Journey to the EDGE

of the universe

No sooner have we left earth, we reach the infinite realms of zillions of stars…

But, before we proceed, here’s a little fact or rather a question… how do stars die?

How does a star die?

As a white dwarf

Stars with less than eight solar masses end their lives in this way.

In the form of a supernova

Denser stars end in this way. It forms neutron stars and pulsars

As a black hole

If the mass of the central core is more than three suns, it becomes a black hole.

White dwarfs are stars that have burned up all of the hydrogen they once used as nuclear fuel. About 1,600 light-years away, two dense white dwarfs in the J0806 binary star system orbit each other once every 321 seconds. When they reach the end of their long evolutions, smaller stars typically become white dwarfs.

Our first actual destination on our journey to the unknown are within

our mother, the milky way galaxy, vast and

beautiful, what secrets, wonders and dangers

does she have in store for us?

We are now entering the most beautiful part of the universe… the palette of infinite nebula’s…

The region around the star Rho Ophiuci displays a rich mixture of all types of nebulae, 1 – a dark nebulae made of dust which blocks the light of the stars behind it, 2 – blue nebulae that reflect the light of the stars, 3 - hot gas nebulae that have the characteristic pink color, 4 – globular star cluster.

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2

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The star

The familiar eyeball shape of “The Helix Nebula” shows only two dimensions of this complex celestial body. But new observations suggest it may actually be composed of two gaseous disks nearly perpendicular to each other.

“The Cat's Eye Nebula” contains some of the most complex gas formations astronomers have ever seen, including concentric shells, high-speed jets, and unusual shock-induced knots. Some scientists think the nebula's intricate structures suggest it is a double-star system.

“The horsehead nebula” ……… it’s easy to see how it got its name…

7000 light years from homeAnd the journey feels safe, what with such a beautiful display

of colors and artistic talents... but theUniverse is not just this, the distance we have

Travelled is just a tiny speck in its vastness, and we’re about to find its proof...

What we are now witnessing is a a rare celestial phenomenon called a supernova. Brace yourself for it is literally the

explosion of most of the material in a star, resulting in an extremely bright, short-lived object that emits vast amounts of

energy.

Located 163,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the remnants of Supernova 1987 resemble a one-light-year-wide pearl necklace.

These bright spots are pieces of debris shed thousands of years ago and illuminated by the shock wave when the star exploded.

The two bright objects that look like car headlights are a pair of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

We are now ready to leave milky way galaxy and enter intergalactic space…

Over here, amidst the intergalactic halo and the deafening silence of deep space, we find

the unknown, THE DARK MATTER

Measurements made by astronauts tell us that there is more matter in our galaxy.

Nearly 90% of the universe is made up of this invisible matter. But what’s the proof?

Magellanic clouds are supposed to spin off to space but they’re not; indicating the presence of

the invisible force

In a still image the collision might now look that clear but if you notice carefully, what you are looking at is EXPLOSION OF

A GALAXY! This can only be possible by another galaxy and the collision

will create more galaxies, this is a destruction leading to creation…

Having witnessed so many wonders, it’s easy to see why the universe fascinates us… but I’m not done… not yet… there is

one more danger that lurks in the corners, one that could jeopardize this entire

journey… QUASARS.

Quasars are the most brightest, most distant and fastest moving objects visible outside the milky way galaxy.

Thousands of these are known for their bright swirling cauldron of hot gasses each emitting a huge amount of

energy. But what is their source? Their heart of darkness i.e. their core is generally a massive black hole.

X- Ray image of a black hole

This image taken in 1999 with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows what astronomers believe is a supernova remnant interacting with the super massive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. Scientists theorized that the shock wave created when it went supernova (bright yellow and orange tones) compressed and pushed gas into the gluttonous black hole (white dot within shock wave) creating a period of intense feeding followed by a period of "starvation."

From earth…

Through the infinite field of stars…

Abandoning the safety of our home,…

Witnessing the beauty of space…

Surviving explosions…

And quasars…

We have finally made it to THE EDGE…

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** A sweet friend **