Not sure if you knew this, but outer space is pretty amazing. Sure it's got stars and planets and what not, but that's only the tip of the galaxy. There's so much more that we don't even consider. The old phrase "truth is stranger than fiction" rings true when it comes to not only the world we live in, but the galaxy our world exists in. And I promise you, I really didn't make this stuff up.
Let's start on the creepy side.
1. Lack of gravity
It's not secret that space has no gravitational pull, unlike our lovely planet Earth. While its probably cool to be able to float around, astronauts suffer from a number of things due to the lack of gravity. As said in this Air & Space article, "On Earth, gravity pulls fluids to a person’s lower body. In space, fluids float upward with a number of unpleasant effects. Anyone who has seen astronauts on TV notices their swollen faces. Fluid migration is also a likely cause of headaches. Eyesight is so often impaired that the station stocks a supply of drugstore glasses with different magnifications." Eye sight. Space messes with out eye sight. Interesting.
Now, we get to the cool stuff.
2. Hubble Telescope is the real MVP
The first, is that pictures like this one below, are actually real.
According to the description on the NASA website, the blue cloud is expanding at a rate somewhere around 220,000 kilometers per hour. That's around 136,700 miles per hour, which is over 2,000 miles. That thing, has expanded at least another 2,000 miles since you've been reading this.
3. Stars
Another thing is the size of all the different stars out there.
This alone is enough to make you feel extremely vulnerable and insignificant. And this video only briefly talks about galaxies.
4. Galaxies
So let's talk about galaxies.
And the fact that, as written on the NASA website what we see in this picture "...is the product of a collision between two good-sized galaxies..." Two galaxies. Combining. To make a bigger galaxy.
And just because this crazy universe we live couldn't get any crazier, I give you this:
The creepy cat from Alice in Wonderland. Or a smiley face. Whichever one you see first. This is a picture of a galaxy cluster, and "[g]alaxy clusters are the most massive structures in the Universe and exert such a powerful gravitational pull that they warp the spacetime around them and act as cosmic lenses which can magnify, distort and bend the light behind them."
But you know what's more awesome than that? The fact that this is a real picture.
5) The Statistics
We all know that there are a countless amount of stars in the sky. It's been estimated that there's around 10 trillion galaxies, with around 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy alone. Granted, some galaxies might have more stars or less, but that still equals an amount of stars somewhere in the trillions. Quiet possibly past it.
Now that we've established that, let's talk about planets. Planets that can support life. Earth can support life because of mainly two reasons. One: it's found in the "habitable zone" of our star (far enough away to have water) and two: large enough to have remained geologically active (all planets cool off as the core slowly solidifies. Ours has not. Yet. And it probably won't for a very long while). It is speculated that almost every star has at least one planet orbiting it. So, statistically, there has to be a planet large enough, made up of the right elements to support life that's also in the habitable zone. Creepy aliens aside, it's cool to think about. That statistically, we are probably not the only form of life out there. It's extremely unlikely we will ever know for sure, but still cool to consider.
I will leave you with this image because it looks amazing.
And this video that will make you feel insignificant.
Just because, even if you do feel really insignificant, it cannot be denied that space is awesome.
