10 Interesting Facts About Mars
From its impressive two moons to the super intense dust storms we countdown the Top 10 Interesting Facts about Mars.
10. The basics Mars
The fourth planet from the Sun, is commonly known as the 'red planet' because of its reddish appearance. Like many other celestial bodies in the universe, Mars is named after a Roman god of war and agricultural guardian. The features of terrestrial planet are very similar to the Moon and Earth. Mars also has impact craters reminiscent of the Moon as well as deserts, volcanoes, valleys, and polar caps comparable to Earth and was first recorded by Egyptian astronomer in 2nd millennium BC.
9. Aurora and mysterious dust clouds
In 1994, astronomers discovered ultraviolet glow in the southern hemisphere of Mars. A decade later in late 2014, NASA's MAVEN spacecraft noticed a blanket of auroras in the northern hemisphere as well. The particles descended deep into the atmosphere of Mars, and created auroras approximately 100 km above the Martian surface. In 2015, NASA detected mysterious high-altitude dust clouds in Mars. It is speculated that the dust is coming from the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, but it is still unexplained how it got there.
8. Mars has two moons
Talking of moons, Mars has two small natural satellites - Phobos and Deimos. The moons were discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877. Their names are inspired by twins in Greek mythology and their meanings are quite interesting; Phobos means fear and Deimos means terror. The origin of moons is uncertain.
7. Highest mountain in the Solar System
Mars is home to Olympus Mons, the second highest known mountain and the largest volcano in the Solar System. It was formed approximately 3.3 billion years ago during the start of Amazonian period. The shield volcano is now extinct and lies in the higher land of Tharsis. Mars is also home to one of the largest gorges in the Solar System called Valles Marineris.
6. Future of Mars
Scientists have predicted a plethora of interesting events for Mars. From 20 to 70 million years from now, Mars' moon, Phobos, will be ripped apart by powerful tidal forces because of its close proximity to the Martian surface. Mars will then have a cool ring around it! In 7.5 billion years, Earth and Mars will be tidally locked with the expanding Sun. The Sun will reach the 'red giant' stage and will end up destroying Earth, Venus, Mercury and Mars.
5. Dust storms
Remember how a massive dust storm left Matt Damon stranded on Mars in The Martian? Well, you can't grow potatoes on Mars, but they got that part right. Mars is subjected to the largest and extremely strong dust storms in the solar system. They go on for months and months, and envelope the entire planet. Moreover, the seasons are way more intense than other planets in the Solar System because Mars orbits around the Sun in an oval shaped path. Oh, it also has all the four seasons the Earth has.
4. Water on Mars
Water on Mars create a lot of hype every other week. Water does exist on Mars but as ice and minuscule vapors in the atmosphere. Liquid water can only occur under certain condition because Mars has a very low atmospheric pressure. NASA has discovered evidence of rivers, freshwater lakes and streams that existed once upon a time. If those lakes existed today, Mars would have been habitable.
3. Life on Mars
The origin of Mars is very similar to Earth. People have been looking for evidence of life on Mars for centuries. Major searches only began in the 19th century and continues till today. Many experiments have been conducted for Martian habitability and life. Earth lichens successfully survived in a simulated Martian environment. Curiosity Rover discovered an ancient lake that could have supported life on Mars if it existed today. Currently, a team of scientists are trying to grow potatoes under Martian conditions. Around 68 missions have been launched to Mars since 1960!
2. Pieces of Mars on Earth
Several Martian meteorites have been found on Earth that must have blasted off from the planet due to a comet’s strong impact. These meteorites are invaluable for research.
1. Mars will turn you into bubbles
Water can't exist on Mars because it has a low atmospheric pressure. For the very same reason, if humans went to Mars without proper space suit and gear, they will immediately die because all the oxygen in their body will explode into tiny bubbles. It won’t be a pretty sight.
10 Interesting Facts About the Sun
From the astronomical size of the sun, to its deadly and destructive solar flares we countdown the Top 10 most Interesting Facts about the Sun.
10. The basics
The sun is over 4.7 billion years old and is responsible for the Earth’s climate and weather. With a surface temperature of 5500 degrees Celsius, the almost perfect sphere holds incredibly destructive capabilities.
