Space is interesting

Neutron stars are the densest and tiniest stars in the known universe and although they only have a radius of about 10 km (6 mi), they may have a mass of a few times that of the Sun. They can rotate at up to 60 times per second after they are born from a core-collapse supernova star explosion and have been known to spin as fast as 600-712 times per second because of their physics.






Research by Yale University scientists suggests that a rocky planet called 55 Cancri e — which has a radius twice Earth’s, and a mass eight times greater – may have a surface made up of graphite and diamond. It’s 40 light years away but visible to the naked eye in the constellation of Cancer.






The Andromeda Galaxy is approaching the Milky Way – where our solar system is – at rate of around 110 kilometres per second (68 mi/s) and eventually the two will collide to form a giant elliptical galaxy.






When two surfaces without an oxide (rust) layer are brought together in space, the atoms of either side collapse into each other. They bond, permanently. This is known as cold-welding and it happens because the atoms of the two pieces have no way to know they are separate.






Astronomers have found a massive water vapor cloud which holds 140 trillion times the mass of water in the Earth’s ocean, around 10 billion light years away – making it the largest discovery of water ever found.






The theory is that when Earth was a relatively young planet, it was struck by a giant object and this collision broke a piece of the Earth away to create the moon. This piece then began to orbit the Earth as a result of its gravitational pull.






Observations suggest that the expansion of the universe will continue forever. If so, then the universe will cool as it expands and planetary bodies are pulled away from stars, eventually becoming too cold to sustain life.






If the universe lacks the repulsive effect of dark energy, then gravity will eventually stop the expansion of the universe and it will start to contract until all the matter in the universe collapses to a final singularity.