Buzz
As many of you may have already heard, the universe is colossal. So staggeringly vast that if we took a moment to pause from our daily routines and truly consider the magnitude of it all, we'd probably lose our minds. That’s why most of us tend to ignore what lies beyond our immediate surroundings—our brains just aren't built to grasp something of that scale.
If we actually did take the time to think about it—like many curious minds such as scientists, astronomers, and even stoned college students do—we’d come to realize that the universe is filled with terrifying phenomena, the kind of things you’d never find in a children’s book. If we were to explore its darkest reaches, we'd encounter many strange and alarming mysteries that remain unsolved.
10. The Higgs Boson Apocalypse
There are plenty of doomsday scenarios floating around, depending on where you live. Many cultures believe the world will end in a dramatic fashion, and that’s fine with us—as long as we get to witness some incredible visual spectacles.
The most alarming and scientifically plausible doomsday scenarios come from experts themselves, with the Higgs Boson Doomsday being a prominent example. Many, including the renowned Stephen Hawking, have warned that this could happen—or that it might already be unfolding. It would begin with a bubble of fluctuating Higgs energy, which is supposed to remain stable to preserve the universe. If this bubble spreads, it could fundamentally alter, and even destroy, atoms as it moves.
Some scientists believe this phenomenon has already begun, and that the bubble could be headed our way from the dark corners of the universe. Others argue that it’s far off in the future, and that humanity might be long gone before it reaches us.
9. Galactic Cannibalism
Galactic cannibalism is perhaps the least appetizing form of cannibalism, though regular cannibalism isn’t particularly pleasant either. Just the thought that larger galaxies might consume smaller ones, with the possibility that we could be next, is downright unsettling. Fortunately, this is not something we need to worry about in the near future. However, many other galaxies are currently being devoured by larger ones simply because the bigger galaxy had nothing better to do.
And it’s not all that far from us, either. Andromeda—the galaxy that most people are familiar with, part of our Local Group—actually consumed a smaller galaxy that was once a companion to the Milky Way about two billion years ago. It’s also expected to merge with the Milky Way in approximately 4.5 billion years, but by then, humans will likely either have mastered intergalactic travel or have long perished. Those who choose to stick around, however, will witness one incredible light show.
8. The Outcast Supermassive Black Hole
If we had a full understanding of the immense events taking place across the universe, our lives might seem incredibly small in comparison. Some of these cosmic phenomena are so enormous that they underscore just how insignificant we are. One such example is a supermassive black hole that was ejected from its home galaxy.
Scientists have estimated that it would require the energy of 100 million supernovas to launch a black hole into space. And this isn't just any black hole—this is by far the largest moving black hole we've ever observed. The energy that propelled it came from the merger of two black holes at the heart of a galaxy, because, of course, that's yet another cosmic event that happens out there.
7. Rogue Black Holes
Of all the things that could potentially go rogue, a black hole ranks as one of the most terrifying. As we know, black holes are extremely dense regions of space with gravitational fields so intense that even light cannot escape. They consume everything within their gravitational pull, which is why it’s best to keep a safe distance from them.
It becomes a real issue when it starts moving. Like everything else in the universe, black holes can follow their own trajectories. In some cases, they accelerate to incredible speeds, devouring everything in their path. And this isn’t a far-off event either—a black hole as large as Jupiter is currently speeding through the Milky Way. It was once believed to be stationary, but recent studies have shown otherwise.
6. Zombie Stars
Everything that lives must eventually die, and this includes the stars. The death of stars—something you likely learned about in science class—is one of the most fascinating events in the universe. Every star you see twinkling in the sky is either already dead, with its light still traveling toward us, or will die in the future, including our very own sun. It’s the natural cycle of life, unless a star decides to defy the odds.
On rare occasions, stars die only to mysteriously come back to life, as though nothing happened. This phenomenon confounds both us and scientists. Recently, researchers have discovered ‘zombie stars’—stars that should have perished during their supernova phase but somehow survived. Now, they’re speeding through space, fully revived and full of energy. We don’t fully understand them, which is why we’d rather they keep their distance.
