Over the past few years, we have made astonishing discoveries about space, such as gravitational waves and liquid water on Mars.
However, what we have uncovered so far is just a tiny fraction of the universe, leaving many profound questions unanswered.
Here are some unresolved mysteries about space
What we can see accounts for only 5% of the universe
Everything we can observe makes up a minuscule portion, just 5%, of the universe. The remaining 95% consists of dark energy and dark matter.Since we cannot directly perceive dark energy and dark matter, how do we know they exist? The conclusion is that we don’t know for sure. Scientists believe dark energy is an enigmatic force responsible for the universe’s ongoing expansion. However, dark energy could also be explained as a significant gap in our understanding of gravity.
Dark matter is an invisible material that constitutes the majority of matter in galaxies. Scientists propose its existence because the gravitational forces exerted by galaxies are too great to be explained solely by visible matter.
What lies beneath the surface of Mars?
Life may have once thrived on Mars, and it could possibly still exist there.Mars once had a vast ocean, and there is evidence of liquid water flowing on its surface today.
Did this planet ever host life, and more importantly, does it still? Scientists are pushing to send missions to explore Mars to find out.
High-energy cosmic rays: Where do they come from?
These cosmic rays relentlessly bombard Earth from outer space, yet their origin remains a mystery.Cosmic rays are high-speed particles racing through space, sometimes crashing into Earth. But where do they come from?
“The lowest-energy cosmic rays come from the Sun in a stream of electrically charged particles known as the solar wind, but the origin of higher-energy cosmic rays is more difficult to pin down as they spiral and get tangled up in the magnetic field of interstellar space,” explains CERN.
What causes Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs)?
Sometimes, if an astronomer is lucky, they may detect radio wave bursts lasting just a few milliseconds from space, known as “Fast Radio Bursts” (FRBs). Yet, like cosmic rays, the origin of these FRBs remains a mystery.Recent papers have added confusion to this phenomenon, as they come to opposing conclusions about the source of FRBs. One suggests that all FRBs come from the same source, while another proposes that they originate from cataclysmic events that cannot be repeated.
Ultimately, we still don’t know what causes them and need better detection methods to unravel this mystery.
Why is there more matter than antimatter?
We know that when a particle of matter and a particle of antimatter collide, they annihilate each other.If there were an equal amount of matter and antimatter in the early universe, there would be no matter left today. However, the Big Bang, according to what we know about cosmology, produced slightly more matter than antimatter. What caused this slight asymmetry remains unknown.
“One of the biggest challenges in physics is to imagine what happened to the antimatter or why we see an imbalance between matter and antimatter in our universe,” explains CERN.
How did life on Earth begin?
This is one of the most fundamental questions of all time, and to this day, we lack a scientific answer.Some scientists suggest that life may have been delivered to Earth via comets or asteroids. This theory gains credibility because we’ve found organic compounds on some celestial bodies. Others believe that a piece of Mars may have fallen to Earth, kickstarting life here.
Another theory posits that simple molecules underwent chemical reactions that eventually led to more complex molecules, like RNA, a critical component for life. From there, multicellular organisms developed.
How will the universe end?
Astronomers estimate that in about 6 billion years, Earth will be consumed by the Sun as it expands into a red giant. But what about the rest of the universe?There are eerie theories on this matter. Thermodynamics suggests that a “heat death” is possible, where everything in the universe reaches the same temperature, making all processes cease. This would mean all stars eventually burn out, and matter disintegrates.
Alternatively, there’s the concept of a “Big Crunch,” where the universe, if it continues to expand and then contracts, will reverse its expansion due to gravity’s overwhelming force, resulting in a cataclysmic implosion.
In either scenario, the universe would reach a state of ultimate entropy, bringing all mysteries to a complete and final end.