Category: Science

When a species continues to survive and thrive, that’s an example of natural selection. Those species that are unable to adapt will be consumed by nature in one form or another, and natural selection weeds out the weaker species or those that have a glaring weakness. Charles Darwin was the scientist that made the term ‘natural selection’ a famous one, and it’s part of the everyday vocabulary in current times.

There’s a wide range of examples when it comes to natural selection, from how an animal’s skin is colored to how strong a certain muscle group is. Today, we’ll be taking a look at some of the most uncanny proofs of natural selection and how they’ve allowed certain species to be near the top of the food chain today.

Giraffes

When it comes to non-human animals that are a glaring example of natural selection, look no further than the giraffe. Darwin was fascinated by giraffes, which at one point were much smaller animals. Those with longer necks were able to survive longer and reproduce more, and each generation of giraffes became larger with longer necks. This allowed them to reach food at higher levels and the line has continued.

In the 1990s, scientists discovered the bones of a strange creature that had a thick skull and was the size of a larger sheep. It turns out that the giraffe evolved from this creature, which is why you still see giraffes headbutt each other as the skulls have remained relatively the same. However, with the long necks, it’s quite a show to see two giraffes go at it.

Ants

For ants, the colony is everything, and they’ll do whatever they can to make sure that their colony is protected. Warrior ants are a big part of the colony, and they carry a chemical signal that alerts other ants they may not have seen before to not attack them. This works well when these ants end up being in the same colony, but natural selection has allowed some ants to take advantage of this.

Some of the warrior ants know how to imitate chemical signals from other colonies. This allows them to invade fully unnoticed and start to take down a colony from the inside out. When it was first discovered, the organ that produces this chemical was originally thought to be a rather useless one, but it turns out to be the most important for an ant’s evolution.

Camouflage

Camouflage is one of the best examples of natural selection, and it has helped many species survive over the years from the chameleon to the praying mantis. There are dozens of animals that use camouflage to either stave off predators or find food when out on a hunt. One of the neatest examples is the arctic fox with its white coat of fur which is able to blend in perfectly with its snowy landscape.

Birds, insects, and fish are among the creatures that have the most species that are able to camouflage. From being able to blend in with trees to the desert sand, it’s paramount for animals to hide their location from others.

Peacocks

To continue your bloodline in the peacock world, you have to have some really tall and colorful feathers. If it seems that peacocks are more colorful now than when you were a child, it’s because they are. With every generation of peacocks, they become more sensational to look at since the feathers are used for mating calls.

Female peacocks search out the males that have the biggest and brightest feathers possible. Because of this, natural selection has weeded out those with duller feathers. What’s interesting is that the feathers really serve no other function than to attract mates. However, peacocks aren’t exactly interested in what another’s favorite movie is or their personality type. It’s all about the feathers.

Green Anole Lizard

The green anole lizard and brown anole lizard have been at odds with one another for longer than most of us could even realize. The green type of lizard arrived in the United States first, settling in an ecosystem in Florida. Though both native to the Bahamas, the green anole lizard became comfortable in Florida, but the brown anoles soon made their way to the Sunshine State.

For green anoles, brown anoles are very invasive, and natural selection happened quickly. The green anoles who had more scales and larger toepads began mating, and within just a decade or so, natural selection allowed the species to adapt to the point where they could reach higher elevations for food than the invasive brown anoles.

When you’re starting a workout plan, you’re going to hear a countless amount of advice from people on how to do things perfectly. You’ll get tips on how much weight you need to start with, how many reps you need to do, and how many sets. This information will likely pertain to whether you’re trying to lose weight and fat, or if you’re trying to add muscle mass. Either way, many people will give you a determined amount of sets and reps based on their personal experiences.

While all of this personal advice may end up helping you out in the long run, not every good plan will work for every individual. What if there were scientific studies that showed how much you should be doing? Let’s take a look at what the studies have shown throughout the years and see if it develops the right plan for you.

Beginners

Obviously, if you’re a beginner at lifting weights, you aren’t going to want to jump into the highest weights that you can possibly lift to start setting your personal record. Instead, there are studies that show that any beginner (lifting for less than 12 months) should start off with much lighter weights. This means that you should comfortably be able to perform 15 reps for each set without feeling pain.

At this point, your body is building a solid base to allow you to build up the strength required to even attempt these higher weights. You don’t want to begin to tear these muscle fibers before you even get going. Not only will you find yourself building strength without pushing yourself too hard, but you’ll see results in your body that make you want to continue to lift weights.

