UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN

Let’s start out with something that we can say for certain: we live in an expanding universe. Every single day, the universe gets a little bit bigger than it was the day before. But right away, when we say something like “we live in an expanding universe” certain questions start to pop up, and they’re far and away the most common kinds of questions that I get asked. If the universe is expanding, then what is it expanding into? And what is it expanding from? Where’s the edge of the universe, and where is it’s center?

I’m going to be honest with you. I dread this kind of question, especially when I give public talks. Not because I know what the answer is, but because I know how totally unsatisfying that answer feels. It’s like sneaking into your kid’s candy bag the night after Halloween and eating half their chocolates (don’t judge me, I know you’ve done it too): it feels good in the moment, but you instantly have regrets.

Here's the answer: the big bang has no center, and it has no edge. That’s it. That’s the answer. No more, no less.

And that doesn’t really feel good because it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

It’s easy to imagine an expanding universe, and there are plenty of analogies out there to help guide our thinking. We can imagine drawing little galaxies on the surface of a balloon, and inflating that balloon to see the galaxies getting farther apart. We can imagine baking a load of bread with raisins in it (why it’s always raisins, and not chocolate chips, is an enduring mystery) and seeing how as the bread rises the raisins get farther apart.

Yay, expanding universe! But the balloon has a center, and it has an edge. And the bread has a center, and a crust. So…where’s the center of the universe, and where is its edge?

This is why we can’t rely on analogies too much when dealing with many concepts in fundamental physics and cosmology. In both the subatomic and cosmological realms, we’re grappling with structures and concepts and physics that is far and above what our puny human brains can imagine. That’s why we have mathematics. Mathematics is a tool that we can use to understanding the universe around us, even when we can’t envision what’s going on. That’s right kids: imagination is important, but mathematics can be even more powerful.

Let’s start with the center. Where did the big bang start? Right here. And right there. And right over there. And in the next room over. The big bang happened everywhere, all at once. The big bang was an event that the entire universe participated in. The big bang was NOT an explosion that happened somewhere in space, it was an explosion OF space – it was when the expansion of the universe first got started. It was not a place we can point to, it was a TIME that we can point to.

The big bang was a singular event that happened in the past of every single object in the universe. If you take any particle, any bit of energy, and trace its path backwards through time, you’ll end up at the big bang, where that particle, that bit of energy, gets all mushed together with every other particle and bit of energy in a singularity.

Think about it. Let’s say the big bang happened over there, say, in the Andromeda galaxy. Well then, where were we, in the Milky Way, when that happened? If we traveled back in time 13 and change billion years, would we be watching the big bang unfold? But…aren’t we a part of the universe? How can we be a part of the universe but somehow outside of the event the created it?

The big bang had to happen everywhere, because everywhere is by definition part of the universe. You can’t have a universe, especially an expanding one, without a big bang. So no matter where you are, your point in space had, at one time, to participate in the big bang.

Now what about the other side of the coin? If the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into? Where’s the crust in our expanding loaf of bread, and what’s the oven that we’re sitting in?

Go ahead, have another piece of chocolate, because this is going to get weird. There is no edge. The universe has no edge. I don’t even want to say something like “the universe isn’t expanding into anything” because that still conjures up the wrong mental image. It’s too tempting to imagine a wall, or boundary, with galaxies and stuff on one side and nothingness on the other, with the universe expanding to fill up that nothingness with somethingness.

But that’s wrong. Even the vacuum of space is something. There are still point, locations, and existence. There’s no “outside” to the universe because “outside” implies existence, even an empty one. But the universe is, by definition, all there is. There is nothing to physical reality except the universe. Walls separate one region from another, but the universe is all the regions simultaneously.

If there were an edge, you could imagine working hard enough to get outside that edge. But that’s not possible. There is no outside. There is no…side. There just is, us, the universe. All there is.

Like I said, it feels a little thrilling at first, but then the stomach aches kick in.

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Scorpius is the most amazing of the zodiac constellations. Although astrology divides the year into 12 almost equal parts, astronomers know that in reality the Sun is only in it for 8 days. However, it also has numerous attractions.

Constellation Scorpius

Scorpius, who dislikes the Sun

On November 22, the Sun will enter the constellation Scorpius. As is almost always the case in such situations, astrologers strongly disagree with astronomers, claiming that our star entered the constellation on October 23 and left it on November 21.

The main reason for this is the shift in the vernal equinox due to the precession of the Earth’s axis of rotation. You can read more about this in this article. In fact, there is at least one more reason why astrologers disagree with astronomers about the time the sun is in different zodiac constellations, but for most of them, it is secondary.

But not for Scorpius. We are referring to the clarification of constellation boundaries, which occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. And in the case of this constellation, they were drawn in such a way that the Sun actually crosses it only along a narrow strip through its “head” and “claws.”

