Cosmic horror: The 7 worst threats in the universe

The feeling of cosmic dread is sometimes so intense that it inspired cosmicism, a subgenre of horror literature at the turn of the 20th century. Based on man’s sense of insignificance in the face of the vastness and mysteries of the universe This could spell the end of the Terra factory in a matter of seconds.

See seven of the scariest threats in the universe below.

Discover the scariest things in the universe

A mega comet is coming

People who still have a romantic view of comets have never witnessed comets. A megacomet approaching its home planet. In 2014, astronomers Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein observed comet C/2014 UN271 for the first time. In low light, the object had an impressive width of 137 kilometers and had a dark, solid core.

The good news is that when it passes by Earth in 2031, it will be 1.6 billion kilometers away. But what if there’s an even scarier monster that Pedro and Gary haven’t seen?

Collision with Andromeda

The next event is not a threat but a certainty: Our neighboring galaxy Andromeda, now 2.5 million years away from Earth, is orbiting towards us and It will merge with our beloved Milky Way in about 4 billion years. Besides changing the night sky because it is too bright, ejected stars and black holes are also unlikely to reach Earth. If anyone is alive, he will see it.

Catastrophic solar flare

The Sun bombards the Earth every day with high-energy particles that are often deflected by our magnetic field. However, from time to time the movement of the plasma (ionized gas) inside Causes solar flares; a flash of light that shoots out an absurd amount of particles at speeds close to the speed of light.

Moreover, while a coronal mass ejection does not pose a risk to the integrity of the Earth, it does release plasma and solar material that has the potential to cause geomagnetic storms that cause disruptions in high-voltage electrical networks and even a potential internet apocalypse.

Purposeless black holes in our galaxy

Although we have the frightening image of black holes as “a region of space where gravity is so intense that nothing, not even light, can escape through it,” we are comforted by the presence of Sagittarius A* at the center. Via Our Milky Way is 26 thousand light years away.

But scientists predict There are approximately 100 million of these menacing objects roaming our galaxy. The Hubble Space Telescope even took a photo of one of these cosmic pits, just 5,000 light-years away from Earth.

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The “death zone” of a supernova

When a massive star with a mass of 8 to 20 times our Sun dies, creates an incredibly powerful explosion called a supernova. This event causes the release of large amounts of energy, emitted radiation, and ejected material, which form a kind of “lethal zone” 40 to 50 light-years from the remaining core.

The closest supernova to Earth ever observed by astronomers – 1987A (SN 1987A) – is 168,000 light-years away from us.

154,741 unknown asteroids

Never in the history of astronomy have we discovered so many threatening space rocks in our solar system, thanks to research using wide-field telescopes. Experts estimate that “planet killers” objects larger than 0.6 miles (about 1 km) near Earth are detected 90% of the time, and 50% of “city killers” are detected.

While we were thinking about this undetected 10%, the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope has just discovered it. There are at least 10 times more asteroids in the solar system than astronomers thought; this number can reach 154,741 objects.

shadow of the moon

When The moon covers almost the entire solar diskMany people feel a chill down their spine, especially if they are observing away from the noise of the city. A total solar eclipse will occur on April 8, 2024, at around 5 pm (Brazilian time), but its dark effect will only be noticeable in the northern hemisphere.

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