The universe is constantly expanding and therefore Whether it is an asteroid, a star or a planet, the number of cosmic objects wandering around the farthest reaches of space is unimaginable. Space is seemingly endless, so there may be strange space structures that have never been observed with modern telescopes. Fortunately, we know some of them, and they’re much stranger than scientists imagined.
A classic example is a star cluster that resembles the appearance of a Christmas tree., It was detected from instruments at the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The Christmas Tree Cluster consisted of stars between one and five million years old, located about 2,500 light-years from Earth.
Fortunately, not all objects look like Christmas decorations; Some even have similarities to the fictional heart shape that has become popular in culture around the world.
That’s why we prepared a list. Some heart-shaped space objects that are most popular among astronomy enthusiastsFrom colliding galaxies to asteroids that look like literal emojis.
Itokawa asteroid
In October 2005, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency collected data and image of asteroid Itokawa; What impressed the scientists most was the near-perfect shape of the rock, which unintentionally mimicked the heart. Moreover, this was the first asteroid for which astronomers were able to collect physical samples using the Japanese probe Hayabusa and bring them back to Earth for analysis.
According to the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the asteroid does not have a completely solid structure. In fact, its structure resembles a cluster of unique rocks held together by the gravitational shape they exert on each other.
The small stones were probably formed in a rocky body larger than 20 kilometers and whose temperature reached around 800 degrees Celsius.
“One scenario the team put forward to explain this was that after Itokawa’s parent body disintegrated, the slight mutual gravity of the fragments bound them together into two or more piles of rubble, and two of these piles eventually slowly collided. NASA explains that “they stuck together, together with others, and stuck together.” “We are in a situation,” he explains.
Pluto
In 2015, during a flyby of NASA’s New Horizons probe, astronomers have managed to capture a stunning image showing Pluto’s atmospheric circulation patterns – In 2006, the planet was reclassified as a dwarf planet. When you look at the image more patiently, it is possible to see a heart shape on the surface of the celestial body, close to the area called Sputinic Planitia.
The heart shape resulted from some kind of natural phenomenon occurring on Pluto; There is a nitrogen ice plain in the region that evaporates during the day and condenses into ice at night. This entire process causes nitrogen winds that carry fog particles, ice grains, and higher temperatures through the atmosphere.
“This highlights the fact that Pluto’s atmosphere and winds can affect the surface (even though the density of the atmosphere is very low). Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto would be a ‘netball’, completely flat and with almost no variation. But this is completely different.” “There are very different landscapes, and we’re trying to understand what’s going on there,” NASA Ames Research Center astrophysicist and planetary scientist Tanguy Bertrand said in a study on the subject.
Galaxies NGC 4038 and NGC 4039
In 2024, NASA chose a heart shape created by the ‘merger’ of two galaxies for NASA’s Astronomy Image of the Day; The event takes place on February 7 every year. Known as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 Both galaxies formed in different regions and were completely alone, but were physically attracted to each other due to their gravitational forces.
As scientists explain, the two galaxies began gravitationally pulling on each other about a billion years ago. To contain, This pair of celestial bodies is called the Antenna Galaxies because they also have antenna-like ‘tails’.
“As two galaxies interact, their stars rarely collide, but new stars are formed when interstellar gases collide. For example, some new stars have formed in the long antennas extending to the sides of the dancing duo. “Possibly a billion years later, when the merger of galaxies is complete, billions of new stars may have formed,” explains NASA.
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Source: Tec Mundo
I’m Blaine Morgan, an experienced journalist and writer with over 8 years of experience in the tech industry. My expertise lies in writing about technology news and trends, covering everything from cutting-edge gadgets to emerging software developments. I’ve written for several leading publications including Gadget Onus where I am an author.