9. Gravity
The gravity on the sun is 28 times more than on earth. So, someone weighing 150 pounds would weigh 4,200 on the sun.
8. Size
Earth is huge, but the sun is bigger. Around 11,990 times bigger. Yep, scientists have discovered that around 960,000 earths would fit inside the suns interior. That’s pretty difficult to comprehend. But here’s something else. In the far away future, anywhere in-between 130 million years to 5 billion, the sun would have burned all the hydrogen and helium, at which point in would grow to consume Earth, Venus and Mercury. After this “red giant” phase it will then begin the process of collapsing on itself, retaining its enormous volume but being reduced to the size of our once beautiful earth. This is to be called ‘white dwarf’.
7. Solar Eclipse
The natural event that is the solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes in between the Earth the sun. Due to the location of the moon this only occurs five times a year, and if it was a little closer it would actually occur once a month.
6. Idolised
We have come to realise the importance of the sun on the Earth. However, through human history it has been seen that many cultures worshipped the sun as a God. The ancient Aztecs, Egyptians and much more all have a solar deity. Although they did realise the importance of the sun, as the sunlight gave their crops the ability to grow for example, they didn’t fully understand it. Nowadays we understand the sun is just another part of the galaxy, and although instrumental to our survival, is not a god or higher power.
5. Speed
The sun travels about 220 kilometres per second, and after 225-250 million years it completes a full orbit around the centre of the Milky Way.
4. One of 100 Billion
The sun is actually a star. The reason why it’s so prevalent in our solar system is because it’s the closest. Every single one of those tiny dots in the sky are like our sun, they can be smaller or even larger. Actually, our sun is only classed as a ‘medium’ sized star so you can imagine the billions of stars that trump over ours.
3. Orbits
The sun is orbited by nine main planets, all of which I will talk more about in future episodes. These are Venus, Earth, Mercury, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Pluto which isn’t a planet now but still.
2. Solar Flares
Every 11 years it has been estimated that sun spots, or solar flares, occur. What causes this is mainly electrons colliding with other particles within the sun. A sudden flash of brightness can be observed from earth, where the equivalent of 160 billion megatons of TNT is expelled into space, carryings clouds of electrons, atoms and ions. These usually reach earth in the matter of a day or two, and can cause major interruptions with technology and implement a geomagnetic storm which affects the magnetosphere and can knock out satellites.
1. Distance
The sun is 150 million kilometres away from Earth. So, with the light travelling 300,000 kilometres per second, that means by the time the light reaches earth it has actually taken 8 minutes. Hey guys its Fuzzy TV, thanks for watching my video on the Top 10 Interesting Facts about the Sun.
10 Junk Food That's Actually Good for You
Junk food we know what it consists of and while most of us can't totally get off it, we understand that cutting back can be a good thing. Interestingly enough, some of the most well-known junk foods we've come to know over the years have actually turned out to be more beneficial than we first realized.
1. M&M'S
M&M'S are delicious but how on earth can this candy be considered healthy? After all, it's just sugar and food coloring. Turns out, the food coloring is actually what gives these tasty little guys a healthy side effect. Specifically, the dye use in blue M&M'S has been linked to a reduction in damage caused in spinal injuries. When researchers injected the dye into rats with spinal injuries, the rodents showed improved recovery and the ability to walk. This doesn't make M&M'S healthy for the majority of us, but now we don't have to feel so bad when filling our mouths with this delicious candy.
2. Beef Jerky
Often sold in convenience stores, this snack food doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to health. After all, it's dried meat in a bag. Actually, beef jerky is high in protein and is a snack that won't throw off your sugar and insulin levels. Even better, there are low-sodium varieties which can make this misunderstood snack appropriate for athletes and even those of you looking to keep the weight down while enjoying a tasty treat.
3. Pork Rinds
Deep fried pig skin - how on earth is this junk food healthy? Okay, so pork rinds aren't going to replace your daily serving and vegetables but this snack food isn't as junky as you once thought. A 1 ounce serving contains 17 grams of protein and 9 grams of fat. That's more protein and less fat than is found in a serving of most potato chips. Additionally, pork rinds contain a healthy dose of oleic and stearic acids which are actually healthy fats that don't raise your cholesterol levels.
