Student Article
Exploring the Strangest Locations in the Universe, Where the Rules of Nature Don’t Always Apply
Exoplanet (noun): A planet that orbits a star outside our Solar System, often differing from Earth in many ways.
Super-Earth (noun): A planet that is significantly larger than Earth, typically with a rocky surface.
Gamma radiation (noun): A type of high-energy electromagnetic wave released from the nucleus of an atom, usually during radioactive decay.
The Universe is full of bizarre and intriguing places where the typical laws of physics and nature do not seem to apply.
55 Cancri e 55 Cancri e is an exoplanet located far from Earth, and it’s one of the strangest in our galaxy. This super-Earth is roughly eight times the mass of Earth, and its extreme heat (about 4,350°F or 2,400°C) could cause diamonds to form. Scientists believe the planet is primarily composed of carbon, which could explain its diamond-like structure.
Vega
Vega, another fascinating object in space, is a star that spins so rapidly it is no longer spherical. Instead, it takes on an egg-like shape, a feature caused by its incredibly fast rotation. This star’s behavior is unusual, as most stars, including our Sun, rotate much more slowly and retain a roughly spherical shape.
Voids
In the vastness of space, there are also regions called voids — enormous stretches of emptiness that contain very few stars or galaxies. The Eridanus supervoid is one such region, covering hundreds of millions of light years. These voids may influence the cosmic microwave background, the radiation left over from the Big Bang.
Blood Falls
On Earth, there are strange places too, such as Blood Falls in Antarctica. The falls are unique because the water that flows from them is red, not due to algae, but because of the high iron content in the water.
Fermi Bubbles
In our own Milky Way galaxy, massive bubbles of gamma radiation, called the Fermi Bubbles, extend for 25,000 light years above and below the galactic center, probably caused by events near the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*.
© Colin Stuart / Our Media
Exoplanet (noun): A planet that orbits a star outside our Solar System, often differing from Earth in many ways.
Super-Earth (noun): A planet that is significantly larger than Earth, typically with a rocky surface.
Gamma radiation (noun): A type of high-energy electromagnetic wave released from the nucleus of an atom, usually during radioactive decay.