As for sets, you’ll want to do no more than three per muscle group. When you’re starting off from day one, doing just one set of 12 reps would be a good way to build a base. Over the course of the next few weeks and months, you can build up your strength to the point where you’re doing three sets of 15 reps for each muscle group.

Arizona State University conducted a large study that showed that the intensity should be at 60 percent of what you can lift at maximum when at the beginner level. After 12 months, you graduate to the advanced level where you can work out at 80 percent of your maximum with each set and rep.

Advanced

Let’s say that you’ve been lifting for 12 months and feel good, with your body looking and feeling much stronger. You’re ready to take the next step, but you don’t want to overdo it according to the studies. As we mentioned, you should be working out at 80 percent of your maximum to continue to strengthen the muscle that you’ve built over the past year.

When it comes to the reps and sets, that number does indeed change. Instead of focusing on 12-15 reps per set, the number should be reduced to about six to eight reps, with the same one to three sets for each muscle group. The most advanced lifters will be able to do up to six sets when they’ve really gotten used to doing four or five sets per muscle group.

Muscle Groups

Studies show that there should be at least 48 hours in between muscle groups getting worked out. That means that each week, there should be two to three days per muscle group, but science says that the upper body should come one day, with the lower body coming the next day, then a day of rest or light cardio activity.

Don’t forget to try out different exercises for each muscle group, too. Muscle confusion is a good way of helping to build that muscle while burning fat, studies show. You don’t want to do bench presses or squats every single day as your body will get used to the exercises and it will be hard to improve upon while also increasing the chances of injury.

Summary

While the studies show the most effective ways in general, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be the absolute best for everyone. As we mentioned in the intro, every body is different, and everyone will have different results from their workout. Make sure to do what feels comfortable for you while also getting results, and you’ll be enjoying your transition from beginner to advanced in no time.

Not long ago, researchers thought the brain finished developing in adulthood. Lost brain cells wouldn’t be replaced. And “you can’t teach old dogs new tricks,” or so the story went. Cognitive decline was believed inevitable. But Science is revealing a more positive picture.

You can make new brain cells all the time. You can improve memory, learning, and thinking as you age thanks to “neuroplasticity”. But doing so isn’t a given.

What Is Neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the nervous system to alter and re-organize itself based on outside stimuli and internal input. This means the brain can form new connections, improve function, and even recover after injury (e.g., physical trauma, severe depression, epilepsy, or stroke).

The brain can adapt. It can learn and repair itself. And there’s no expiry date on this possibility. Neuroplasticity can be confirmed through imaging and substantial improvements in learning and other brain functions.

How Does Neuroplasticity Work?

The hippocampus continues to produce neurons through a process called “neurogenesis”. This can continue not only into adulthood but into advanced age. These “brain cells” move where they’re needed. They then build pathways in the brain that carry messages.

These messages could be anything from how to catch a ball to how to perform complicated mathematical calculations. When you learn something, you form a connection between these neurons. When you repeat that activity, you reinforce the connection.

That action can even become automatic through repetition. This is how professional athletes develop lightening fast reflexes. It’s how good and bad habits form.

That is why riding a bike feels second nature after you do it for a while. These neuron pathways are the physical structures that make learning possible. They form, dissolve, and can even re-route themselves.

How Can Ageing Impact Neuroplasticity?

As a general rule, younger people are more neuroplastic. But researchers aren’t sure if it’s due to the nature of the brain or the environment you live in. It’s probably both. But nature (natural aging) may not have as big a role as scientists once thought.

Just think about how much new stuff you had to learn every day from birth to around 25. As we age, we are no longer forced to learn constantly. You may have fewer new experiences. You have had the same friends for years. You don’t have any big exams to study for. You may not actively learn new things if you don’t have to.

You spend a lot of time re-enforcing the pathways you already have rather than forming new ones. 

So, you’re not forming as many new pathways in the brain as you once were. This may instruct the brain to stop producing so many new neurons because you don’t need them. This makes it harder to learn new things as you age. You may feel stuck in your ways.

Improve Neuroplasticity At Any Age

These activities have been shown to keep the brain learning and growing into advanced age:

1. Always find something new to learn.
2. Play video games. Don’t stick with one kind. Continuously learn new games and become good at them.
3. Seek out new experiences.
4. Start a creative hobby.
5. Meet new people and spend more time with the people you love.
6. Eat a healthy diet with lots of whole plants, nuts, and fish.
7. Get enough sleep.
8. Exercise regularly.
9. Practice good stress management.
10. Actively replace bad habits with health-promoting ones.

