Source by techaiguide

The  Universe is infinite and it is not known how far it goes, but it is estimated that it has existed for at least 13 billion years. Even with all the uncertainties, much has already been discovered about outer space.

Get to know some curious facts to learn more about what’s beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.

1. Everything We See In Space Is In The Past

Everything that is  possible to observe in space has already happened , be it minutes ago or millions of years in the past. This happens because, according to Einstein’s theory of relativity, nothing travels faster than light, but it still needs time to travel long distances like those we see in the Universe, according to the US space agency Nasa.

That is, as light does not reach everywhere instantly, the further away its origin is, the longer it takes to be observable. This is also why we use “ light years ” to measure distances in the Universe.

In practice, if an astronomer sees a star that is 100 light years away from Earth explode today, it means that the fact happened 100 years ago because light took that long to reach our planet, as explained by NASA.

2. Space Hydrogen Rivers Fuel Galaxies

A 2014 discovery identified what scientists called “rivers of hydrogen” in the Universe. The finding was published in the journal  Nature and may explain how some galaxies maintain their rate of star formation.

The phenomenon is weak continuous filaments of hydrogen gas traveling through intergalactic space, also known as cold flows, and which theoretically could be the power source of star formation.

Prior to this discovery, according to the study published in Nature , efforts were being made to understand how productive galaxies, that is, those that  frequently  form new stars , did not burn all the gas they were born with throughout their lives, suddenly interrupting star formation.

Instead, the process continues, suggesting that something outside the galaxies is providing enough gas to continue creating more stars. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), this phenomenon may explain how the  largest galaxy known to mankind , UGC 2885, which has an approximate radius of 815,391 light years, reached its size.

3. The Star Older Than The Universe

The oldest star known to mankind, affectionately known as Methuselah, intrigues astronomers because, according to measurements made by the  Hubble Space Telescope T Shirts , it could be older than the Universe itself.

Discovered in the year 2000 by the Hubble team, composed of scientists from NASA and ESA, the star HD 140283 (or Methuselah), is located more than 190 light-years away from Earth and has an estimated age of 14.5 billion years. years, with a margin of error of plus or minus 800 million years.

According to NASA, estimates are that the Universe, formed by the  Big Bang phenomenon , is 13.7 billion years old, with a margin of error of 200 million years. That is, even considering the limits of uncertainties, the star would still be older than the very explosion that would have given  rise to everything .