Space is a never-ending expanse, full of unknown phenomena and strange objects. But what are some of the most peculiar space oddities than scientists have discovered?
Click start to play today’s space-themed Word Search.
Be prepared to be bamboozled at some of the most significant astronomical anomalies to have been reported over the years. Here are four of them:
1. Space lighthouse
In January 2022, scientists spotted a celestial object blasting out radio signals three times an hour, about 4,000 light-years away from Earth. The study, published in the journal Nature, speculated whether the object could be a neutron star or a white dwarf star with a very powerful magnetic field. The object released bursts of energy once every 18 minutes, causing it to brighten for roughly 30 to 60 seconds – similar to a lighthouse. Astrophysicists called it ‘spooky’, since it was completely unexpected, and nothing in the known cosmos has been known to do that. The fact that it was in our galactic backyard made it even more unnerving.
2. Alien technology?
Dubbed Oumuamua, a massive cigar-shaped object made headlines in 2017, when it zoomed past Earth at an unusually high speed of 87.3km/s. The US national space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) claimed it was the first object in our solar system ‘known to have originated elsewhere’, but where, exactly? No one is quite sure. One Harvard University professor named Avi Loeb is reported to have said he believed the object was part of debris from advanced alien technology, many light-years away. Others think it’s probably a piece of a planet that chipped off.
3. ORCs
A hazy, circular object suddenly appeared in space in 2019, shocking scientists and astronomers around the world. They photographed it and were still puzzling over it, when another mysterious, smoky ball popped up elsewhere. According to a December 2020 report by Ray Norris, a science professor at Western Sydney University, in the Australia-based nonprofit media website The Conversation, there could be as many as 1,000 of these objects in the sky. Scientists have labelled them ORCs (odd radio circles) although they’re still trying to establish the source of these puzzling phenomena.
4. USS Jellyfish
A huge, jellyfish-shaped object was found floating around in a distant galaxy cluster, 340 million light-years from Earth, according to a March 2021 study published by The American Astronomical Society. The structure, which had the shape of a head and tentacles, emitted an ultra-low radio frequency, and was dubbed the USS Jellyfish. Astronomers think the celestial sea creature was created by a combination of sizzling hot gas and electrons generated from black hole-ejected material.
What do you think of these strange and exciting space discoveries? Play today’s Word Search and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