A foundational skill in the field of chemistry, balancing chemical equations is essential to understanding chemical reactions. The atoms and molecules of chemicals often recombine into other molecules. Chemical equations show this recombination using the symbols of various periodic elements and their numerical amounts.

For example, the burning of propane to create water and carbon dioxide can be depicted as: C3H8 + O2 H2O + CO2. Representing a transformative chemical change, the arrow symbol in this chemical equation acts very much like the equal sign (=) in the traditional mathematical equation.

Because matter cannot be created or destroyed, chemical equations must contain the same number of atoms on each side. You can use different techniques to balance a simple chemical equation, but a traditional balancing process takes just a few steps.

1. Record the number of atoms for each element

Elements without a subscript exist as a single atom. Otherwise, the subscript indicates the number of atoms for that element. Using the provided chemical equation as your guide, record the number of atoms for each element. First, do this for the left (pre-change) side of the equation. Then, do it for the right (post-change) side of the equation. To balance the equation C3H8 + O2 H2O + CO2, you should list C=3, H=8, and O=2 for the left side and C=3, H=2, and O=7 for the right side. It may be helpful to list this information in two vertical columns so that each element sits beside its counterpart on the other side of the equation.

2. Save the most common elements for last

With your two coordinated columns in place, you are ready to add coefficients to balance your equation. However, you should approach this process strategically. For easier balancing, you will want to save extremely common elements, such as hydrogen and oxygen, for last. Because hydrogen and oxygen are present in so many molecules, you are quite likely to encounter them on both sides of your equation.       

 3. Start with single elements

Check your chemical equation for single elements that have no subscripts. If you find any, this is the best place to start the balancing process. Begin with any single elements that appear on both sides of the equation and then move on to those that appear on one side or the other. In the case of C3H8 + O2 H2O + CO2, you should balance the single carbon atom first.

4. Use coefficients to balance your equation

Because there are three carbon atoms on the left side of the equation C3H8 + O2 H2O + CO2 and there is only a single carbon atom on the right, you must add a coefficient of 3 to the right side in order to balance this element. To record this coefficient, place it in front of the carbon dioxide (CO2) molecule to triple it. Now that you have three carbon dioxide molecules, you not only have a total of 3 carbon atoms on the right side of your equation, but you have increased the total number of oxygen atoms to 7. With your carbon atoms balanced at 3 on both sides of your equation, you are now ready to move on to your hydrogen atoms. Because you can add coefficients but never change molecular subscripts, you must add a coefficient of 4 to your water (H2O) molecule on the right side of your equation. Now you are balanced with 8 hydrogen atoms on both sides. However, you must also add three oxygen atoms to the right side of your equation to make a total of 10. Finally, you must balance the number of oxygen atoms in your equation. This means adding a coefficient of five to the oxygen (O2) on the left side of your equation. Now, every element on both sides of your equation has an equal number of atoms!

Whether you need a microscope for a class or simply to use for fun, you’ll need to make sure you invest in a model that will suit your needs. Microscopes for beginners can be plastic toys or they can be fully functional tools. Learning more about microscopes can help you choose the right model for your needs and make the most of your investment.

What Type of Microscope is Best for a Beginner?

There are two different types of microscopes to choose from; stereo and compound. The main difference between the two is the amount of magnification offered and the types of things the microscope can examine. Choose a microscope based on the things your child most wants to explore.

Stereo Microscopes: This type of microscope offers lower magnification, usually from 10-40x; it can be used to examine samples of all types. Pretty much anything that is interesting and will fit on the platform can be used. If your child wants to examine coins, feathers, rocks, toys and other items that are not prepared slides, a stereo microscope like the one below is a good choice.  Astereo microscope shows off items at up to 30 times their actual size, making it easy for curious kids to examine and learn.

Compound Microscopes: A compound microscope works with much smaller samples and slides and is what most of us think of when we hear the word “microscope”. Choosing a compound microscope is essential if your child or teen wants to look at slides or very tiny items. Compound microscopes like the one below offer greater magnification and work with pre-made slides or slides you prepare yourself. Most compound microscopes offer magnification up to 1000x, and are ideal for a student taking a class in biology.

Digital Microscopes: Aside from determining the type of microscope you need, you should also consider how the microscope will be used. Do you want to be able to see the results on a screen or save them to a tablet or device? Then a digital microscope like the one below may be best for you.