4. Popcorn
Popcorn is often considered a healthy alternative to chips but empty calories as well. Throw on some buttery topping or other seasoning and you've likely got a full-out junk food on your hands. It doesn't have to be that way, however. Popcorn is loaded with fiber and has the benefit of containing a healthy dose of antioxidants which can help prevent heart disease and certain cancers. In fact research has shown that in the world of snack food, popcorn has the most poly phenol antioxidant levels of any other snack.
5. Chocolate Bars
Most people love chocolate but we often associate this treat with high levels of fat and sugar. Chocolate also contains flavonoids, thanks to the cocoa used. Flavonoids have been shown to be good for your heart and circulatory system. The darker the chocolate, the more flavonoids are present. As an added bonus, most of the fat in this case is made up of oleic and stearic acids, both considered to be good fats. Of course, this doesn't make it a health food and moderation is still key.
6. Ketchup
Loaded with sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup which dangerously spikes our blood sugar levels, we have often been told that there is little redeeming quality when it comes to using ketchup. This may not totally be the case. In fact, fine brands that don't have added high fructose corn syrup and this junk food sauce can actually have some real benefits. Ketchup is loaded with a very powerful antioxidant lycopene. Researchers have linked lycopene as a successful treatment for cardiovascular disease, stroke, osteoporosis, diabetes and male infertility.
7. Sour cream
Light ketchup, for years people thought there was little redeeming quality to the sour cream they dumped on their foods. After all, much of the calories come from fat which is saturated. It actually isn't as bad as we once thought. A two tablespoon serving has half the calories of a single tablespoon of mayonnaise and there's less saturated fat than you'd find in a 12 oz. Glass of a 2% milk. Plus, it has a little calcium and your potato just wouldn't taste the same without it.
8. Hot Sauce
It's hard to imagine eating some of your favorite foods without a healthy dose of hot sauce. Often seen as having no nutritional value and being a likely source of heart burn, hot sauce was often clustered into the junk food category because it offered no real benefits. Not anymore. Hot sauce contains something called capsaicin. This compound has been shown to curb your appetite levels by controlling the levels of hormones that tell us if we are full or hungry.
9. Pizza
When we learned about nutrition in school, many of us were told that pizza was one of those 'iffy' foods. That is, it had some nutritional value but often had a lot of salt and fat included. In fact, pizza can be loaded with calcium, fiber, vitamins and antioxidants if it's made right. This means staying away from frozen pizza and that local pizza chain that uses a lot of cheese and processed meats. Instead, add vegetables like onions and peppers and cut back on cheese to take your pizza from the dark side over to a healthy choice.
10. Cheese Whiz
Ya, right! if one thing is for certain, cheese whiz has personality but absolutely no nutritional value. After all, it's a man-made synthetic cheese product, right? Think again. Sure, it's loaded with emulsifiers and stabilizing agents but this processed cheese is also a very high source of something called conjugated linoleic acid. According to researchers, this natural trans fat is one of the most powerful cancer fighters around and cheese whiz has a most of it in comparison to any other cheese.
10 Science Facts News
10 SCIENCE FACTS NEWS
Big-brained mammals are more likely to go extinct
For millions of years, mammals with large brains have had the upper hand when it comes to surviving extinction, but a new study has found the opposite is now true. By examining the relationship between brain size and endangerment status in 160 species, researchers found that mammals with larger brains relative to their body mass were more likely to be at risk.
A flower has grown in space
After successfully growing lettuce onboard the International Space Station last year, Commander Scott Kelly and his crew have shown off the first flower to be grown in space. The zinnia plant was grown using the station’s Veggie system, specifically designed for growing crops in microgravity.
We have said farewell to Philae lander
The little spacecraft that successfully landed on Comet 67P in November 2014 has now gone into eternal hibernation. The lander has remained silent since July 2015, and is now facing conditions from which it is unlikely to recover, so ground control has given up sending commands.
History could last forever in 5D glass
Scientists at the University of Southampton have developed a new way to store digital data that will preserve it for billions of years, even at high temperatures. Using an ultrafast laser, they etched tiny nanostructures inside discs of glass, encoding information in five dimensions – their position in 3D space as well as their size and orientation – altering the way light reflects off them. The change in
reflected light can then be analysed to determine the information they hold.
