During the 'Big Bang' so much energy was created that a rough scientific estimate has been calculated that for seconds there was around between 10-100 gigatons of pressure exerted per square inch or perhaps even per square centimetre as where most of the energy was produced. The energy was produced by atoms basically being smashed against each other at a tremendous rate and today this has been replicated by the particle accelerator aka the large hadron collider.

During the big bang so much energy was generated that dark matter has been considered by scientists to have been able to have been viewed for only a few seconds because so much pressure is being exerted on such a small area that the dark matter atoms cannot cope with this and a reaction occurs and light is produced. How the light is produced is far too advanced to explain in simple termanology but today scientists believe that dark matter can be seen in nebulae but it would be nowhere near as powerful as when it could have been during the big bang (Scientists are not definite on this fact).

There are many theories into what dark matter can do and one of the common theories is time travel. This is basically the thought that if such an unbelievable amount of power could be generated into an incredibly small area that perhaps that area would cease to exist and that any matter that went into this area could change to a time scale of 1 second in the area is the equivalent of 10 years in normal time. The time travel theory is plausable but there is not so much hope for the ability to travel backwards in time. This theory is quite long but i will explain it.

The theory of being able to travel back in time involves believing that the entire universe has been divided into miniscule segments like the film on a camera and if it is played in consecutive order it will create a slideshow. That is the same basis of what time travel backwards is, that each fraction of an infinite of a second is recorded in the universes particles and if somehow negative particles could be genereted it would allow a person to travel backwards through each of these segments and replay a part in time. This theory has been widely discredited as it involves the belief in 'cellular memory' which has no prrof to which it can but also cannot exist but because there is no evidence it has almost been ruled out.

These are just some of the details of 'Space Dust' and if you would like more information please feel free to research it by all means necessary but this is as far as i can explain without taking many pages of information that is highly advanced. 

*below is a picture of 'Space Dust'*

Image credit: CNN.com

The credit being the first animals sent into space goes to fruit flies. They were sent into space in 1947 in V2 rocket launched by US at the height of 170 kilometers above the earth to explore the effects of radiation exposure at high altitudes.

Monkeys

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Monkeys were sent into space after implanting sensors to measure vital signs. Many of them were under anesthesia during launch. The first monkey that was sent into space is Albert I in 1948. But it died due to lack of breathing. Since then every monkey that was sent to space was named after Albert. The second monkey Albert II had successfully gone up to 134 km. height, but died in the return journey. 32 monkeys were sent into space from 1948 to 1961 and in 1969 and 1985 by America, two times in 1967 by France, from 1983 to 1996 by Russia. The first monkey which returned alive from the space is Albert VI. It went to space in 1951 along with mice. It died after two hours of its arrival from the space. The female monkey Baker which went into the space in 1959 along with another monkey lived 25 years after its return from the space.

Dogs

Image credit: Thinkquest.org

Russians sent 57 dogs into the space during 1950 to 1960. The first animal in orbit was the dog Laika, launched aboard the Soviet Sputnik 2 space craft in 1957. Laika died during the flight and at least 10 other dogs were launched, which died, before Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. Two Russian space dogs Veterok and Ugolyok were launched aboard Cosmos 110 in 1966 and they spent 22 days in orbit.

Tortoise

Image credit: Perrbear.com
The record of spending longest duration in space goes to tortoises. They spent 90 days in  Space when they were sent in 1975.

Chimpanzee

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

American Chimp Ham was sent in 1961 in a Mercury capsule aboard a Redstone Rocket. It was trained to pull levers to receive rewards of banana pellets and avoid electric shocks. Its actions were observed on the computer monitor. Later another Chimp Enos was sent to the orbit in the same year in another Mercury capsule, an Atlas Rocket. It was the first non-human primate in orbit.

Many other animals like amoeba, flies, cats, pigs, rabbits, rats, spiders, fishes, frogs, silkworms, ants, cockroaches, locusts were sent to space too.

Hard training: Before sending the animals into space they are given a hard training. Dogs are made to stand on two legs in a narrow box and tested how many days they can bear this position. They are kept in a revolving pressurized space cabins and observed how much pressure they can bear. Chimpanzees are given electric shocks in small doses to train them to operate levers. If they are successful they are rewarded with bananas. While travelling they have to bear the pressure 38 times more than the pressure on the earth.
Due to the sacrifices of these animals entering the space became easier than otherwise. Isn't it?