5. The Galaxies Without Dark Matter
If you've spent enough time on the internet or science forums, you might have come across the idea that the visible universe is only a tiny fraction of the whole thing. The vast majority of it is composed of something called dark matter. We could’ve come up with a more scientific name, but since we know so little about it, ‘dark’ matter is as close as we can get to describing it. What we do know is that it’s everywhere, and large portions of the universe are made up of it—though that’s about the extent of our understanding.
Even more puzzling, though, is a galaxy that has no dark matter at all. It was once thought that dark matter, whatever it is, is essential for holding the universe together. Yet this galaxy, along with others like it, proves that dark matter isn’t necessary to keep galaxies intact, which only deepens the enigma of this mysterious substance.
4. The Triple Galaxy Collision
No matter how dull our lives may seem, we can take comfort in the fact that something spectacular is happening in the universe at all times. From intense displays of light to stars dying, it's certainly not a boring place. Some events, though, are so overwhelmingly massive that we’d rather stay put on Earth than venture anywhere near them.
One such event is the rare collision of three galaxies, like the one observed in 2007. While two galaxies often collide more frequently than we realize, it’s incredibly unusual to witness three of them merging. What appears as a single blob of light in photos is actually three gigantic clusters of stars coming together, all the while rapidly creating new stars—around 200 solar masses per year at the center.
3. Strange Matter
For something with a name as unassuming as ‘strange matter,’ you wouldn’t expect it to be as mind-bending as it actually is. It sounds like a term scientists coined when they couldn’t quite explain something and decided to leave it open-ended. However, if you research it, you'll find that it’s one of the most bizarre concepts in theoretical physics.
In simple terms, strange matter – which may consist of a variety of particles – is unlike anything we've encountered before. Regular matter is made up of atoms, which have a nucleus containing protons and neutrons, themselves composed of quarks. These quarks stay tightly packed, giving everything its familiar properties. Strange matter, however, sees quarks running wild, without any apparent rules or boundaries. It’s a completely alien type of matter, and the terrifying part is that it could potentially transform anything it touches into its own form. Yes, a small bit of strange matter floating through the universe could be heading our way right now, radically altering and potentially destroying the nature of matter as we know it.
Luckily, strange matter hasn’t been confirmed to exist anywhere in the universe, so for now, it remains a theoretical concept. Sadly, more recently, scientists have discovered something eerily similar to what they believe strange matter might be like.
2. The Coldest Place In The Universe
The universe is an incredibly cold place, with the heat from stars only managing to impact a small fraction of it. We know it’s cold, but we’re still unsure just how cold it can get. Some scientists claim that the absolute coldest known location in the universe is the Boomerang Nebula, a massive cloud of gas and dust in space.
It’s so frigid that its average temperature is -457.87°F. Scientists have been puzzled by it for a while, trying to figure out what caused such a dramatic drop in temperature. Fortunately, a recent study has provided a plausible explanation: the nebula was expelled after a star collided with a larger star nearing the end of its life, ejecting most of its matter in a cold burst. Although it’s far enough away from us to pose no immediate threat, it’s a place we can all agree is best left unexplored, even if we develop interstellar travel.
1. The Mystery Of The Biggest Black Hole Ever Found
There are plenty of things in the universe that remain a mystery, and that’s okay, since we can’t know everything. But it’s particularly frustrating when we think we’ve solved one mystery, only to later discover that we were completely wrong. A prime example of this is the discovery of the brightest and largest black hole in the early universe.
Located at the center of a quasar (a brilliant, massive object with a black hole at its core) that was only recently discovered, this behemoth is known as SDSS J0100+2802. It shines with the brilliance of 420 trillion Suns and is by far the largest quasar we've ever found. The origin of this extraordinary black hole is still a mystery, as nothing in the early universe should have been able to grow so large, making it the most enigmatic black hole we know of.
