Exploring the Universe - Space Beyond the Solar System

The universe is a mysterious place. Astronomers say that about seventy two percent of the total mass and energy of the universe exists as dark energy, which is believed to be responsible for the universe’s accelerating expansion. Another twenty three percent is made of invisible dark matter, which doesn’t reflect light and can’t be seen but does have mass. Less than five percent consists of “regular” matter that we can see. Very little is known about dark matter and dark energy.

Scientists have other puzzling ideas about space. For example, the evidence suggests that the universe is expanding, but researchers also say that it is most likely infinite. How do these two ideas fit together? Another fascinating idea proposed by some researchers is that other universes exist in addition to our own, forming a multiverse. Some scientists also suggest that our universe was produced as a bud or branch from another universe, and in a similar way is producing other universes.

A galaxy is a collection of stars, gas and dust. Scientists know that our galaxy - called the Milky Way - contains other solar systems beyond our own, each with a star surrounded by orbiting planets, and that there are other galaxies beyond the one in which we live.

Scientists talk about the "lives" of stars, since stars change over time. The ultimate fate of a star depends upon its mass. A low mass star is known as a red dwarf. It produces much less energy than higher mass stars and exists for much longer.

A medium mass star like our sun will become a red giant as it ages, then change into a white dwarf and finally become a cold and dark black dwarf. The sun is believed to be about 4.5 billion years old and is middle aged at present.

A high mass star has a more violent life. As it ages it turns into a red supergiant, and then undergoes a dramatic explosion called a supernova. The material remaining after the explosion becomes a neutron star, or in the case of a very massive star, a black hole. A pulsar is a rotating neutron star that produces a beam of radiation from a particular point. As we view a pulsar from Earth, the beam appears to be turning on and off at regular intervals due to the rotation of the pulsar. A black hole is a region in space where gravity is so intense that no matter or energy can escape.

Quasars (quasi-stellar radio sources) are very distant, brilliant objects that are releasing an enormous amount of energy. Astronomers think that a quasar is a galaxy that is being powered by a supermassive black hole in its center. Space also contains nebulae - clouds of gas and dust. There are several kinds of nebulae. Some glow and have beautiful red, blue or green colors, and some give birth to stars.

I love to lie comfortably on the ground on a clear night, look up at the stars and planets that can be seen and think about the universe. It’s frustrating to realize that so much still has to be learned about space and to think about how difficult it is to study the universe from our little area within it, but it’s awesome to explore the night sky and think about all the possibilities.

I want to see the universe beyond the Earth,
to reach beyond the confines of this world,
and travel far beyond the sky
to where the mystery begins;
to leave this comfort zone,
smaller than a tiny speck
lodged in the universe’s eye.

I want to see the stars beyond the night,
to view the unimaginable,
and watch the wondrous scenes
of monstrous collisions,
disintegrations and formations,
births and fiery cataclysms
and fierce explosions too.

I’d like to walk upon the surface of another world,
to smell new scents and hear new sounds,
all senses nourished and enthralled;
I want to marvel at strange life,
to find dark matter and dark energy,
to see creation in the act
and explore the vast unknown.

I’d love to find out why? what?...and even who?
then move on to find the end of space and time
if such a place or thought exists;
or make the giant leap
beyond the universe,
a never ending journey
into the infinite beyond.