The constellation Scorpius. The blue line is the ecliptic.

Source: Wikipedia

As a result, of all the constellations, it is in Scorpius that the Sun actually spends the least amount of time – only 8 days. On November 29, it will leave the poisonous multi-legged celestial being and move on to its neighbor, Ophiuchus, where it will stay longer than in Scorpius, but which is not considered a zodiacal constellation.

In general, November is the worst month for observing Scorpius. The reason for this is the same as for other zodiac constellations: it rises and sets with the Sun at this time of year and hides behind the horizon at night. The best time to observe it is in May and June, when it rises above the southern horizon.

The mythical monster

There are several myths about how Scorpius appeared in the sky. But in all of them, he appears as the embodiment of evil, whose actions lead to extremely bad consequences. The most common of these myths links Scorpius with Orion.

Scorpius in May.

Source: stellarium-web.org

Orion was supposedly the most outstanding of human hunters, but his thirst for prey led him astray. According to one version of the myth, he began to pursue the Pleiades and chased them for seven years until the Scorpion, sent by Gaia or Poseidon, stung him, causing him to die in terrible agony.

According to another version, Orion demanded the goddess of the hunt, Artemis, herself. But she did not reciprocate his feelings, yet he continued to pursue her until she sent a poisonous messenger to kill him. Be that as it may, Orion and Scorpius are indeed located far apart in the sky, as if the former were hiding from the latter.

Another myth says that the celestial Scorpius is actually the one that frightened the horses pulling the golden chariot of Helios, the sun god. It was driven by his inexperienced son Phaethon, and the horses carried it too close to Earth, causing a worldwide fire. To stop this, Zeus had to kill the boy and the horses with a thunderbolt, and Phaethon fell into the river Eridanus.

The myth of Phaethon.

Source: globalpowerelite.com

Antares and other bright stars

Although the Sun is in Scorpius for only a short time, there are more interesting objects in it than scary myths about it. The most notable of these is Alpha Scorpii, known as Antares. Among all the stars that make up the zodiacal constellations, it is second only to Alpha Tauri, Aldebaran.

At the same time, Antares is very noticeable due to its red color. Thanks to this, it got its name “anti-Ares,” meaning the enemy of Mars. In reality, it is much farther away from us than the Red Planet and incomparably larger than it.

It is a red supergiant located 550 light-years away from us. In fact, it is a binary system. Its main component, which we can actually see, has a mass of 12.4 solar masses, but has already used up almost all of its hydrogen and swelled to a size 400 times larger than our sun. It emits 75,900 times more energy than the Sun. However, all these measurements are actually quite approximate, because the giant star pulsates, changing its radius by 19%.

Antares compared to other stars.

Source: www.statesman.com

The main component of the system is orbited by its companion, which is also a fairly large star. Despite having a mass 7.2 times that of the Sun, it has not yet exhausted its thermonuclear fuel and therefore has a blue color. Its diameter is 5.2 times that of the Sun.

There is still no consensus among scientists regarding the distance between the two components and, accordingly, their orbital period. The most accurate measurements to date indicate a distance of about 220 AU and an orbital period of approximately 1,218 years.

In any case, the Antares system is very young. Its age ranges from 11.8 to 17.3 million years. After some time, the larger of the stars will finally exhaust its thermonuclear fuel and turn into a supernova, and then into a black hole. Then, after a few million years, the same fate will befall the second star.

Lambda Scorpii.

Source: www.star-facts.com

The second brightest star in Scorpius is its Lambda, which is called Shaula, derived from the Arabic word for “raised tail.” It is indeed located on the tail of the celestial arthropod and has an apparent magnitude of 1.62.

In fact, it is a triple system located 570 light-years away from us. The main component is a variable star of the Beta Cephei type. Explosive processes occur inside these hot and heavy blue stars, inflating their outer shells. In the case of Shaula, the mass of the main component exceeds that of the Sun by 10.4 times, and its luminosity by 36,000 times.

Around it, at a distance of 7,500 AU, there’s a smaller blue star. It’s about twice as heavy as our Sun. And around this pair, at a distance of 17,000 AU, there’s a third star that’s eight times heavier than our Sun.

The third brightest star in Scorpius is its Theta, Sargas. It is a double system located 329 AU away from us. What the smaller component of the system is and whether it exists at all remains unclear. But here is the main object of interest.

It is a star of spectral class F, which means it is slightly hotter than the Sun. Its mass is about three times greater than that of our star, its polar radius is 26 times greater than that of the Sun, and its equatorial radius is 36 times greater. In other words, it is flattened, and there is only one explanation for this: it was once a pair of stars that merged.

Theta Scorpii.

