15 seditious myths about space

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Of course, you all know these so-called myths, which are in fact everyday delusions. But let's go over them again and refresh our memory.

So, let's begin …

1. A man in space explodes

A typical example of the delusion created by the cinema for the sake of entertainment. Well, you know, those eyes crawling out of the orbits and the swelling body, after which the person bursts like a soap bubble. Blood and intestines in all directions are added optionally, if the age rating of the film allows. Getting into outer space without a special spacesuit is really killing, but not as spectacular as we see in the films.

In fact, a person without protection can stay in outer space for about 30 seconds without receiving irreversible health problems.

It will not be instant death. The person will die of suffocation due to lack of oxygen. If you want to see how this actually happens, check out Stanley Kubrick's 2001 Space Odyssey. Here in this film the topic is revealed quite realistically.

Of course, you won't be able to stay like this for too long, because you still need to breathe. But your head without a helmet will definitely not explode in a vacuum.

Because a person still has, albeit a small, but protection against the cosmic vacuum - our skin and circulatory system. The first protects our body so well that it is able to neutralize the effect of instant depressurization. The latter, quickly adapting, continues to do its job, so that in an airless space our blood will not boil, as some think. Even hypothermia is not a problem: although the temperature outside the starship tends to absolute zero, there is not much matter in space that can absorb your body's heat.

In fact, the main threat to a person without a spacesuit in outer space is the air in the lungs. When the external pressure is removed, the volume of gas in your chest will expand, which can lead to lung barotrauma, just like a scuba diver who suddenly pops up from great depths.

Although all this does not mean that a respirator and swimming trunks are enough to go into space. Without a spacesuit, Outer space will quickly deal with you. Only it will not be as spectacular as shown in the films.

2. Venus and Earth are similar

When it comes to space colonization, there are two candidates for the role of a new home for humanity: Mars or Venus. Venus is called the sister of the Earth, but only because of the similarity of these planets in size, gravity and composition.

We hardly enjoy living on a planet with thick, dense clouds of sulfuric acid reflecting all sunlight. The atmosphere is almost pure carbon dioxide, atmospheric pressure is 92 times ours, and the surface temperature is 477 degrees Celsius. Not a very friendly sister.

3. The sun is burning

In fact, it does not burn, but glows. You might think that there is not much difference, but combustion is a chemical reaction, and the light emitted by the sun is the result of nuclear reactions.

4. The sun is yellow

The color of the Sun is a matter of course, one of those things that we learn in kindergarten. Ask a child or even an adult to draw the sun. The result is bound to be a yellow circle. Indeed, you can look at the Sun with your own eyes - it is yellow.

Even in the accepted classifications, our star is listed as a "yellow dwarf". So what could be wrong here?

We are also aware of the color of the nearest space objects, because we have a lot of photographs taken by the same Hubble telescope, near-earth satellites and probes plying through the solar system. It was thanks to them that Hollywood, and behind it the whole world, learned what color the Martian sky or moon stones are.

Our Sun, with a surface temperature of 6 thousand degrees Kelvin, is located approximately in the middle of the spectrum and gives a pure white glow.

Actually

The sun is not yellow. The reason we see it this way is in the earth's atmosphere, which colors the sun's rays yellowish. But do not forget that the temperature of our star is 6000 degrees Kelvin, and in fact it has the only color possible for such a hot object. White. In fact, the sun is even duller than the moon: you can't even see a face on it.

And what about the rest of the bodies of our solar system? After all, we have photographs. We have rovers that photograph the surface of Mars from arm's length!

You will be surprised, but none of the space cameras take color pictures. The color is added later using filters. So it goes.

But you just don't need to think that this is another conspiracy between NASA and the government. Extraterrestrial photography is tricky, and the resulting images do not always represent the most accurate version of the subject. Instead, scientists have to choose color combinations that best suit the goals of the work.

“The colors in the Hubble telescope images are neither right nor wrong,” says Zolt Levey of the Science Institute for Space Observations. “More often than not, these images represent the physical process underlying the subject. They are a way to present as much information as possible in one image."

So, yes, all of the stunning space photographs that we see year after year are just black and white images, colorized so that scientists can more clearly reflect every detail of the image.

5. In summer, the Earth is closer to the Sun

It seems quite logical that the temperature on the Earth's surface is the higher, the closer it is to the body that gives heat, that is, to the Sun. But the reason for the changing seasons lies in the fact that the axis of rotation of the Earth is tilted. When the axis extending from the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, it is summer in that hemisphere, and vice versa. That is why they say that it is winter in summer in Australia.