Stereo vs. Compound Microscopes for Beginners

As long as you get a quality microscope, both types are ideal for kids. The main difference is the amount of magnification and the types of items you can view. Choose the type of microscope based on what your child needs for school or the objects they most want to learn about.

Microscopes for Beginners – Choose a Quality Microscope for Best Results

Some kids microscopes are designed to be toys or novelty items; when you select on to use for science class or exploration, choose one that is designed with that purpose in mind. Toy microscopes may have a similar look but won’t be as user friendly or yield the best results. A few things to keep in mind when you choose a microscope for a beginner:

• Avoid flimsy, lightweight plastic models; the scope should feel heavy for its size.
• Any microscope branded with a character or theme is likely a toy and not going to yield good results. 
• Adjustable dials and settings make it easy to get a good view of a variety of items.
• A microscope for adults may be a better choice and value than one labeled “for kids”.
• Look for magnification up to 1000x – any higher and you may not get the clarity you need to fully explore an item or slide.

Choosing a Microscope for a Beginner

Think about what you want to use the microscope for and what level of magnification you need before you go shopping.  Comparing both the actual microscope and any extras and additions it comes with can help you get the best possible value from your purchase. Thinking about both your current needs and how you may use the piece in the future will also help you choose the right microscope for you and your family. 

Physics, the science that we’re taught from a young age and get reminded of on a daily basis. We think we know some of the broader points of physics, especially because we’re taught equations as early as kindergarten. However, there are some things that we think that we know, but only actually have most or just part of the story. There are plenty of common misunderstandings and misconceptions surrounding physics. Here are five of the most common that we see on a daily basis.

5. Space = No Gravity

When we think of space, we tend to think that there isn’t any gravity. After all, movies and television shows often refer to ‘zero gravity’ when flying through space. However, there has to be some amount of gravity in all places, and that includes outer space. If there weren’t gravity in space, there would be no orbiting anything. Though the gravity is very minimal, it’s still there. Gravity becomes weaker with distance, which is why it’s lower on planets that are farther from the sun.

4. The Sun’s True Color

Though you should never look directly at the sun, the common thought is that the color is that of a pure yellow or orange. However, the sun doesn’t really have one particular true color. In fact, “The entire sun and all of its layers are glowing,” says professor Christopher Baird of West Texas A&M. “The ‘color of the sun’ is the spectrum of colors present in sunlight, which arises from a complex interplay of all parts of the sun.” With that said, the color of the sun appears to be white since it has all colors.

3. Objects in Motion

We’ve all heard that objects in motion stay in motion. After all, this is a law of physics that was founded by Sir Isaac Newton. There’s a little more to it than that, though. Objects that are in motion will stay in motion at the same speed until they are stopped or slowed down by an unbalanced force. Force isn’t actually needed to maintain speed, which may be a misconception because we spend most of our lives on foot or in cars where don’t really see that aspect of motion.

2. Mass vs. Weight

Often in conversation, you’ll hear people say that mass and weight are the exact same thing. It’s even in the name ‘body mass index’ where we find out our general health from using our weight under the name of mass. However, mass and weight don’t have identical meanings. Mass, by definition, is the amount of matter that an object contains. Weight, on the other hand, is the force that it exerts gravitationally. So, yes, when you are dieting you are losing both mass and weight. However, if you were on Pluto you would weigh much less while still having the same mass.

1. Black Holes

You’ve probably seen dozens of black holes in science fiction by this point, but they’re all just educational guesses as to what they actually look like. The truth is, we have no clue what a black hole truly looks like. They could be large enough to just barely eclipse the sun, or they could be millions of times larger. Let’s just say that it’s a good thing that nobody knows what the inside of a black hole looks like, because it’s probably not good.

Building electronic circuits is a really cool hobby – not only does it teach problem solving and allow you to make something with your hands, but you get to understand more about the world around you. As a bonus, you can learn to make cool gadgets like transistor radios, walkie talkies, torches, and maybe even your own burglar alarm. We thought we’d make this quick run down for beginners, so you can learn about some fundamentals before you get started.

1. Component of an Electronic Circuit

An electronic circuit is an electrical pathway that contains 5 electronic components in various arrangements to manage the flow of electricity. 

• Capacitors can store electricity along the way as voltage. When you activate it, it releases that energy at 90% of the speed of light.
• Resistors can slow it down to reduce the voltage. Energy flows through them in one direction. As energy flows through the resistor, it creates “resistance,” which dissipates some of the energy from the circuit. The smaller the resistor, the greater the resistance it creates.
• Diode is a one-way ticket for electricity. Pass through the diode, and you can never go back. 
• Transistor is conductive but can stop the current. It acts as a gateway that you open or close on command.
• Inductors can also store electricity but as a magnetic field.