A French scientist, Pierre Gassendi, saw the lights in the north in 1621. He dubbed the lights Aurora Borealis, after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora.

It is believed in some cultures that the auroras are the spirits of their dead. The Eskimos believe that they are the souls of animals. Some even believe that as the auroras dance closer to the those who are watching them, that they will envelop you, and take you to the heavens.

The auroras are created when charged particles collide in the Earth's atmosphere. The energy created by the charged particles become lost by light emissions. Different gases within the upper atmosphere create the various colors of the auroras. Even solar wind activity from the Sun can influence the color of the auroras.

The auroras typically look like waving curtains across the sky. But it also takes on the shapes of streamers, arcs, patches, and rays. The auroras occur between 35-600 miles above the Earth. It is suggested that they are shaped by the Earth's magnetic field. Satellites have shown that they often spiral around the Earth, guided by magnetic field lines.

Although they are brief, the sheer beauty of this awesome phenomena gives us a glimpse at heaven. There are few natural occurrences such as these, which can offer us such wonderful sights.

Starburst Galaxy M82

A literal star factory, new stars are born in M82 10 times faster than in our own galaxy. The fiery looking strands coming out of its center is hydrogen gas.

ESO 510-G13

If you were to view our galaxy from this angle, it would appear relatively flat. ESO 510-G13 gets its warped appearance from colliding with another galaxy.

Dusty Spiral Galaxy NGC 4414

At roughly 60,000,000 light years away, the center of this galaxy appears lighter due to the concentration of much older red and yellow stars. The outer spiral arms are bluer because of newly forming stars.

I Zwicky 18

Once thought to be fairly young, old stars found within this stunning galaxy reveal that it is about the same age as most other observable galaxies. The blue clouds are bubbles of gas that have been blown outward by supernovae explosions and wind. The surrounding red objects are actually extremely old galaxies much farther away.

NGC 1275

With a black hole in its center and a heavy emission of X-rays, this beautiful galaxy is anything but peaceful. The pink extensions emanating from the center of this galaxy are from radio frequencies.

The Cartwheel Galaxy

An amazing picture depicting galaxy collison. One of the smaller galaxies to the right had previously burst through the center of the host, leaving a ripple (the surrounding ring) of new star genesis.

Messier 104

Also known as the Sombrero Galaxy, its red ring is comprised mainly of dust with a thinner ring of newly formed stars. At the center of this galaxy lies a black hole that is roughly 1 billion times more massive than our Sun.

All images courtesy of hubblesite.org

Triton

Triton is Neptune's largest moon. This picture was taken in 1989 by Voyager 2, the only Spacecraft to ever pass by it. Voyager, at that time, also found evidence for ice volcanoes on the eerie surface of windy, cold Neptune.

Earth Rise

This is a remarkably rare picture, taken from deep space. It catches the earth rising above the Moon's limb.

Europa

Beautiful Europa is one of the smallest of Jupiter's moon. Europa is about the size of our own Moon, and also keeps one face pointed towards her home planet, Jupiter. Hers is the smoothest surface in the Solar system, and is covered with ice crystals.

The Blue Snowball

This blue snowball is a planetary nebula. This simply means that it's a ring of dust and gas which were blown off after a large star imploded (or exploded). Some colours here were added to highlight the steady emission of ions.

Mercury

Mercury stands closest to the Sun than any other planet in our Solar System. As a result of this, it is difficult for observers from earth to photograph this particular planet. Here is a rare photo taken by Mariner 10 (after 3 "drive-bys" in 1974 and 1975).

A Star Is Born

An impressive picture of a cute, young star.

Crab Nebula

A fantastic shot of a star which exploded just under a thousand years ago.

Io's Surface

Io is one of my favourite moons of Jupiter. I've saved pictures of her before, but here it is clear that her surface is filled with volcanic activity. Io is the Solar System's most volcanically active body. Her surface is ever changing because of the constant lava flows.

*All of the images shown above have been taken from the Nasa Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive.

