Mysteries of Earth

While we like to look outwards to the skies for questions and answers here on Curious Universe, sometimes we take a look at the paranormal and freaky here on Earth. We also like to ask a lot of questions and think about things we're not normally introduced to.

There have been events and unexplained phenomena occuring for literally millions of years here on our little rocky planet. Today we'll look at some of the interesting and baffling mysteries that still daunt researchers and the curious today!

The first thing we look at is the somewhat unexplained presence of life! Where did it all come from? I mean we know at some point single celled organisms sprung up in the "primordial soup" that was the oceans, however are the necessary building blocks for life everywhere?

It's possible a comet or meteor from somewhere deep in space seeded the life on our planet, with the water and general warm temperatures of our planet reinvigorating them. Or maybe the building blocks were here all along, and all that needed to happen were geological occurences!

Another thing to contemplate is extinctions. While we know that some extinctions of entire species have occured due to astronomical events such as meteor impacts, we still don't understand the natural extinctions that have happened. Some may have been triggered by massive floods and volcanic activity, but what triggers those events? While I'm not one to subscribe to conspiracy theories, there have been numerous civilizations which disappear without a trace according to our timelines. Where could they have gone and what could have triggered their destruction?

Luckily we have some pretty smart guys working on things such as HAARP and geological archaeology, so we can better shed light on the monumental things that have happened in the past. We do know that for some reason there is a spike in the ionosphere just before an earthquake happens, and this could be directly relational to whats happening kilometers below our surface. Hopefully by studying all of the events that have resulted in mass extinction, we can better halt ours!


Last but certainly not least, the numerous out of place archaeological finds we've found over the years but have been unable to explain!

What do I mean by out of place archaeological finds? Things like metal tubes found in 200 million year old chalk, little metal balls of unknown origin found in 2.8 billion year old rock, and much much more. I've included a few pictures of such instruments if you feel like looking them up. But it's just to show you that there's a whole ton of things we don't know about, but are inherently curious about!

Things to look up:
-South African Metal Spheres
-Dropa Stones
-Ica Stones
-Piri Reis Map
-The Antikythera Computer/Device
-Oera Linda

What is Consciousness?

Consciousness, it's what makes us who we are, at least to an extent.

But what is consciousness? Mechanically speaking in very simplistic terms, we have neurons transmitting electrical signals to one another (via synapses) inside of our brain via the nervous system. How we perceive reality and our surroundings is a direct result of our nervous system and attached senses.

However, is that really all we are? To think of the thousands if not hundreds of thousands of choices you make every week, and think that it's all pre-programmed and you're just interpreting the information is ridiculous in my opinion. We're such complex beings that at some point during our evolution we must have felt the need to be more aware of our surroundings and self.

When we look for the other "conscious" beings on our planet, all we can really find is animals of all shapes and sizes. But the difference between us and the animals, is that we can interpret and make decisions based on personal preference. We have likes, dislikes, and habits which guide us into making our decisions (however marginal they are in the end).

But what actually makes consciousness? Is it something we evolved to better suit us to this world? Is it just a set of dice being constantly rolled and the end result is what we ultimately do?

There's so many questions that answers seem out of reach, but at least we have the opportunity to think of such magnificent things. The one thing I've always loved about consciousness is the ability to dream and daydream. To think outside of the realm of possibility and make it real. That's the true beauty of consciousness. There's so many people who waste their intellect, who waste their opportunity on this planet.

Because while we might all be conscious now, just how conscious are we? Are we really aware of all of today's problems, ranging from the slums of India to the mountains of Tibet? There's so many things we could think about, so many situations that could occur, maybe that's why we have a consciousness. It can't just be a self-preservation instinct, because then everything would have it. We obviously have no idea how far our conscious world and mind extends!

So please, don't forget the fact that you are part of the privileged 7 billion who actually are conscious and intelligent! Use your mind and always question reality, because if we didn't then who would!

Oddball Planets and Formations

I wanted to look at some galactic eye opening processes this week, mostly because I've been interested in the formation and deformation of planets and solar systems.

The first thing we're going to talk about is the occurrence of planets that do not orbit their parent stars in the same direction. It`s a common idea for scientists to think that planets in a solar system would match the clockwise/counter-clockwise rotation of their parent stars. However, while searching for extrasolar terrestrial planets (thanks SETI!) we've discovered a new type of rule breaking planet lovingly referred to as "Hot Jupiter".

Hot Jupiters are enormous Jupiter sized (and larger) gas giants with extremely close orbits to their parent stars. To put it into perspective, many of these Hot Jupiter's orbit their parent start 3x closer than Mercury does to our Sun. The odd part about roughly 1/4 of these Hot Jupiters however, is the fact that they sometimes have highly elliptical and counter-rotational orbits to their parent stars.

There's tons of anomalies in space however and here's a few that might interest you!