Among these, you have circuit nodes. A circuit node is something that connects two components, like an insulated wire. 

Your electronic circuit will also need an energy source and an energy-needing object on the other end receiving electricity to do something.

2. Voltage

Your voltage measures the amount of energy gained or lost between two components (resistors, capacitors, etc.) on your circuit when you move a unit of positive charge from one component to another. So voltage is always relative to the two points.  

When you connect multiple components, your voltage is the sum across all your components.

3. Current

The current is the rate your energy flows through your electronic circuit. Your spacing and choice of components impact this rate.

If multiple components are on your electronic circuit, you must make sure each one of them can carry the same current.

4. Resistance

The ratio between your voltage and current is called resistance. If the voltage is moving across a conductor like a wire, it moves in a linear fashion. 

However, a component like a diode or a transistor will make the energy move in a non-linear way. The component dissipates some of the energy.

This is known as a Joule per second (J/s), or a Watt in more everyday terms. 

5. Grounding

A ground is a circuit node that acts as a reference point for all other circuit voltages that can be referenced. 

A voltage source has both a positive and negative terminal (end). In positive electronic circuits, the negative end is connected to the grounding circuit. This creates energy flow from positive to negative. That flow travels through your components to reach the ground.

An electronic circuit can also have a virtual ground, which is a circuit node that acts like a ground but isn’t connected to the power supply. So the energy moves toward it without returning to the power source. 

Building Your Electronic Circuit

With these fundamentals, you can now begin building simple electronic circuits. Add components to your circuit and measure your results to learn to manage the flow of energy through your circuit. 

Ever wonder what takes place in the brain when you learn a new language? The capacity of the human brain for learning a new language makes us unique—no other animal on the planet can do so. 

Around half of the world is bilingual, and many people want to adopt a new language. The neuroscience behind how the brain changes when you learn a new language proves how possible the feat is. Plus, learning a new tongue yields impressive benefits for the person and for the brain itself.

The bilingual brain allows the new potential for communication and social connections. You gain access to a new community of people to connect with. This new ability to communicate may even offer new employment opportunities. Beyond the social aspects, however, learning a second language physically changes the brain. Look at how the brain changes when you learn a new language. 

1. The size of your brain increases

Language learning increases the size of the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. In a Swedish study, neuroscientists at the Swedish Armed Forces Academy examined the brain as recruits learned a new, completely unfamiliar language. Using magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiology to examine the changing brains of the recruits, researchers found that key brain areas responsible for memory processing and learning grew substantially. 

2. The density of gray and white matter changes 

Grey matter in the brain is packed with nerve fibers that process information. The more gray matter in the brain, the healthier the organ is considered to be because it is densely packed with neural cells. Scans of bilingual people show that the gray matter in the left hemisphere—where language information is processed—is denser. Further, the brain’s white matter has more integrity among older adults that speak more than one tongue. White matter connects neural cells to other neural cells for rapid information processing,

3. Memory improves 

Learning a new language may even help support your short-term and working memory. Bilingual children have better short-term memory than those that only speak one language. And, the more proficient a person is in two languages, the better their working memory altogether.  

4. Enhanced focus and attention 

Picking up a second language may even improve executive functions of the brain, which help you focus. Bilingual individuals seem to have more control over executive functions, possibly due to the increased hippocampus size and more grey matter. 

5. You have lower risks of developing a neurological condition 

The parts of the brain that decline with age are challenged when learning a new language. Therefore, some research has proposed that speaking more than one language may negate some risks of developing neurological illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease. In one small study, adults over 65 were taught a new language to measure benefits for the brain. The participants had noteworthy improvement in cognitive function. 

Adopting a new language is plausible because the brain is plastic. It changes to accommodate new information. Your neurons and synapses don’t just fossilize when you reach a certain age, either—you can learn new skills, including language, throughout your life. The brain builds new connections, stores new memories, and essentially reshapes itself over the years. 

Another interesting fact: age is not necessarily a factor in determining how well or how quickly you can learn a new language. Instead, other factors are better predictors of whether a person achieves a second language. For example, duration of instruction and interacting with native speakers may lead to better language retention. 

Thanks to scientific and technological advancements, we understand more about the science of language learning. Without question, picking up a new language is beneficial, whether you simply want to build new connections with the world around you or want to do something good for your brain. 