Other Works in This Series of Space Pictures

• 10 Most Awsome Pictures Taken From Outer Space
• Welcome to Makind s New Home in Space
• Pictures of Earth and Outer Space at Night
• A Handpicked Collection of Ultimate Space Pictures
• A Handpicked Collection of Ultimate Space Pictures 2

All of the latest discoveries are based on the fact that the Sun is considered a normal star, yet offers us many things such as light and heat. It is also our ultimate source of energy which allows the Earth to not only exist but to fully function in a most habitable manner. Without it, our planet would be nothing more than an uninhabitable frozen rock. Located close to us, we have learned to study the Sun over the years to better understand many other stars, the Milky Way, other galaxies, and the universe. Considered a huge anchor which provides the gravity to keep Earth and other planets in our solar system together, the Sun is our "glue" which holds us together.

Climate Change

On July 18, 2008, ScienceDaily.com (Change, 2008) stated that an announcement was made by Manuel Vázquez--a researcher from the Canary Islands' Astrophysics Institute in Madrid, Spain--at the Sun and Climate Change conference regarding the fact that solar activity is responsible for approximately 15-20% of global warming. During the conference, Vázquez stated there was evidence that demonstrated after the last glacier era, during the past 10,000 years, and before the beginning of any industrial activity--the Sun's magnetic energy successfully regulated most variations of the Earth's climates on its own. Information at the conference shows that over the past 40 years of solar activity, it has not increased-- remaining constant or diminished, making it extremely difficult to "attribute a single global warming effect to it, "the cause of which needs to be looked for in human activities."

Manuel Vázquez made a slightly controversial statement at the conference which represented the entire global warming agenda: "If man had never started burning fossil fuels, the sun might have been the only agent regulating the climate until the next glaciations. However, back in the 19th century we started an experiment which we are now beginning to suffer the consequences of", explained the astrophysicist Manuel Vázquez to SINC.

Termination Shock

Data arriving from the NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft have allowed scientists to recognize a change in the magnetic bubble of solar wind surrounding our solar system, with the recent findings published in a series of papers in "Nature" on July 3. What was observed was a squashed shape instead of a regular round shape that was made by the solar wind. These are great findings as they demonstrate how our Sun interacts with the surrounding interstellar medium through an elongated-spherical shape, but one that is pressed inward in the southern hemisphere.

The termination shock is referred to as the beginning stages of an area between the solar wind bubble of the heliosphere and the remaining aspect of interstellar space referred to as the "termination shock." When it was noticed that the Voyager 2 crossed this boundary much closer than expected to the Sun, it was suggested this region's heliosphere was being pushed inward by its interstellar magnetic field--closer to the sun.

1. The Sombrero Galaxy

   
   
   As you can see, the Sombrero Galaxy got its name from its sombrero-like shape. This galaxy is an unbarred spiral galaxy, with a super massive black hole in the center. The distinct outer edges make it look like the edge of a sombrero hat. This galaxy has a magnitude of 9.0, which means you can see it on basically any telescope. This galaxy is also known as either M104 or NGC 4594.

2. Merging Galaxies

   
   
   Fact: Galaxies can collide. These two galaxies are going to collide over millions of years and they either merge or one of them is going to overtake the other.

3. Black Hole

   
   Image Source
   
   A black hole in definition is "a region of space so powerful that nothing, not even light, can escape". A black hole is made when a huge supernova (see number 4) collapses in on itself, and the gravitational collapse continues forever. That is known as a stellar-mass black hole. Another type of black hole is a super massive black hole. It is theorized that a super massive black hole is at the center of each galaxy, and every single star in the galaxy is being pulled in towards it (including the Sun!)

4. Supernova

   
   
   A supernova occurs when a massive star dies, releasing a huge amount of gamma rays.
   After the supernova, the once massive star becomes a neutron star, white dwarf, or if large enough, a black hole.

5. Horsehead Nebula

   
   
   This strange nebula is an example of a dark nebula, a cloud of dust so dense that it blocks out the background nebula. This nebula looks strangely like a horse's head.

Hopefully you learned something about astronomy today, and there might be stranger things out there than the five I showed you. Thanks for looking!

