While most of us focus mostly on the beauty of the cosmos, we tend to ignore the dangers it possesses for humankind. The outer space can prove dangerous to us and our planet; science and history proves that.
Given below are the top 10 dangers the universe possesses for humankind that most of us do not even know about.
Space Debris
The number of celestial bodies in the cosmos is infinite. Space situational awareness means being aware of all the space junk, their location and potential threats to working satellites. The number of these working satellites in the space is increasing every day as private organizations are also launching their own constellation of satellites. While the Department of Defense keeps a catalog of all the space debris, tracking them can be complicated and the smaller objects can go unnoticed. Presently, there are millions of space junk that can potentially collide with each other and other satellites, creating even more space debris.
A Random Encounter
The cosmos is approximately 13.7 billion years old, where our solar system has a history of 4.5 billion years. Just in the Milky Way, there are billions of stars, thousands of planets & exoplanets, asteroids, meteoroids, comets and many more celestial bodies. Even if any of them comes close to our solar system or passes through it, it could be catastrophic for our civilisation. While the chance of a star or an asteroid coming close to the Sun or Earth is one in ten thousand and even less, but if it does happen, Earth could freeze over in a short order, which would mean that humankind would go extinct.
Losing Earth’s Moon
Unlike many other planets in our solar system, our Earth has a single Moon. Not many know that every year, the Moon is moving 3.8 cm away from us. While the Moon disappearing completely because of the drift is a bit of a stretch, but what if it really disappeared? It is possible that an asteroid, heading towards the Earth, may hit the Moon instead. If this happened, the dust of the Moon will form a ring around Earth, just like Saturn. These rings would most likely be destroyed by meteors. Also, losing the gravitational pull of the Moon would affect the climate and weather on Earth. Days would become longer by 10 hours. In addition, the Earth would tilt roughly 60 degrees, which would put our seasons into turmoil.
Colliding Galaxies
Many of the dangers listed in this list are not guaranteed to occur. They are potential threats posed by outer space. However, the fear of colliding galaxies is one that is keeping our scientists up at night. It is only a matter of time that humankind will have to face the repercussions of this space threat. Andromeda galaxy is speeding through outer space at a speed of 110 kms per second. In about 4 billion years, Andromeda galaxy will collide with our own galaxy, Milky Way and will leave a trail of star dust and gas after it. In its aftermath, many stars will be destroyed in the collision, and some will be thrown out of their galaxies. The back and forth between the galaxies will finally result in a supermassive black hole and the formation of an entirely new galaxy.
Shooting Stars
Most of us associate a shooting star as a wishing machine. In reality, a shooting star is a trail of luminous gas created by burning meteors in the atmosphere. The velocity of a shooting star is so high that it enables them to leave their galaxy and travel freely across the cosmos. Shooting stars are huge centers of nuclear power. They burn through every celestial body in their path, even destroying the balance of planetary orbits. The silver lining in all this destruction is that shooting stars have only been observed a dozen times ever and the chance of stumbling upon them is very slim.
Supernova Explosions
Supernovae explosions are also a threat to life on earth. Most of us do not know when a supernova explosion occurs? Well, when a star has finally reached the end of its lifeline, a supernova explosion takes place. While it is not a common occurrence, it averages about twice every century, particularly in the Milky Way. For a supernova explosion to effect life on Earth, it has to be in an orbit of 50 light years. Scientists predict only a single supernova explosion in the future and it is the star Betelgeuse. However, we are safe on Earth as the red supergiant is roughly 460 to 650 light years away from us.
Gamma Ray Burst
Gamma ray bursts are extremely strong explosions of energy that are caused by binary star systems and supernovas. The secret of their power is that they focus their energy through a narrow beam that lasts for a few seconds or minutes. The radiation from the gamma ray bursts are alone enough to destroy our ozone layer.
Expansion of the Sun
Everyone knows that Sun has an expiry date. It is currently 5 billion years old. While we do not know the end of most astronomical objects in the outer space, we know that the Sun will expand and die when it is 7.72 billion years old. At the end, it will form a nebula around planets and will end up being known as a white dwarf. However, most likely Earth will not experience the end of the Sun. During the end, at about 7.59 billion years, the Sun will become colder and create strong solar winds that will definitely slow down our planet and melt it away.
Asteroid Impact
It is a well known fact that 65 million years ago when dinosaurs went extinct, scientists came up with the theory that it was an asteroid impact that did the unimaginable. There are large host of rocks in our solar system that pose a danger to our planet. While there are protective systems in the space that are protecting us from the smaller asteroids that can strike us, the same is not true for the bigger asteroids (which are quite rare). While these asteroids may not be able to wipe out humanity, they can definitely cause natural calamities like tsunamis and fires.
High Energy Solar Flare or Solar Storms
A solar storm occurs when the Sun creates very powerful magnetic fields, which creates sun spots that our larger than our planet itself. The Sun also emits a stream of small particles and radiation, also known as the solar winds. These winds, if kept in check by the magnetic field of Earth, create magnificent northern lights. However, if these winds become unmanageable, they can cause power outages and influence radio communication here on Earth. The most recent and powerful solar storm is called the Carrington Event the hit the Earth in 1859.
