SCIENCE

When space breaks records: some amazing facts about our Universe

Where is the coldest place in the Universe? And the largest star known to man? For astrophysicists this is the bread and butter, but to laymen like us, these are questions that spark curiosity and imagination from childhood.

Relating to the size systems of space is mentally complicated, but also fascinating once you learn how to do it. The Guinness World Record 2023 collected the most extreme space curiosities and found some really interesting data.

If you really want to learn about the records and orders of magnitude that exist outside our solar system, then stay with us.

Wikipedia.org
When space breaks records: some amazing facts about our Universe
Where is the coldest place in the Universe? And the biggest star known to man? For astrophysicists, this is the bread and butter, but for the layman, these are questions that spark curiosity and imagination from childhood. Relating to the size systems of space is mentally complicated, but also fascinating once you learn how to do it. The Guinness World Record 2023 collected the most extreme space curiosities and found some really interesting data. If you want to know the records and orders of magnitude that exist outside our solar system, then stick with us.
Di ESA/NASA - http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic0301a/, Pubblico dominio, https://commons.wik
The coldest place in the Universe
The nebula Boomerang is a young planetary nebula and the coldest object so far discovered in the Universe, captured by the space telescope Hubble from NASA/ESA. It is located 5,000 light-years from Earth, and has temperatures of -272°C. Lower temperatures have been reached in the laboratory, but none have ever been found naturally. The intense cold is due to the expansion of the nebula and the gases being released.
Di Smithsonian Institution - https://www.flickr.com/photos/25053835@N03/2940666879/in/photolist-5tRF
The brightest Supernova in the known Universe.
The Chandra image of "SN 1006" shows X-rays from gas at many millions of degrees (red/green) and high-energy electrons (blue). It originated from a stellar explosion sighted in 1006 A.D., 7,000 light-years away. In the two years following the explosion, it was visible during the daytime in both Europe and Asia.
Di NASA/Ames Research Center - https://web.archive.org/web/20070327105953/http://ails.arc.nasa.gov/I
The largest satellite galaxy
Image of the Large Magellanic Cloud and Supernova 1987A taken by Kuiper Airborne Observatory (NASA 714) during its deployment in New Zealand in 1987. The Large Magellanic Cloud is located 160,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way, and has a diameter of well, hear that right, 20,000 light-years, and a mass equal to 10 billion times that of the Sun. It is the largest of the 59 galaxies orbiting the Milky Way.
Di Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Apache Point Observatory, Astrophysical Research Consortium - Aladin Li
The most massive black hole ever discovered
It is called TON 618, and is located 10.8 billion light-years from Earth. Estimates indicate that it should have a mass about 66 billion times that of the Sun. It is a hyper-bright quasar, and could contain our solar system as much as 40 times.
Di ESA/Hubble, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29263039
The closest exoplanet to us.
In the picture we put Proxima Centauri, the closest star to us excluding the Sun. In orbit around this red dwarf, a planet was discovered in 2020, 4.2 light-years from Earth, called Proxima Centauri c (two other extrapolars have been found around the star). Proxima Centauri c has a larger orbit than Proxima Centauri b and, therefore, over the course of its year of more than 1900 days, for a period it is the closest exoplanet to us. An exoplanet, or extrapolated planet, is a planet that orbits.
Di ESO/Y. Beletsky - https://web.archive.org/web/20081121184421/http://www.eso.org/gallery/v/ESOPIA/
Smallest star observed
It is called EBML J0555-57Ab and has a mass 8.1 percent that of the Sun, about the size of Saturn. It is a system formed by a triple star 600 light-years from Earth. Interestingly, to begin the process of nuclear fusion, a star must have a minimum size, below which, physically, these reactions cannot occur.
http://www.centrogramsci.it/?p=2103
The largest void ever observed
The Milky Way lies at the center of the KBC Void, a very large portion of space where a very low concentration of galaxies is observed. The diameter of this void is 2 billion light-years, and it is bounded at its ends by "filaments," or clusters of galaxies concentrated into denser groups. This is perhaps the best concept to make us understand the size of the universe in comparison with us. Think about it.
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