Weird Space Things

1. Weird Space Things Julie Potts, Joey Stegall, and Katie McCray

2. Black Holes • All stars undergo two processes constantly: gravitation and thermonuclear fusion • Gravitation: all material in the star crunches together • Thermonuclear fusion: all material in the star moves outward • When two processes are balanced, a star remains a given size

3. Black Holes • When a star two to three times the size of our sun runs out of fusion fuel (hydrogen), gravitation takes over • Material in the star crunches together and never stops • All atoms in the star collapse in on themselves until there is no more empty space • Singularity: the point at which density and gravitation are infinite

4. Black Holes • Gravitation is so enormous that nothing, not even light, can escape • Black holes have the same mass as the stars they came from • Same gravitational strength, also • Scientists believe that black holes lie at the center of many galaxies • Scientists can’t see them but they can guess where they are based on how they affect matter around them

5. Black Holes • Black holes were most famously predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity • Term coined in 1967 by Princeton physicist John Wheeler

6. Wormholes • Theoretical • Also called Einstein-Rosen Bridges • Allowed for by Einstein’s general theory of relativity • States any mass can curve space-time • In space, masses that place pressure on different parts of the universe could combine to create a tunnel • In theory, would allow passage between

7. Wormholes • Possible that unknown physical or quantum property would prevent the wormhole • May be very unstable • By traveling through, you could travel faster than a beam of light moving through normal space-time • Offers the possibility of time travel

8. Wormholes • Recent calculations show we can make wormholes work by using “exotic matter” • Exotic matter = a particle with a negative mass, is repelled by gravity, and has less energy than a pure vacuum • Exotic matter could prevent a wormhole from collapsing in on itself

9. Wormholes • A negative mass wormhole might be spotted by the way its gravity affects light that passes by • Certain solutions say an entrance to a wormhole is a black hole • However, black holes that are formed by the collapse of a dying star can’t create a wormhole by itself

10. Pulsars • Highly magnetized • Rotating neutron stars • Rotations are short and regular • Rotation periods are milliseconds to seconds • Periods are very precise • Periods are more accurate than atomic clocks • Longest known period is 8.15 seconds

11. Pulsars • Formed from compression of a star during a super nova • Very dense • Emits beams of radiation • Beams of radiation come from the ends of the magnetic axis • Can emit all wavelengths from radio to gamma • Radiation can only be observed when pointed at Earth

12. Pulsar • Last from 10-100 million years • First one observed on November 28, 1967

13. Quasars • Extremely luminous • High redshifts of electromagnetic energy • Light is similar to stars • Appear in active young galaxies • Energy output is 1000 times the Milky Way galaxy • Over 200,000 known • Very distant • Mostly emit radio waves

14. Quasars • Can devour the energy equivalent of 600 earths per minute • Discovered early 1960s • No one is sure how they are formed • Most recent theory is a black hole that consumes matter at such a fast rate that matter coming in heats up and emits enough light to be seen