Source: www.flickr.com

Nearby stars

The closest star to us in the constellation of Scorpius is Gliese 682. It is a rather dull red dwarf located 16.3 light-years away from us. Its mass is 27% and its radius is 30% of the Sun’s. In 2016, it was reported that two planets had been discovered around it, but their existence has now been disproved.

Next is the Gliese 667 system, located 23 light-years away from us. It consists of two orange dwarfs and one red dwarf. The first two have masses of 69% and 73% of the Sun and revolve around a common center of mass in a highly elongated orbit with a semi-major axis of 12.6 AU, completing one revolution every 42 Earth years.

And around them orbits a third star – a red dwarf with a mass of 31% of the Sun’s. And it is this object that is the most interesting in the entire system. At one time, scientists reported that Gliese 667 C had as many as six planets, but now the existence of two of them is recognized.

Planet Gliese 667 Cc.

Source: Wikipedia

The first is Gliese 667 Cb. With a mass of 5.6 Earths and an orbital period of 7.2 days, it is most likely a large hot super-Earth or an equally hot mini-Neptune. This world must have a powerful hydrosphere and a dense atmosphere, the boundary between which is quite arbitrary.

But the second planet, Gliese 667 Cc, is much more interesting. Its mass is 4.1 times that of Earth, and it orbits its star once every 28 Earth days. Calculations show that the star can heat it to 4.3 °C, which is slightly higher than on Earth. Most likely, Gliese 667 Cc is significantly warmer than our planet due to a powerful greenhouse effect. However, it may still be the case that the temperature on it is not high enough for life to exist. But there is another problem: like many red dwarfs, Gliese 667 C experiences powerful flares. Whether they rule out the possibility of life on the planet is still an open question.

Other interesting stars

There are plenty of other interesting objects in the constellation of Scorpius. For example, the star U Scorpii is located here. It is a repeating nova with one of the shortest periods. The flares repeat every 12 years.

Like all similar objects, U Scorpii is a binary system consisting of a normal star and a white dwarf, which orbit each other in a very close orbit around a common center of mass. Matter flows from the first component to the second, and when a large amount accumulates on the latter, a thermonuclear explosion occurs, after which the process repeats itself.

U Scorpii.

Source: Wikipedia

Another interesting object is the dawn of AH Scorpii. It is barely visible in our sky, but that is only because it is 7,400 light-years away from us. In fact, it is a red supergiant, compared to which even Antares looks small. This monster is 20 times more massive than the Sun, 1,411 times larger in diameter, and 329,000 times more luminous.

Also in the constellation of Scorpius is the object Scorpius X-1, which is the second brightest object in the sky when viewed in the X-ray range. The first is the black hole Sagittarius A* in the center of the Milky Way. As for this mysterious source of radiation, in the visible range, there is a hot blue star in its place. Scientists believe that it forms a pair with a neutron star, onto which matter falls from it, serving as a source of energy for such a powerful emitter.

There is also an object called a microquasar in the constellation Scorpius. Ordinary quasars are supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies that intensively absorb matter, part of which is converted into relativistic jets emanating from their poles. This makes them visible across the entire universe.

Microquasar.

Source: Wikipedia

So, something like this, only on a much smaller scale, exists right here in our galaxy. The object GRO J1655−40 is a binary system containing a stellar-mass black hole. The second component is a normal star, and it is its material that is used to form a microquasar with jets shooting out from the poles of the black hole.

Globular clusters and galaxies

In addition to all of the above, the constellation of Scorpius is rich in objects that are neither stars nor black holes. First and foremost are the Butterfly Cluster, or Messier 6, and Ptolemy’s Cluster, or Messier 7. Both belong to open clusters. The first contains about 120 stars and is located at a distance of 1,590 light-years, while the second contains about 80 stars. The distance to it is 735 light-years.

There are also two noticeable globular clusters in Scorpius: Messier 4 and Messier 80. The first is the closest object of its kind to us. It is located about 6,000 light-years away. It is a region of space with a diameter of 35 light-years, containing stars with a total mass 84,000 times greater than that of the Sun.

Messier 4.

Source: Wikipedia

In addition to star clusters, Scorpius also contains several nebulae. For example, NGC 6302, or the Bug Nebula. It really does resemble an insect with its antennae spread out on either side. In reality, it is a bipolar planetary nebula formed as a result of a red giant star shedding its outer layers.

Or NGC 6334, known as the Cat’s Paw Nebula or Bear’s Paw Nebula. It is a huge cloud of interstellar hydrogen illuminated by nearby bright stars. Intense star formation processes are taking place within it.

And, of course, there are plenty of galaxies in the constellation Scorpius. One example is NGC 6000, a barred spiral galaxy. It is about 112 million light-years away, but it appears relatively bright due to its active core.