Bananas are helping to diagnose skin cancer
The black spots that appear on bananas as they age are caused by the enzyme tyrosinase, which also causes the tell-tale spots of the skin cancer melanoma. This information has helped researchers in
Switzerland develop a new imaging technique for measuring tyrosinase levels, which they were able to test on the fruit before trying it on humans.
Horses can read human emotions
By showing horses photographs of positive and negative human facial expressions, researchers at the
University of Sussex have proved these animals can distinguish between happy and angry emotions. When shown an angry face, the horses looked more with their left eye – a behaviour associated with
processing threatening stimuli – and experienced a rapid increase in heart rate, associated with stress.
Climate change will make transatlantic flights longer
You’ll get through more movies than usual on future flights from Europe to North America, as climate change slows down some journeys across the Atlantic. Scientists at the University of Reading have calculated that the jet stream – high-altitude winds blowing from west to east across the ocean – is speeding up, creating stronger headwinds for westbound flights. The good news though, is that eastbound flights will speed up, as stronger tailwinds help push aircraft towards Europe.
Spiderman’s feet are not big enough
Ever wondered why you can’t scale walls like your favourite superhero? Researchers at the University of Cambridge have revealed that in order to climb a smooth vertical surface, humans would need impossibly big feet as they would require adhesive pads covering 40 per cent of their body, or roughly 80 per cent of their front. They concluded that the maximum size an animal could be in order to climb walls is that of a gecko.
Brain folds are the result of crumpling
In the womb, our brains are initially smooth structures, only developing folds when the foetus is about 20 weeks old. To work out how these folds form, scientists created a gel model of a foetal
brain, and immersed it in a solution to make it expand. This revealed that as the outer part of the brain grows faster than the rest, it crumples to form folds.
Hair follicles gradually turn into skin
As we age, our hair follicles slowly stop growing new hair, and now scientists in Tokyo know why. Age-related damage to our DNA triggers the destruction of the protein Collagen 17A1, causing stem cells inside the hair follicles to transform into skin, shrinking the follicles until they disappear.
10 Science Facts You Didn't Learn in School
We all had to take basic science classes in school, and we all took what was said verbatim. Surely there had to be more interesting things to talk about? Well, guess what? There was, and we were deprived of learning about the cooler stuff! Here are 10 science facts you didn't learn in school! Were you a wiz kid in school? Then stay tuned for our upcoming quiz! The best answer will win the coveted award of being pinned at the top, so be sure to upvote your favorite answer!
1. Flying Balls
If you played any kind of sport like tennis or soccer, then you might be familiar with the Magnus effect. For example, a group of guys dropped a basketball from the top of a 415 foot High Dam. When they just dropped the ball, it landed below under where it was droppped. On the next basketball, they added a spin before dropping, and the result was that the ball ended up flying through the air. The Magnus effect has been used to describe how balls fly in the air in tennis and soccer, and it has been used in lieu of sailboats and wings for an airplane. It's all about the direction of the spinning and flow of the air!
2. Grenade Survival
Grenades and explosives are no joke, and if we encounter one in person, we think we're generally doomed. If you encounter a grenade underwater, you're actually less likely to survive that if you encounter a grenade by land. Why? the blast from a grenade on land is less lethal because air is compressible. But underwater, the blast wave will crush your lungs because you can't fight back with a wave of equal force. So if you see a grenade underwater, get out of the water ASAP!
3. No glasses No problem
If you wear glasses, and you know that if you don't have them, you're pretty much screwed. But not all hope is lost! whether your glasses broke, or your contacts fell out, there is another way! All you need to do is make a pinhole with your hands and look through it. It's works! But what is this witchcraft? Vision is connected with light, and how much of it is coming through your retinas. By making a pinhole, you are controlling and focusing the light that's coming into your retinas, and will help you see clearer without your glasses. Obviously, don't try this while driving. You hear us, mr. Magoo?
4. Exploding Whales
Dead whales pop up on beaches often, and that is literal! If you see a dead whale on the beach, you might be tempted to get a closer look. But in reality, you need to stay as far away as possible. As the dead whale decomposes, it fills up with methane and other gases. Because humans love to poke around at dead whales, this causes the body to explode when provoked. That is not only a massive mess, but it is a mess that smells awful!