The Aftermath of the Great Supernova

 

 

Picture Credit: Hubble Space Telescope

 

Sometimes stars explode and burst into - well I was going to say flames, but the correct term would be - gas. Not the smelly kind I hope, though no one is close enough to smell them.

 

When stars explode they are called supernovas, and in 1987 one such explosion occurred. This magnificent event was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The picture above shows what you could call a star (or stars) on the verge of death. Ahhh…

Jupiter

 

Picture Credit: NASA, JPL, NSSDC, Voyager

A picture of a very caramel-like surface of Jupiter, one of the Earth's planets. Jupiter has no solid surface, it is just a huge ball of gas - literally. It's the largest planet in the solar system, made up of mainly hydrogen and helium. The red-ish spot that you can see on this picture is a hurricane system steadily churning for at least 300 years within the clouds of Jupiter. The hurricane itself is so large that 3 Earths could fit inside it.

The Cat's Eye Nebula

 

 

 

Picture Credit: NASA, Hubble Space Telescope

 

When there is a cloud of gas and dust in Space, it is called by the very posh name - "Nebula". (I see a common theme of "gas" here). This particular nebula is called the cat's eye and is generally thought to be a cluster of stars surrounded by bulbs of gas.

 

Ida the Asteroid

 

 

Picture Credit: NASA, JPL, Galileo Project

 

Meet Ida. She is basically a large piece of rock (an asteroid) orbiting our sun. You can see her Moon Dactyl, on the right, which is about one mile across. Meanwhile, Ida herself, a giant potato, measures about 36 miles long and 14 miles wide. Ida is the first asteroid with her own little moon

 

The Mountains of Mars

 

Picture Credit: NASA,Viking Project

This is a picture of the largest of Mars' mountains. It's called Olympus Mons and was produced by a volcano. Olympus Mons is almost 15 miles high and more than 300 miles wide at the base. Keep in mind that Earth's largest volcano Mauna Loa in Hawaii is 5 miles high and about 12 miles wide by comparison.

The Face on Mars

Picture Credit: NASA,Viking Project

This picture shows what appears to be a human face on Mars (does it look a bit like George Washington?) This picture created quite a stir when it was first taken in 1976. People speculated that it was probably built by intelligent life living on Mars!

M31: The Andromeda Galaxy

Credit: The Electronic Universe Project

Our Galaxy, with our Moon, the Sun, the Earth and all our other planets and stars is called the Milky Way. Meanwhile, about 2 million light years away, there is another similar galaxy called Andromeda, and this is it. Ours and Andromeda (referred to as M31) are two of the largest known galaxies in Space. I thought that Andromeda looks like a giant lighted Frisbee.

Io: A Volcanic Moon

Credit: NASA, Voyager Project

This magnificent spectre you see here is one of Jupiter's four moons. This one is called Io. Io is about the size of our own Moon and she is said to be one of the most beautiful objects in our solar system. Io's surface is covered with many active volcanoes, and with each eruption, compounds are expelled in a variety of superb colours which is the reason for this pizza-like look

A Close-up of Io's Volcano

Credit: NASA, Voyager Project, Copyright Calvin J. Hamilton

And this is what one of the volcanoes looks like. Over 200 miles of colourful lava flows out from what is obviously a very hot volcanic vent.

The Sun Erupts

Credit: Skylab

The sun in all its glory was captured erupting a solar flare. This picture was taken in 1973 capturing the biggest flare ever documented. The sun is mainly made up of hydrogen and helium, and sometimes this nuclear fusion collide and release energy.

The First Human Footprint.

Credit: Kennedy Space centre and of course Neil Armstrong

This is a picture taken on 20th July 1969, of the first human footprint on the Moon. It belonged to Neil Armstrong. It is estimated that the live transmission of this first step was watched by one billion people worldwide, making it the highest rated television show ever. Armstrong then said, “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Hope you enjoyed this second installment as much as the first (click on "first" to view it) . I shall be along presently, for another collection of our photogenic universe's amazing pictures.