At the same time, the thought that the Earth periodically moves away from the Sun and approaches it does not become a delusion. The Earth's orbit is elliptical, like most other planets. The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is considered equal to 150 million kilometers. However, at the moment of the planet's closest approach to the star, the distance decreases to 147 million kilometers, and at the greatest distance it increases to 152 million kilometers. That is, the Earth is indeed closer and farther from the Sun, but this fact does not affect the seasons.

6. The dark side of the moon

The moon really always faces the Earth with one side, because its rotation around its own axis and around the Earth is synchronized. However, this does not mean that the other side of her is always in the dark. You've probably seen lunar eclipses. Guess, if the side, always facing us, covers part of the Sun, then where does the star's light fall at this time?

The moon always faces with one side to the earth, but not to the sun.

The dark side of the moon does not exist, nor does the dark side of the earth. Yes, indeed, as a result of the mutual rotation of the planets, the moon is always turned towards the Earth and observers on the surface by the same hemisphere. Pay attention: to the Earth. But not to the sun.

So on the dark side of the moon, it's actually dark only at night. Well, and during eclipses. The rest of the time, both sides receive sunlight equally: the mythical "dark" and "light", the one with the face that we see.

7. Sound in space

Another cinematic myth that, fortunately, is not used by all directors. In the same "Odyssey" by Kubrick and the sensational "Interstellar" everything is correct. Space is an airless space, that is, there is simply nothing for sound waves to propagate through. But this does not mean that the Earth is the only place where you can hear sounds. Wherever there is some atmosphere, there will be sound, but it will seem strange to you. For example, on Mars, the sound will be higher.

8. It is impossible to fly through the asteroid belt

Remember how Han Solo flees the Empire through an asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back? Devil's stones fly so tightly that even small Imperial fighters can't get through them without risking being crushed by drifting boulders. After 20 years in Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan will also have a hard time. And apart from Star Wars, we see the same asteroid fields in science fiction all the time. But that's why they are asteroid fields, right? As C-3PO would say, your chances of successfully passing the asteroid belt are infinitely close to zero, much like a herd of cows scared to death rushing towards you.

Actually

If you look at the pictures of the asteroid belt in our solar system, then it looks exactly like in "Star Wars". There are really a lot of asteroids in it - today the restless astronomers have counted about half a million. But the catch is that the minor planets are separated by kilometers and kilometers of vacuum, with an average of one asteroid per 650,000 cubic kilometers. Therefore, sending their probes to fly through the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, NASA scientists say that the chances of colliding with an asteroid from the device … one in a billion. So Captain Solo could steer his ship even with his left heel, all the same, he would have the same chances of crashing into an asteroid as you have on the way to the nearest supermarket.

You can, of course, argue that in the galaxy where Star Wars raged for a long time, for some reason, superdense asteroid fields are often found, but still this is basically impossible - over time, asteroids will still dissipate. If the asteroid field at some point had the same density as in "Star Wars", then from constant mutual collisions the asteroids would quickly scatter in all directions, and the density would decrease.

9. Black holes - everything sucks into itself

Of all the cosmic horrors, black holes are perhaps the most compelling evidence that the universe hates us. They are invisible, sinister, huge and, like a space vacuum cleaner, suck in everything indiscriminately for light years around.

Because of the latter feature, black holes with enviable consistency appear in every self-respecting space opera: from the last "Star Trek" by JJ Abrams to "Doctor Who". But everywhere and always a black hole appears as a monstrous force, a sucking funnel, from which it is impossible to escape.

Actually

Let's imagine that, waking up in the morning, we found a black hole with a similar mass in the place of our sun. What will happen? Yes, simply nothing. No, we, of course, will freeze to death, because the heat source that warms our planet will disappear, and that's all. But the Earth will definitely stay in place.

Because most people forget that for all their highly publicized power, black holes still have mass. This means that, no matter how frighteningly omnipotent they may seem, the attraction of a black hole, like any other object in our Universe, is limited by the limits determined by its own mass. And if the mass of the black hole is equal to the mass of the Sun, then the force of its attraction will be equal, which means that our planet will continue to peacefully rotate in its orbit.

That's it, even if you are a terrifying black hole, it does not free you from the laws of physics and heartless gravity.

