No one knows the exact number of galaxies in the universe, but it is estimated that there are more than 50 billion galaxies inthe universe!(How huge the universe is!!!)
The matter in the universe is so thinly dispersed that the universe can be compared with a building twenty miles long, twenty miles wide, and twenty miles high, containing only a single grain of sand.
While astronomers used to believe that galaxies were distributed more or less evenly through space, they have now found regions where galaxies are rare or absent. The largest of these regions is located in the direction of the constellation Bootes, and measures more than 300 million light years across.
A "light year" is a measure of distance, it is the distance that light travels in a year and is equal to about 9.5 trillion kilometres, or about 6 trillion miles.
About 25% of the universe consists of "dark matter", and about 70% consists of "dark energy", leaving only about 5% of the universe visible to us.
It is possible that many planets in the galaxy may not orbit around stars. Recent work by Kailash Sahu found six gravitational lenses in the star cluster M22 from objects smaller than brown dwarfs, the smallest type of star. Only one gravitational lensing event by a star was found in the same work.
Most scientists think that the universe began 13.7 billion years ago (that is 1,370 million years ago). But t
here is not much differece as other scientists say that the Universe is 10 to 20 billion years old.
According to the scientists our solar system was formed about 5 billion years ago.
The Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago.
Astronomers believe that the universe contains one atom for every 88 gallons of space.
At present the universe is believed to be at least 10 billion light-years in diameter.
:hearthrob[color=darkred]: here are some facts about our sun..
Our sun has an expected lifetime of about 11 billion years.:scare:
Our sun and the surrounding planets orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy once every 250 million years.
Only 55% of all Americans know that the sun is a star.
On its trip around the sun, the earth travels over a million and a half miles per day.
No solar eclipse can last longer than 7 minutes 58 seconds because of the speed at which the sun moves.
Lightning bolts can sometimes be hotter than the sun. (about 50 000ยบ F)
It takes only 8 minutes for sunlight to travel from the sun to the earth, which also means, if you see the sun go out, it actually went out 8 minutes ago.
In Spit Bergen, Norway at one time of the year the sun shines continuously for three and a half months.
In Newport, Rhode Island it is illegal to smoke from a pipe after sunset.
In Devon, Connecticut, it is unlawful to walk backwards after sunset.
If the sun stopped shining suddenly, it would take eight minutes for people on earth to be aware of the fact.
For 186 days you can not see the sun in the North Pole.
Every eleven years the magnetic poles of the sun switch. This cycle is called"Solarmax".
Because of the speed at which the sun moves, it is impossible for a solar eclipse to last more than 7 minutes and 58 seconds.
Aztecs believed that the sun died every night and needed human blood to give it strength to rise the next day. So they sacrificed 15,000 men a year to appease their sun god, Huitzilopochtli. Most of the victims were prisoners taken in wars, which were sometimes started solely to round up sacrificial victims.
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Fri Mar 13, 2009 3:58 pm
