Five Horrible Ways The Universe Can Destroy Us

    • Dheeraj.Jangra@timesgroup.com
    • Publish Date: Aug 11 2016 10:08PM
    • |
    • Updated Date: Aug 12 2016 11:51AM
Five Horrible Ways The Universe Can Destroy Us

The universe is full of forces that can wipe out planets and stars without even breaking a sweat. So who are these “bad boys of universe” and how lethal can they be. Let’s find out… 
 
Rogue black holes
 
Watch this video to know the power of a black hole 
 
 
A black hole is a place in space from which gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping. Because no light can get out, one can’t see black holes. Advanced space telescopes can help find them. A black hole comes into existence when a star dies. They can be big or small. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny but have the mass of a large mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or stuff in an object. Another kind of black holes are called “stellar,” which have 20 times more than the mass of the sun. The largest black holes are called “supermassive,” which have mass equivalent to 1 million suns.  A black hole has an insatiable appetite and ‘eats’ stars and even planets. In the center of our galaxy, a super-massive black hole resides which weighs 2.6 million suns. Rogue black holes are the ones that got kicked away when galaxies collide and are sent swirling into space at 9.5 million kph. Researchers say that hundreds of wandering "rogue" black holes may dwell in the Milky Way. If any of it happens to pay us a visit, it will certainly shred our solar system to pieces and gulp everything into its dark mysterious hole. 
 

Magnetar
Magnetars (a contraction of magnetic star) are the bizarre super-dense remnants of supernova explosions with extremely powerful magnetic field. So how are they formed? Stars heavier than eight times the mass of the Sun end their lives very suddenly. When they run out of fuel, they swell into red supergiants. They try to keep alive by burning different fuels, but this only works for a few million years. Then they blow themselves apart in a huge supernova explosion, thereby releasing large amounts of energy and material into space. For a week or so, the supernova outshines all of the other stars in its galaxy. Then it quickly fades. The remains of the core can form a neutron star or a black hole depending upon the mass of the original star. A Magnetar is a form of neutron star. If you get too close to it, the magnetic fields are strong enough to disturb your molecular structure which means you would in a way, dissolve.  
 
Gamma ray bursts
Watch the Gamma ray bursts
 
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are short-lived bursts of gamma-ray light, the most energetic form of light.  Lasting anywhere from a few milliseconds to several minutes, GRBs shine hundreds of times brighter than a typical supernova and about a million trillion times as bright as the Sun. Nasa says, “When a GRB erupts, it is briefly the brightest source of cosmic gamma-ray photons in the observable Universe.” They occur when a black hole is formed by an extremely powerful type of supernova. They may also occur when neutron stars collide. What will happen if Gamma-ray bursts struck Earth? Well, the impact of huge lethal levels of radiation would strip away the Earth’s atmosphere triggering mass extinction.  

Galactic Cannibalism
 
 
Galactic cannibalism is when two galaxies ‘merge’ with each other in a gigantic cosmic collision. It is very common for galaxies to collide and interact with other galaxies. It is now believed that collisions and mergers between galaxies are one of the main elements that drive their evolution in time. In fact, four billion years from now, our galaxy, the Milky Way, will collide with our large spiraled neighbour, Andromeda. The galaxies as we know them will not survive. Scientists have even coined the term for the resulting galaxy—Milkomeda. We, as a galaxy, are going to be eaten.

Rogue planets
Just like the rogue black holes these planets don’t play by the rules.  A rogue planet, known by many names — interstellar planet, nomad planet, orphan planet, wandering planet or starless planet— is a planetary-mass object that orbits the galaxy directly. Such objects have either been ejected from the planetary system in which they formed or never been gravitationally bound to any star.  Scientists say that there may be billions of rogue planets in the Milky Way and the average size is comparable to that of Jupiter. Now imagine a billion Jupiter—untamed by a strict orbit—rushing around in any direction at all. It’s scary to imagine the consequences if one of them collides with Earth. 
 
What is our biggest threat from outer space? Please share with us your views. 
 

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Comments

Harini MS NAGARJUNA VIDYANIKETAN

The biggest threat from outer space would definitely be magnetars. That''s because its isn''t certain what would happen. There is a possibility of black holes or even worse. Magnetars are a mega-problem. We can''t even afford to take precautions because we don''t even know what''s going to happen!

Vaasu Bisht DPS Indirapuram

Actually the biggest thread from outer space is not mentioned in the article. Universe is expanding and it''s speed of expansion is accelerating, when it will reach speed of light everything will be torn apart whether it is star, galaxy, cluster, atoms, subatomic particle and even space time. UNIVERSE WILL KILL ITSELF. Dark energy is to be blamed for it.

Deepthi Dayanand National Hill View Public School

Universe is expanding and it''''s speed of expansion is accelerating, when it will reach speed of light everything will be torn apart in accordance to the second law of thermodynamics which states that everything heads towards entropy. I''d say that dark matter is the biggest threat from outer space which we face.

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