CoRoT-7b

This was one of the first extrasolar planets to be found, and was originally the smallest planet we had ever seen. However, what I found most interesting about this planet is the fact that on the side we have seen of it (closest to it's star) the temperature can range from 1800-2600 celcius. This means lakes of lava, pressurized steam everywhere, oh and did I mention the possibility that it might rain rocks there?

TrES-4

TrES-4 is the largest planet we have ever seen in the universe. It's roughly 1.6-1.7 times the size of our Jupiter and extremely puffy for it's size. It shouldn't even be able to come to fruition but it has and does today, orbiting it's parent star TrES in just under 4 days.

TrES-2b

In the same system as TrES-4, TrES-2b is the darkest planet we have ever discovered. Once again this type of planet is called a Hot Jupiter and is massive in size. However, this planet reflects less visible light than coal or black paint!

Planet Diamond

Last but certainly not the least, we have a very very special planet. It gives a whole new meaning to precious metals actually. This little planet with no name orbits the pulsar PSR J1719-1438, but what is spectacular about the planet itself is that it is now pure diamond! What most likely happened here, is that carbon expelled from when the host star went supernova gathered in a small accretion disk and eventually due to HUGE pressures (and after millions of years of gathering) was turned to diamond!

Well that's it for this week and I hope you're exploring a little more into the universe!

Size!

Have you ever looked down, or maybe up, and wondered what your place is in this construct they call the universe?

We're lucky to have survived for thousands of years as the species we are now (millions if you take into account evolution from "previous" species). But we're not the pinnacle of evolution, and we're not the biggest baddest evolutionary path out there. When we look outwards towards the stars, we are humbled by the fact that in many cases we aren't even a speck on many of these heavenly bodies. We're barely an atom compared to many of the stars, galaxies, quasars, pulsars, and nebulae that populate the vast regions of our universe.

Think about it. I mean really really think about it for a second.

Break it down using not science, but your understanding of your place in the world. We all know (well many of us lucky to be educated) that matter is comprised of many many many billions upon billions of atoms, and that each of these atoms is infinitesimal in size. We can't even comprehend what these things look like without extremely powerful microscopes and machines!/

Then think about yourself, made up of different types of matter, working on different subatomic levels to make up the working construct which is yourself.

Now stay with me, this is going to get complicated, but think of the BILLIONS of people on this planet, think of the plants, the animals, and think about how much matter just goes into those organisms. Think about the mountains, the oceans, the very core of the earth and how much matter is there. There's so much matter on earth, we don't even know what to do with it...yet...we're not even the largest thing in our own backyard.

For a quick factoid, it would take 1.3 million Earths to FILL the sun. 1.3 MILLION...it's astounding.

Yet our Star isn't even that big compared to some of the other stars out there. And those stars aren't really anything compared to the galaxies they fill...and those galaxies are but a speck in the vast nebulae that make up the universe.

So I leave you with this thought, that maybe your problems, that life's problems aren't that big. That you can sit back and relax because in all honesty, there are some amazing and gigantic things happening in our universe. We can't really do much to affect them, and even if we could, would we want to?

The universe is awesome. Just think about it. :D

Strange Places

I wanted to look into our own backyard for this post, to reveal some of the natural (and maybe even unnatural) wonders and spectacles that the average person doesn't know about. These are places which have sometimes taken millions of years to form, and I don't think we appreciate how truly wonderful the world can be, because we don't have a birds eye perspective of everything around us.

The first natural wonder I have for you today is called "The Eye of Africa" and it's breathtaking to say the least. This natural wonder is called a guelb ri-chat structure, and it is almost entirely unique in it's physical appearance.

The Eye of Africa is visible from space, and while no one has figured out for certain how it's formed, there's speculation that volcanic activity combined with the successive heating and cooling of the crust near the surface has something to do with it. Further research is needed to figure out just how exactly this monumental wonder is formed.

Next up we have "The Nine Hells of Beppu" which is a collection of steamy hot mineral pools in Japan. These pools are all inherently different and each has it's own unique colour (thanks to various minerals in the different flows of water). Some of the pools are so hot, you can cook eggs in them!

The 9 pools and their description are:
Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell) - Turqoise
Shiraike Jigoku (White Pond Hell) - White pool, created by large amounts of calcium on the pond floor.
Oniyama Jigoku (Devil's Mountain Hell) - Clear, home to 100 crocodiles and produces steam hot enough to pull a short train.
Yama Jigoku (Mountain Hell) - Small ponds surround this steamy mud "mountain"
Kinryu Jigoku (Golden Dragon Hell) - Green, lush vegetation.
Kamada Jigoku (Cooking Pot Hell) - Several boiling hot pools
Katsumaki Jigoku (Spout Hell) - A geyser which sprays boiling water every 30 minutes.
Oniishibozu Jigoku (Shaven Head Hell) - Pools of boiling grey mud, produces bubbles which resemble a shaven monks head.
Chinoike Jigoku (Blood Pond Hell) - Red coloured water, thanks to iron minerals oxidized in the pond.

