Space Phenomena

Events in space are among the most intriguing and awesome of all phenomena. Space phenomena can be defined as naturally occurring events that are caused by the vacuum of space, contained within space or directly result from an event within space.

1. Asteroid

A broad and diverse group of rocks in space that were little studied by astronomers until the mid-twentieth century. A major ‘belt’ of asteroids exists between Mars and Jupiter, and divides the solar system into the terrestrial group of planets and the gasseous giants.

2. Black Hole

A large, massive star that has run out of fuel and collapsed in on itself. The remnant core or sphere is so densely packed that light and other objects cannot escape its gravitational pull.

3. Comet

These “dirty snowballs” were once believed to be harbingers of doom or fortune. Unlocking their secrets helped scientists of the renaissance era to hone and prove their mathematical models.

4. Dark Matter

Scientists believe that small (and possibly exotic) particles account for motions of stars and galaxies that cannot otherwise be explained. Dark matter, to this point, has eluded detection and can not be seen with technologies that known particles and matter can.

5. Exoplanet

Planets located in solar systems and orbiting stars other than our own. There have been a substantial number of exoplanets discovered in the past few years by astronomers, utilizing improved detection methods and telescopes.

6. Galaxy

Enormous structures in space that are home to millions upon millions of stars and solar systems. They come in different shapes and varieties, and are among the most beautiful astronmoical phenomena to be seen.

7. Gamma Ray Burst

Powerful bursts of Gamma Rays and X-Rays that are fired from the poles of massive stars that are imploding.

8. Nebula

Sometimes referred to as molecular clouds, these enormous regions of space consisting of dust, hydrogen, helium, and other gasses. Thousands of protostars may form from certain types of nebulae.

9. Planet

Billions if not trillions of planets exist in our universe, each one unique in its own way. The ancient Greeks called these objects “planetes”, or wanderers, because their paths across the night sky differed from those of other stars.

10. Pulsar

Extremely dense neutron stars that rotate extremely fast.

11. Quasar

Quasars are super-luminous objects located at the center of galaxies. Current scientific theories state that quasars are powered by massive black holes at the center of young galaxies.

12. Solar Wind

Solar wind is a phenomenon that occurs when the heat from the Sun’s corona excites protons, electrons and other particles to a state where they escape the Sun’s gravitational pull.

13. Spaghettification

The process by which an object entering an extremely strong gravitational field, such as one surrounding a black hole, is stretched vertically and compressed horizontally.

14. Star

There are various types of stars, from brown dwarfs to red giants. Most are categorized as main sequence stars. Stars have a dynamic life and are the reason life exists on Earth and perhaps elsewhere.

15. Supernova

Massive and powerful implosions and explosions that are the climactic finale of certain types of stars. Some stars are so massive that their implosions cause their own atoms to collapse.

16. Saturn’s Rings

Modern observatories show that Saturn’s ring is on average just a few yards thick. Although in some places it bulges to nearly a quarter mile in thickness. And it’s really not just one ring, but a series of rings.