Introduction
If you are here, then it certainly means that you are one of the rare people who have quite an interest in knowing that what lies beyond the boundaries of space that great scientists still haven’t been able to solve. So without any further chit-chat let’s dig out some of the unsolved mysteries of space.
1. Dark Matter
Now we all look up to the night sky seeing all bright stars and from childhood, we have been taught that space is full of stars, galaxies, and so on. But wait, what if I tell you that the thing we know accounts for only 5% of the visible universe. Now what lies beyond that is what we still can’t observe. Another 25% comprised of dark matter and scientists are still banging their heads to find out about it.
Now how can we possibly suggest its existence if we can’t observe it? It’s because dark matter interferes with the universe by holding fast-moving together from getting apart. It’s something other than gravity and the scientists are still banging their brains to find it out. The rest 70% accounts for dark energy that is pushing galaxies apart from one another at an increasing speed which shouldn’t be possible.
2. The Bootes Void
Well, we all have learned that a true vacuum exists in space. But vacuum doesn’t actually mean that there are nothing and just an empty space. Space is nearly vacuum and has billions to trillions of stars and a huge number of galaxies. Now, why am I telling all this? Because this is based on how “The Bootes Void” is yet a mystery for Scientists.
It may startle you but there is a region in the universe scientists call “The Bootes Void” which surprisingly has a very minor amount of galaxies in it. This region is located in the vicinity of the Bootes constellation and hence it’s named Bootes Void. Scientists have yet to find the reason because this “nothingness” is surprisingly much bigger than what physics can describe.
Many theories suggest that it’s a result of a supermassive black hole while multiverse theory suggests that its existence is due to the collision of another universe. According to the most acceptable theory, it’s suggested that this nothingness is caused by the merging of other small voids but it’s yet to be proved.
3. Methuselah Star
Before getting into this mystery, do you know that universe is 13.8 billion years old? This age is not yet fixed but it’s the best estimate current technology has provided. You gotta note this one because this finding is going to have you head over heels. Big Bang was the start of everything right? How about a star that’s older than Universe itself?
Yupp! We are talking about the oldest star “Methuselah Star” which is believed to be older than the universe itself. This star is located in the constellation of “Libra”, about 200 light-years away from Earth. This star age estimates to be about 14.46 billion years ± 0.8 billion years. There is a 20% percent chance that if calculations get more precise the star age will reduce by 0.8 billion years but an 80% chance of it getting more older by 0.8 billion years.
Scientists are still trying their best to figure it out as the existence of this star itself questions the theory of Big Bang which represents the Birth of universe.
4. The great Attracter
Now as we already read about gravity that attracts thing towards each other at vast distances, not a big deal right? Not until astronomers had found out about the “Great Attractor” that is slowly pulling everything and our multiway towards itself. Now it could be a black hole right, only if we were certain of that!
The “Great Attractor” lurks in the constellation of Centaurus that stays on the other end of our galaxy and this really makes things hard to observe. Now, what makes it a mystery is that w already have a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy and still “Milky Way” is getting pulled towards something stronger yet to be found. This finding can either be a great finding or remain a mystery until we observe it much better which is really hard.
5. Oumuamua
As of the 21st century, we still have no clue on the existence of other alien life in any distant star or galaxy. This is where the mystery of Omuamua comes into play. Oumuamua is a disc-shaped object that was cruising through our solar system. It ravels like a comet but except this, it misses some main characteristics that make it far from being a comet.
In 2018, our solar system ran into an object lost in interstellar space shaped like a cigar. When observed closely, scientists found that it was mysteriously accelerating on its own and it isn’t had a tail that comets have. The reason for its acceleration is still a mystery for scientists but it doesn’t end just there.
Oumuamua is considered an alien machine that is accelerating due to an alien technology because the current knowledge is unable to provide any explanation behind it. Some theories suggested that the object was being propelled by the bursts of solid hydrogen that we are unable to see thus explaining the invisibility of the tail. However logical, the theory was bought down as it was not possible for a body to get formed by solid hydrogen because hydrogen in this state would quickly evaporate with very little starlight. This has left Oumuamua in a mystery of being the first-ever alien technology that has ever visited our solar system.
Conclusion:
The universe we know is still filled by many mysterious from it’s birth and being able to observe only 5% only increases our curiosity of finding out the things still wrapped inside the darkness. It’s no wonder that one day technology will allow us to unravel the hidden truth but who knows if it will be in hundreds or thousands of years after. Meanwhile, the Voyager spacecraft will keep on drifting through space and humanity will move step by step like the Perseverance missions to research more that is outside waiting for us to discover.
