Nikola Tesla built a giant tower in his laboratory in Colorado Springs. This tower was supposed to allow him to study atmospheric electricity and wireless energy. Everything went fine until, one day, he discovered something unexpected. The tower began to catch a signal that seemed to be artificial.
Jupiter’s moon Europa is covered in a thick layer of ice, but underneath it is a vast ocean of water, measuring up to 100 miles deep. Water ice was previously thought to be rare and only common for Earth, but it can, in fact, be found all over the Solar System, even on Mercury and the Moon. Saturn is less dense than water, so if it were thrown into a giant pool, it would float. Space isn’t supposed to be black: there are stars everywhere. Shouldn’t they light up everything around? You don’t see stars wherever you look because some of them haven’t existed long enough for their light to reach Earth! There are eight confirmed planets in the Solar System, but evidence shows there can be a ninth — we just haven’t discovered it yet.
Wouldn’t it be really cool if we could collect energy from space and just bring it down to our planet? That means we wouldn’t need to get electricity from wind, water, or other resources available on Earth.Millions of people would charge their phones, store food in the fridge, watch TV, and do so much more thanks to electricity we’d wirelessly get from space. It kinda sounds too good to be true at first. But this idea isn’t science fiction anymore. Not only is it possible, but we might see it work sooner than we think, maybe even by 2040.
The hunt for interesting exoplanets and life forms somewhere out there in the vast expanse of the Universe keeps going; no stopping here! We’re basically searching for a second Earth — a planet that’s similar to our home and where we could finally find some space friends. We’re not picky, any form of life is fine, even some bacteria-sized organisms. And this search has mostly been going on in the habitable zone around other stars. We also call this the Goldilocks zone. That’s a region where conditions are “bearly” just right for liquid water to exist, whether we’re talking about the surface of a planet or a moon.
One of the most common and ancient Japanese beliefs, called Shinto beliefs, states that every aspect of nature has a soul. From mountains and rivers to rocks and leaves — each object has a living essence, and that essence is acknowledged and respected.
Electronic satellites suddenly go out of control. There are voltage surges across the globe. In some places, there’s a complete blackout. Scientists have little data on this incredible solar behavior, so we’re still unable to accurately predict how or when exactly the next geomagnetic storm will happen.One such event took place back in July 2012, but thankfully, it missed us. Not by far, though, by a mere 9 days! Just to give you a glimpse of what nearly happened, I need to explain some astronomical basics.
Venus has exceptionally high temperatures, hot enough to melt lead. It’s the hottest planet in our Solar System, with a high-pressure environment and super-strong winds. The winds there are 50 times faster than the planet’s rotation. It’s getting stronger over time, and scientists don’t know why. But they did find something interesting in the planet’s clouds — a potential sign of decaying biological matter. Could there be life then? Not quite, since Venus has a dry, windy atmosphere and doesn’t have enough water for life to develop.
Have you ever wondered why Earth doesn’t have rings? Gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have them, but the rocky planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars don’t. Two theories describe how ring systems potentially developed. The first one says the rings may have formed from leftovers that date from the time a certain planet was forming. Or, as the second one says, they could be the remains of a moon that was either destroyed in a collision or broken apart by the gravitational pull of its parent planet.
The universe is huge and eternally intriguing. However, even as we explore and learn more about our world, some things remain a mystery. We invite you to put on your explorer hat and join us on a wild ride as we uncover the weird and wonderful secrets of the world.
Whoa, the light from outside your window just got brighter. It’s 9:30 in the evening, and you have a huge exam coming up tomorrow. You peek outside to see if your neighbors use their floodlights again, but they’re outside looking up in the sky. You stick your head out and notice that the moon got a lot bigger — double in size. You run outside and ask people what’s going on, but they don’t have a clue either. You take a picture of it and post it on social media. You view your feed and see that everyone is talking about it.
You have heard about Nikola Tesla. You have DEFINITELY heard about the Great Pyramids in Egypt. But what if I told you that Tesla may have probably uncovered the ancient mystery surrounding the pyramids? Wait, what? Is this a crossover episode? Nope! It’s highly probable that the secrets of the pyramids are hidden in plain sight.
Did you know that our Sun is actually... green? Okay, okay, I’m kidding. In reality, it’s... all colors you can imagine at the same time! Wait, what? I know it sounds like a joke, but I’m being serious. Can’t you tell? In fact, our Sun contains absolutely all the waves of the light spectrum. It’s simultaneously red, blue, green, yellow — you name it! Where do you think rainbows come from? When sunlight gets reflected off water droplets in the air, it splits into a bunch of colored waves that we can see individually. And when they’re all together, we see a white ray of light. Our eyes are unable to perceive the concept of “all colors at the same time,” so their combination seems white to us.
Everything in the Universe is in constant, quite predictable motion. Some very complicated math can help us predict what the night sky will look like in hundreds of years! That’s why astronomers make up entire calendars of unusual celestial events. So, let’s find out more about the most interesting astronomical events that are waiting for us in the next 100 years.
So you’re going on a journey to a black hole? You will need a lot of provisions because the nearest black hole is 1,011 light-years away. This black pearl was found in the solar system called HR 6819. It was hidden in orbit with two other stars, which you can see with the human eye. Scientists have been studying this system since the 80s, but this winter, it revealed its main secret. This particular black hole is considered relatively small. But despite this, its mass is four times bigger than our Sun, and it’s 2,500 light-years closer to Earth than the next nearest black hole.
So you’re standing in a room full of explosive gas. One spark can cause an explosion so powerful that all the windows and doors would be just blown out with a huge column of fire. And you’re holding a match. You need a bigger target than this room. How about the largest room of explosive gas in our entire solar system? Meet Jupiter. It’s the fifth planet from the Sun, and the largest one in our system. It’s 11 times the width of the Earth, and almost 2.5 times heavier than all the other planets in our solar system combined. If we put Jupiter on the scales, we would need about 317 Earths to balance it.