(Pictured, Blood Pond Hell).

The last place I wanted to show you guys is called Socotra Island, located just off of the coast of Yemen. It's a place where many of the plants and animals were isolated for millions of years.

There's roughly 40,000 inhabitants to this beautiful island, and some of the unique trees and birds bring in visitors from all over the world. So many visitors in fact, that the island got it's first two roads in the past few years.

If you're interested in the full extent that the island of Socotra has to offer, check out this youtube video detailing some of the beautiful "things" that live there.

Ancient Egypt

This week we'll be looking at the awe inspiring and mysterious culture that was the ancient Egyptians.

As a brief summary of how ancient Egypt came to be, the individual states of the southern and northern parts of Egypt were united around 3150 BC under the rule of the first official pharaoh, Menes. He created the capital city Memphis, which roughly translated meant "the balance of two lands".

The country depended (and still does depend) on the natural spectacle which is the river Nile, providing water, food, and transportation for all. Even today, roughly 95% of the Egyptian population is situated in the areas surrounding the Nile. The country was also extremely religious, practicing a worship of many different deities.

But now, for the fun stuff.

Here's a few interesting facts you might not have known about the pyramids, pharaohs, and the people who profited off of the ancients thousands of years later:

- There are some historically educated people out there who believe the first pharaohs were actually not of this planet! (LOL!)
- IF a pharaoh ruled for 30 years (and didn't meet an "untimely" death) they would have to prove their fitness in a fixed course.
- While mummifying a person, if a priest knocked off a finger or toe, they would replace is with a wooden object found in the workshop.
- The pyramids were not built by 10,000 slaves over the course of 10 years as the ancient Greeks suggested. Most likely they were built over the course of 5 years (per pyramid) by roughly 25,000 or so free citizens who were well taken care of.
- EVERY SINGLE PYRAMID IN EGYPT HAS BEEN ROBBED. There is not one pyramid in Egypt that has not had something missing or been broken into.
- Because there were so many people digging up mummies in the 1800's (thanks to the discovery of the ancient Egyptian sites), they became of little to no value. In fact, they were sometimes used as engine fuel in locomotives.
- Cleopatra, "the most famous queen" of Egypt was actually Greek. (Look it up, I was astonished!)
- The ordinary citizen ate bread that was so grainy and coarse, it would wear away their teeth.

and my favourite piece of information? See below.

- King Charles II would rub the dust that fell off of a mummy onto his skin, believing it would rub off the greatness. (a truly insane man).

Egypt was truly a beautiful place, and I personally love looking in to the past and seeing some of the ingenuity and progression that took place.

However, this world is full of mysteries, weird things, and strange phenomenon and I hope this article has given you a little insight into the very weird world the ancients lived in! I hope you join me tomorrow as I will have a new post up every day until Wednesday!

Happy Hunting!

Stars in our Universe

Have you ever really realized that stars are awesome?

Our ancient ancestors did, and created numerous monuments and stories about the wonders of our star, the Sun.  However, the Sun is just one of billions upon billions of stars in our universe. It's a freckle on the proverbial face of our known world.

To put it in perspective, there are about 100 thousand MILLION stars in just the Milky Way. If you haven't realized it by now, that is a huge number. Have you ever tried to count every single grain of sand on a beach? Well that's what today's scientists are trying to do with our universe!

But stars aren't just numerous in our universe, they're also behemoths of creation as you'll see in the picture below.

What you see here is the largest star known to mankind, VY Canis Majoris. This star is classified as a red hypergiant, and saying this star is huge is an understatement...it's 1.7 billion miles in diameter and weighs about as much as 600 suns. 

However, that's not the only magical stars event we know about. As a quick refresher, the larger something gets, the more gravity it produces (due to the density of matter in space time, the more something weighs the more it will bend light and space). Now, when we pair this statement with a dying star which has burned through most of it's fuel (if not all of it) we come to an event called a supernova.

Supernovas occur when a very massive star burns through all of it's nuclear fuel. The majority of the outer parts of the star are thrown violently into space in a large explosion, however the very very very dense and gravitationally inclined core of the star collapses under its own weight forming what we know today as black holes.

Black holes are some of the scariest and beautiful things in our known universe. They are a place where space, time, light, and all matter cannot escape. They're kind of like that bad college party that your friend really wants to stay at for a few more hours.

Black holes, are the end all be all of our universe, and unfortunately they can get really really big. If you're still interested in stars and black holes, feel free to check out the linked video below! It's about 20 minutes long and gives you an in depth view into our universe (and a long look at supermassive black holes). Until then!