 

Science has evolved faster in the past century than the rest of human history combined. We’re increasing our capacity for improvement at an exponential rate, making the future look incredibly bright while also being mysterious. We’re not sure where science will be in 20 years, but we do have some seeds planted in our brains of what the next big innovation might be. One that has been getting a lot of attention recently is CRISPR, a way of editing human genes.

What is CRISPR?

CRISPR, of course, is an acronym and it stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. Those words alone probably have you feeling ready to tap out because it seems extremely complicated, but it might be more simple than you realize. We’ll let the development of the CRISPR genome, Jennifer Doudna (who by the way won a 2020 Nobel Prize for her work) explain it a little better.

“CRISPR is, in fact, a bacterial immune system,” she said. “It’s an ancient system that evolved in microbes to allow prevention of viral infection…our work with the laboratory revealed that one of the components of this CRISPR immune system is, in fact, a protein that’s called Cas9, that can be programmed to find and cut virus DNA.”

With that said, CRISPR has been used as a diagnostic tool, especially with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. About a decade prior, though, CRISPR started to become more common in another field, and that’s gene editing. At first, CRISPR was used to edit foods before it was introduced to other fields and eventually human use. This includes the treatment of diseases, and gene editing via CRISPR is becoming more common and accessible by the day.

Limitations of CRISPR

There are very few limitations for what CRISPR can do to the human body, and it’s something that you’ll be hearing your doctor talk about when deciding treatments in years to come. “You can just point it at a place in the genome and you can do anything you want at that spot,” said Robert Reed, a professor of biology at Cornell University. Technically, CRISPR causes a gene mutation by cutting like a knife or a pair of scissors, and the precision that’s been achieved has opened up a lot of new doors for advancement.

Ethics Behind It

This raises another question, though, and it has to do with the ethics of mutating genes. While many see it as a way to prevent and treat serious illnesses, there are some that see it from the other side where it’s a way of weeding out certain people socioeconomically. “The concern is that with technologies that are relatively easy to use, like CRISPR, how does the scientific community regulate itself?” Robert Truog of Harvard Medical School said. “If there’s a silver lining to this cloud, I think it is that the scientific community did pull together to be critical of this work, and took the responsibility to seriously use the tools available to them to regulate themselves.”

You’ll be hearing a lot about CRISPR in the coming years between debates, treatments and much more. For now, it’s early, but we’ve seen its uses in fighting diseases such as blindness, diabetes and even cancer and HIV. The future is closer than you think and CRISPR is something that might end up saving your life or a loved one’s very soon.

Black holes are extremely dense gravitational masses in space that have the ability to consume anything in their wake. Here, we’ll take a look at five facts about black holes that you may not have picked up on from your favorite sci-fi movies.

1. Albert Einstein predicted the existence of black holes long before astronomers observed the phenomenon in space.

The first signs of a black hole were detected in 1964, and the first x-rays from a black hole were discovered in 1971–but Albert Einstein predicted the existence of black holes all the way back in 1916. His general theory of relativity predicted that the collapse of space objects must result in a massive gravitational pull.

2. Our galaxy–the Milky Way–is likely home to around 100 million black holes.

It’s difficult for scientists to see black holes, making them much harder to find than stars and other celestial bodies. This means that astronomers have to estimate the number of black holes in an area. The size of our galaxy leads astronomers to believe that there are an incredibly high number of black holes surrounding our solar system.

3. The closest black hole to Earth is referred to as “The Unicorn” by astronomers.

Located about 1,500 light-years away (a light year is the distance that light can travel over the course of one year–1,500 light-years is over 5 trillion miles), the Unicorn black hole has a very low mass for a black hole, about three times that of our sun. The Unicorn is also located in the Monoceros constellation, which is also known as the unicorn constellation.

4. In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope captured the first recorded image of a black hole.

Astronomers aren’t able to see black holes the same way they see other objects in space. In 2019, an advanced telescope, known as the Event Horizon telescope, captured the first-ever image of a black hole, helping both scientists and laypeople understand the intricacies of these poorly-understood gravitational forces. The image captured (linked above) showed a black hole named Sagittarius A, located at the center of the Milky Way.

5. Once a particle enters the boundary of a black hole, escape is impossible.

Black holes consist of three layers: the outer event horizon, the inner event horizon, and the singularity (the center of the black hole). Once a particle enters the event horizon, the particle is subject to the black hole’s massive gravitational pull, and is unable to escape. The particle becomes a part of the black hole’s mass, adding to it’s gravitational pull. The more gas and dust a black hole accumulates, the larger it becomes.