Asteroid Gaspa

Image Source

Occasionally, gravity may tug an asteroid out of its own asteroid belt and this can send it hurling towards earth. Once the asteroid reaches the earth's atmosphere it usually blows up into huge pieces of meteoroids. When a meteoroid collides with the earth, it explodes again. Most of the time, meteorites land in the ocean, as the surface of the earth is 70% water. It is highly unlikely that any person will ever have an encounter or be harmed by a meteorite hitting the earth.

Scientists are familiar with over 4,000 asteroids and their orbits. They are always observing the heavens to make sure that none come too close to earth. If an asteroid is set on a path of hitting the earth, scientists sometimes try to push it out of its orbit or blow it up in space. Over 90% of asteroids are between Mars and Jupiter. This area is called the “asteroid belt.”

Our “Asteroid Belt”

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Asteroids are really small, rocky minor planets as they do orbit the sun. There are millions of unknown asteroids of various sizes. Most asteroids are no larger than your average house. 2Pallas and 4Vesta both have diameters of 500 km.

Ceres is even larger, but is no longer recognized as an asteroid but as a “dwarf planet” similar to Pluto. Ceres and other major celestial bodies were most likely formed in much the same way as other planets in the solar system.

Left to right-Vesta, Ceres and Earth's Moon

Image Source

A massive asteroid striking a planet can do catastrophic damage. The planet Uranus is tilted on its side and scientists speculate that it was at some point hit by a tremendous asteroid knocking it off balance and flipping it over!

Millions of meteoroids fly past earth each day. These meteoroids are pieces of what once formed a massive asteroid in space. These meteoroids are white hot from friction and have a trail of burning, illuminating gases. The streak of light in the sky is called a meteor. A shooting star is considered to be a meteor

About 500 meteorites land on earth every year.

Deadly Impact:

Deadly Impact:

Deadly Impact: (Simulated impact on earth)

A Meteorite

Image Source

One of the largest and heaviest meteorites to crash into earth is still lying in the same place in Namibia, Africa. Scientists believe that it fell to earth thousands of years ago and it weighs an immense 60 tons!

In Arizona, there is an enormous crater that was probably created by a meteorite that was 150 feet wide, as the crater is 560 feet deep!

Hoba West meteorite in Africa

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Meteor Crater, Arizona- One mile wide!

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While it is unlikely that a gigantic asteroid would be launching its way in earth's path, one thing is likely. If such an event did occur all life on earth could very well be destroyed just as scientists speculate it was 65 million years ago.

Are we on a course of deadly impact to extinction?

End of the World?

Our Sun

image source

But how is a star formed?

In an enormous blast of hydrogen gas and dust called a nebula a star is born. The nebula then breaks up into much smaller whirling balls. Each of these balls generates extreme heat and a chain of nuclear reactions then is set off from this sizzling inferno. As these nuclear reactions occur, the hydrogen chemically changes into helium, which is another form of gas that continues to fuel this new star. This immature star illuminates brightly and radiates enormous amounts of intense temperature.

Star Clusters

A Nebula

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An Artist's Depiction of the Birth of a Star

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Giant stars have 20 to 30 times the amount of gas as our medium-size sun. They burn so hot that eventually they consume all their available fuel.

A Giant Star Exploding

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Dwarf stars are much smaller and dimmer from our observations here on earth. The brightness of these stars depends on their distance from earth.

A Red Giant is an old star that has reached a time when its helium core simply collapses.

Some Red Giants become Supergiants, which are stars at this stage and can swell to 2,000 times the size of our sun.

A Supergiant Star

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The swollen and puffy Red Giant will appear many times its normal size at this stage of its life. As soon as the helium core falls apart, the raging inferno burns up its remaining hydrogen and it becomes a huge orange/red ball.

At this point with the gas surface blown away, the star is now a planetary nebula and a white dwarf star. Its shrunken core mimics a new dwarf star. Finally billions of years later this star burns to ashes and dies.

A White Dwarf Star

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Cluster of Stars

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Supernovas are exploding stars that die with a huge bang and to the naked eye resemble simple dwarf stars.

A Supernova

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Our vast universe contains billions and billions of stars that are born, live and die.

Stars are so much more than heavenly bodies that glimmer and glow to earthlings on a dark, clear night. Every star has a story to tell and a history to share.

Once we piece together the history and stories of stars we will then only begin to understand our own solar system's infinite mysteries.