Space is massive, we’ve established that. But the mysterious ways of the universe unravel themselves constantly. Here are a few facts that are super-cool and quite contrary to what we know.
Mars Has the Oldest Cloud Ever
Way back in 2011, astronomers discovered a huge water vapour cloud on Mars. This cloud is 1.6 billion years old making it the oldest source of water ever! Also, it holds 140 trillion times of water that is in the oceans of the earth, making it the largest source of water that we know of.
Volcanic Snow
When we think of volcanoes, we think lava – hot, molten, liquid fire. What if we told you, volcanoes don’t always spew hot lava, rather the opposite. In space, volcanoes spew methane, ammonia and even water. Due to the conditions, the so-called lava freeze as soon as they erupt, which turns them into what is known as ‘volcanic snow.’ This phenomenon is called ‘cryovolcanoes’ and is common on Saturn’s moons Titan, Pluto and Jupiter’s moons Io and Europa.
Valley of Dreams
Mars, our favourite neighbour has the largest valley that has even been found. Known as the Valles Marineris, it comprises a system of canyons that are 4,000 km long (which makes it 10 times longer than the Grand Canyon!).
Fault in the Stars
Stars add a magical touch to even the most ordinary night. The way they twinkle, that beautiful shimmer. Here is some news for you. The only reason stars seem to twinkle is due to the Earth’s atmosphere. The light from a star is refracted when it hits our atmosphere, which is a tiny pinpoint of light, to begin with. So, if you were in space, the stars wouldn’t twinkle! How boring. Don’t you think?
Cold Welding
Let’s get straight to the point. When we want to fuse metals, we melt them and then do so. In space, however, this is not required at all! Shocking inst it? When two metals slide over one another in space their protective oxide layers disappear and the electrons flow from one metal to the other, automatically fusing them. This is known as ‘cold welding.’