5.Raining Diamonds
As that famous song goes, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend!" and if it was possible to inhabit Saturn and Jupiter, we imagine women everywhere would want to live on the planet. Scientists strongly believe that diamonds rain from the skies of Saturn and Jupiter. It all has to do with methane, and the planets' lightning storms turning into soot. Then, the soot hardens into chunks of graphite and diamond as it falls to the ground. Are there any science experiments you wish you did in school? Stay tuned to find out more cool science facts and see if your answer changes!
6. Swallowing a Star
Stars and black holes have been studied for hundreds of years. In science class, we learned that stars can get swallowed up by black holes. But what actually happens? And what does it look like? When a black hole swallows the star, the star is ripped apart by the black hole's gravitational force. Some of the stars remains go into the black hole, while the rest is "burped out", causing a huge jet of plasma to shoot out. So next time you get in trouble for burping at the table, just say you're emulating a black hole!
7. Fungus for Relatives
When Charles Darwin first introduced the theory of evolution, religious people went nuts because it went against their belief in creationism. There are still creationist that take offense to the fact that we may have evolved from monkeys. But we might have another relative, and that is mushrooms. This is because mushrooms are fungi and they share a common ancestor with animals, which is algae. Also, fungus plays a major role in the decomposition process of living things, including humans. Want some stuffed human meat...erm...we mean mushrooms?
8. Burping in Space
f you are dreaming about becoming an astronaut, and you hope to one day be able to burp in space, then call us"dream dashres." You actually can't burp in space. It all depends on gravity. Gravity helps keep the solid and wet stuff down so that all that comes out is gas. But when there is no gravity, after you try to burp, you'll end up vomiting instead. The same goes for farting...taking starting to a whole new cosmic level!
9. Frozen Boil
We have learned that if water gets to 32 degrees fahrenheit, then it freezes. If water reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit, it boils. With this in mind, it should be impossible for water to freeze and boil at the same time, right? Wrong! It's called, "the triple point" and it happens when conditions are just right for all three phases of water (solid, liquid, and gas) to coexist in thermodynamic equilibrium. It's not an experiment you can do at home safely, but it can happen!
10. Wide Open Spaces
Atoms are like many solar systems, and matter is generally empty. In other words, atoms have a lot of space between each other. If you were to remove that space, you can fit the entire human race into the volume of a sugar cube. Atoms are 99.99% empty space! Only four percent of the mass of the universe is the atoms that make up the planets, stars, and humans, the rest is empty space. Remember that question we asked earlier based on these new facts, what experiments the you wish you did in school?
10 Weird Discoveries That Science Can't Explain
Just because scientists can see, observe, and study something doesn't mean they're able to fully explain it. In this Archive, we're going to explore ten things that exist - though we can't figure out how or why they do. Before we get started, go ahead and give us a subscribe and click the bell for notifications for future videos. If you liked this video, be sure to give it a like and don't forget to leave a comment, 'cause we're always looking forward to hearing from you!
10. Why Do We Dream?
Have you ever woken up from a horrific dream and wondered why your brain did that to you? Well, nobody has an answer, really. We know that we do dream, but scientists aren't sure why we do. Theories are thrown around involving forms of memory processing that consolidates short-term to long-term memories, an extension of waking consciousness, the brain's response to biochemical and electrical changes that occur during sleep, and the brain's means of preparing for threatening events and dangers. Have fun pondering over those concepts the next time you're lying awake, waiting for sleep to take you.
9. The Mars Hole
We know that the surface of Mars is a cratered mess, but there's a feature that was discovered in 2017 near the planet's South Pole that has left NASA scientists perplexed. Amidst the expected planet-wide pockmarks is a pit that's quite a bit deeper than expected. Though it's known that meteorite impacts have altered Mars' terrain, there's no indication of what caused the deep pit. Imaging of the odd feature has shown that ice does form at its base, but that doesn't help determine what caused the near 1,000-foot hole. For now, it remains one of the many mysteries of space.
