Nebulae - The Most Beautiful Places in The Universe

23rd May, 2021

By: Haris Ahmad

Nebulae are some of the most fascinating celestial bodies that exist in our Universe. They are clouds of gas and dust in outer space. Some of these also contain star materials i.e the elementary particles that are needed in the creation of stars such as helium and hydrogen. 

In this blog, I will highlight the Pillars of Creation, which sits at the heart of the M16 or Eagle Nebula.

https://physicsworld.com/a/hubbles-best-shots-pillars-of-creation/

It is an active star-forming region which means that stars are formed in this region at fast rates due to the availability of star-forming materials which I explained above. This Nebula contains many elements with Oxygen, Sulfur, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen being available in generous amounts. These pillar-like structures in the Nebula are struck by ultraviolet rays from a cluster of young stars nearby.

These Pillars stretch to a distance of 4-5 light-years whereas the whole of Eagle Nebula is approximately 70-55 light-years in size. 

This Nebula was discovered in 1745, by a Swiss Astronomer. It is located 7000 light-years away from Earth in  the constellation Serpens  

Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe - 2

28th February

By: Haris Ahmad

As I explained in my previous blog, the universe consists of 5% normal, visible matter in the form of stars, planets, moons, asteroids, and galaxies, etc. Moreover, another 25% of the universe consists of Dark Matter which is invisible to our eyes. This type of matter is basically, a postulated form of matter that interacts with its surrounding space through gravitation. However, the remaining 70% percent of the universe comprises of Dark Energy, which is another great mystery of the universe and the most fascinating one, in my opinion. 

Whilst Dark Matter has the power to hold the universe together, Dark Energy has enough power to tear up the whole universe. 

Basically, the universe as we know it came into existence through a great explosion that we know as the Big Bang which ejected a large amount of matter and energy. Due to the inertia of this humongous explosion, the universe is expanding. However, according to the laws of Physics, this inertia will have to reduce gradually to an extent that it comes to a stop but, this is not the case here. The speed of the expansion of the universe is increasing at great speeds instead of slowing down. To get an idea of how fast it is getting, I'll share the fact that at some places, this expansion is taking place at speeds that are even faster than the speed of light which is, quite shocking. Therefore, scientists performed complex calculations and research and derived the fact that there is something behind this phenomenon and hence, Dark Energy was founded. The culprit behind the ever-increasing speeds of the expansion of our universe. 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2Fmg22630164-600-looking-into-the-voids-could-help-explain-dark-energy%2F&psig=AOvVaw0eyz4Uv8gHQb6MHeCAB5he&ust=1615551443915000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCMCR4qScqO8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABA2

Dark Energy is very powerful and it has enough power to rip the whole universe apart. The origin of this energy, however, is still a mystery as scientists are totally baffled by it. Recent researches assume the collision of quantum particles as the source of this mysterious energy, however, this is still an ambitious prediction due to the fact that we don't yet have the technology to observe such phenomena. Therefore, the origin of this mysterious energy has not been found yet. a

Unsolved Mysterious of the Universe

21st February

By: Haris Ahmad

Our Universe is a boundless vacuum that stretches over a distance of billions of light-years and it consists of countless types of celestial bodies. Modern technology and complex mathematical equations have helped humans to understand the Universe to a great extent, however, there are still many mysteries that are unsolved. In this blog series, I'll highlight some of the mysterious phenomena in the Universe. I will start with Dark Matter. 

The known universe is composed of 5% normal matter, in the form of stars, planets, asteroids, galaxies, and Nebulae, etc. However, 25% percent of the universe is made up of Dark Matter. This type of matter is invisible to our eyes and is basically, a postulated form of matter that interacts with its surrounding space through gravitation. The existence of this type of matter was predicted through its effect on normal matter. Scientists calculated and derived the fact that galaxies just weren't having enough gravitational force to maintain their spiral and elliptical shapes and therefore, it suggested the fact that something mysteriously hidden was the culprit behind this mystery. Hence, due to the fact that there is not much knowledge about this type of matter, scientists on Earth named it Dark Matter. 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.livescience.com%2F65208-fuzzy-dark-matter-evidence.html&psig=AOvVaw0LnywtxtrH5Wt79UmfzOkv&ust=1615549608784000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCKDg6riVqO8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

This Dark Matter acts as a spider web that holds entire galaxies together. Furthermore, the distorted view of distant galaxies suggested that it was Dark Matter, which was bending the space between us and the galaxies, and this nevertheless, contributed to the idea of the existence of such matter. The composition of this mysterious matter still remains a mystery as the scientists are totally baffled by it. Some theories suggest that Dark Matter is made up of undiscovered particles that are unknown to man whereas other theories suggest that the culprits behind this type of matter are some unknown gravitational properties.