10. Meteorites are burning

You've seen it in every disaster movie - take the scene from Armageddon where fiery smoky meteorites blast New York. And although we know that not every film is built entirely on scientific facts, if a meteorite falls in your yard, you are unlikely to rush to immediately grab it with your hands - it also fell, leaving a trail of fire in half the sky.

Actually

A piece of stone has been flying for billions and billions of years in space, where, by the way, it is cosmically cold - only three degrees above absolute zero. After entering the atmosphere, before hitting the ground, the meteor will have only a few seconds, so great is its speed. And that means, no matter what Michael Bay thinks about it, this piece of stone simply doesn't have time to warm up. Those that do make it to the ground are usually slightly lukewarm.

But where, then, are the balls of fire? Almost everyone has seen the meteor shower - they are indeed burning. But in fact, the spectacular fireball we observe has almost nothing to do with the meteor itself. This is all for the entire air layer that forms in front of the falling meteor in the atmosphere, it is he who heats up, creating the appearance of a burning ball, but this does not affect the temperature of the celestial body itself.

11. The brightest star in the sky is Polar

Sirius has a magnitude of 1.47, while Polaris has only 1.97 (the lower the value, the brighter the star). Nevertheless, the North Star (also Kinosura or the North Star) - plays an essential role for orientation on the terrain and navigation, since it always points to the north, and its height above the horizon coincides with the latitude of the place from which the observation is carried out.

Kinosura is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor. Because of the precession of the earth's orbit, every two hundred years, the alpha of the Ursa Minor is shifted by one degree, so after about 1000 years it will give up its role as a "pointer to the north" of Alrai, the Cepheus gamma, as it had previously taken over the function of a guiding star from Kohab, beta Ursa Minor.

The North Star is a system of three stars. Polar A is a bright supergiant star at the bottom of the figure. Polar B is located 18 arc seconds from it and is already visible through amateur telescopes, and Polar Ab is so close to Polar A that it could only be seen in 2006 with the Hubble Space Telescope

13. Human blood will boil in outer space

This myth stems from the fact that the boiling point of any liquid is directly related to the pressure of the environment. The higher the pressure, the higher the boiling point and vice versa. This is because liquids are easier to convert to gas when the pressure is lower. Therefore, it would be logical to assume that in space, where there is no pressure, liquids will immediately boil and evaporate, including human blood.

Amstrong's line is the value at which atmospheric pressure is so low that liquids evaporate at a temperature equal to our body temperature. However, this does not happen with blood.

For example, body fluids, such as saliva or tears, actually evaporate. A man who experienced on himself what low pressure is at an altitude of 36 kilometers, said that his mouth was really dry, as all the saliva had evaporated. Blood, unlike saliva, is in a closed system, and the veins allow it to remain liquid even at very low pressures.

14. Black holes are funnel-shaped

Many people think of black holes as giant funnels. This is how these objects are often portrayed in films. In reality, black holes are virtually "invisible", but to give you an idea of them, artists often depict them as whirlpools that swallow everything around.

In the center of the whirlpool is something that looks like an entrance to the other world. A real black hole resembles a ball. As such, there is no "hole" in it that tightens. It is just an object with very high gravity, which attracts everything that is nearby.

What does a real black hole look like? Yes, here you are:

The center of the Milky Way with a black hole Sagittarius A. Image taken with NASA's Chandra Space Telescope

15. Mercury is closest to the Sun, which means it is the hottest planet

After Pluto was struck off the list of planets in the solar system, Mercury was considered the smallest of them. This planet is closest to the Sun, so it can be assumed that it is the hottest. However, this is not the case. Moreover, Mercury is actually comparatively cold.

The maximum temperature on Mercury is 427 degrees Celsius. If this temperature were observed on the entire surface of the planet, even then Mercury would be colder than Venus, whose surface temperature is 477 degrees Celsius.

Even though Venus is 49889664 kilometers from the Sun, it has such a high temperature thanks to an atmosphere of carbon dioxide, which traps heat near the surface. Mercury does not have such an atmosphere.

Besides the lack of an atmosphere, there is another reason why Mercury is a relatively cold planet. It's all about its movement and orbit. Mercury makes a complete revolution around the Sun in 88 Earth days, and makes a complete revolution around its axis in 58 Earth days. This means that the night on Mercury lasts 58 Earth days, so the temperature on the side that is in the shade drops to minus 173 degrees Celsius.