8. The Tully Fish
Look at this ugly thing. It looks like something you'd create in Spore. Nobody? Eh, moving on. The Tully Fish was an ancient sea creature that created a series of debates among scientists, one that was thought to have ended in 2017 when it was classified as a vertebrate. Unhappy with that answer, however, another group of researchers have stepped in to say the aquatic creature could not have been a fish. And so, we're back at square one. There is only one species of Tully Fish, the T. gregarium, and the only fossils to be discovered were in the Mazon Creek fossil beds of Illinois. While scientists are still going back and forth, I'm sticking with Spore. Okay, fine. Nobody plays that anymore.
7. Humpback Super-Groups
The first important question to answer is "what is a humpback supergroup." In short, it's a large group of humpbacks, as many as 200, observed together in one location. Fairly simple answer, but that doesn't answer the pressing question that remains - why are they grouping together in regions they otherwise wouldn't? According to a paper published in the journal Plos One, why the supergroups are forming "remains speculative," but one of the more popular answers deals with a changing ecosystem that's dwindling the presence of humpback prey. A far less exciting reason is that this isn't really new behavior - we just haven't observed it yet.
6. The Great Pyramid of Giza Cavities
In 2016, the ScanPyramids project, which scanned the interiors of the Old Kingdom pyramids of Egypt using various technologies, uncovered two unknown cavities in the Great Pyramid of Giza. The team of researchers from Cairo University's Faculty of Engineering and a Paris-based non-profit known as Heritage Innovation and Preservation, discovered one cavity 345-feet from the ground on the northeastern edge of the pyramid and a second "void" located on the northern side by the upper part of the entrance gate. Further research provided them a 3D scan of the cavities for further study, but there is still no answers as to what they were used for.
5. Earthquake Booms
We've covered them in prior Archives, the unmistakable boom that sometimes happens before an earthquake hits. They're nothing new and there are plenty of videos online about them, but why do they occur? According to the United States Geological Survey, these naturally occurring booms are a mystery, but scientists predict they may be connected to shallow earthquakes that aren't recorded by seismographs. Whatever their cause, they are haunting noises that sound more like a signal of the apocalypse.
4. Blood Types
Why we have different blood types is a question that probably hasn't crossed your mind yet. We just kind of accept it. In 1900, Karl Landsteiner first discovered blood types and, since then, it's been a battle to uncover everything about them. As University of California biologist Ajit Varki puts it, "We still don't know exactly what they're for." One proposed reason for their existence relates to diseases, specifically the prevalence of Type O blood in regions with high cases of malaria. Based on this research, it's believed that blood type was an evolutionary advantage intended to ward off diseases as malaria has a hard time infected Type O blood cells. It's not a definitive answer, however, and the question remains.
3. The Space Roar
In 2009, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center sent the Absolute Radiometer for Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Diffuse Emission (ARCADE) into space in search of radiation from the universe's earliest stars. What it wound up picking up, however, was a large amount of radio noise that's become known as the "space roar." At six times louder than what scientists expected, the "space roar" is an anomaly, with several theories in place to try and explain it. Some scientists think it's a remnant from the earliest stars while others believe it's coming from gases in large galaxy clusters. Unfortunately, nobody thinks that it's aliens.
2. Star Jelly
On multiple occasions around the globe, gelatinous blobs have been reported falling from the sky. In Texas, Scotland, the United Kingdom - it's a worldwide occurrence that nobody can quite get a grasp on. Though scientists have studied samples of the jelly, they're unable to determine its precise origin. In the 18th century, Thomas Pennant believed it to be a material "vomited up by birds or animals," such as frog spawn that amphibian-eating avian are gobbling up and regurgitating. Problem is, the jelly is quite large for frog spawn. The National Geographic Society even commissioned scientists to perform tests, but no traces of DNA were found.
1. The Light of KIC 8462852
Also known as Tabby's Star or Boyajian's Star, the F-type main-sequence star in the Cygnus constellation, more than 1,470 light-years away from Earth, has an unusual trait that researchers can't quite pin down. At certain points in time, light from the star fluctuates, sometimes up to 22% dimmer, and nobody really knows why. There are several theories, including a circumstellar dust ring, a planetary debris field, a nearby planet with oscillating rings, and the star's consumption of a planet; but our favorite is the hypothesis of an artificial megastructure. Maybe it's not the most popular theory - but it's definitely the most fun.
