Dark Energy and Dark Matter

     (A super computers rendering of the Universe, dark spots are dark matter and dark energy energy)

Did you know that everything you have ever seen or heard or touched accounts for only a fraction of the known Universe. The physical matter that light interacts with only accounts for four percent of the Universe. All the planets, in our solar system. All the stars in our galaxy. All the galaxies in our Universe only make up four percent of the known universe. There are hundreds of millions of stars in our galaxy. There are over a hundred billion galaxies! All of that still makes up for only four percent. So what is the rest of the universe made up off? Dark matter and Dark energy. Dark Matter is an unknown gravitational force that has no known matter attached to it. Essentially There are forces of gravity out in the Universe that can not be explained by the stars, galaxies, and black holes generating that gravity. There has to be something extra causing the excess gravity. That unknown "something" is dark matter! It's only called dark because we don't know what it is! Dark matter makes up for about 27% of what the Universe is made out of. What's the rest? The remaining 68%? It's Dark Energy! Dark energy is an unknown force that is found in the universe that is causing all known matter to rapidly accelerate away from other matter. When astrophysics first started they expected the expansion of the Universe to slow down after the big bang. However after numerous cosmological observations that utilize the power of supernovae explosions, scientist discovered the Universe is actually speeding up in it's expansion. Everything is flying away from each other faster and faster each day. What is causing this? Dark Energy! Just like dark matter, the only reason it's called dark is because we don't understand it! There are many physicist across the globe scrambling to find an answers to these great cosmic questions. If they find out the science behind Dark Energy and Dark Matter, it would surely contain world shattering information to further our technologies and allow us to explore the deepest reaches of space!

The Spacecraft that told us about everyone's favorite planet.

Last image of Saturn taken by the Cassini-Huygens Spacecraft

On September 15, 2017 the Cassini-Huygens Spacecraft safely plummeted into Saturn's atmosphere. For over 20 years the beloved Cassini spacecraft has relayed incredible data to scientist back on Earth. It traveled nearly 5 billion miles. It has revealed more information about Saturn then we could of hoped for. Cassini gave us a view into Saturn's spectacular rings that was never seen before. Due to Cassini, a few of Saturn's many moons may have all the components to create life. There is so much data retrieved from Cassini that it will take decades to process it all. As scientist continue to unravel the mysteries of Saturn the legacy of Cassini will live on.

Why are we here?

Hello Friends!

This blog is dedicated to the wonder and mystery of the final frontier of space.
I have a deep affinity for astrophysics and cosmology.
Over the next several weeks I will be discussing some of the stranger and lesser known aspects of events that take place every day in space. From the tallest mountain in our solar system, to the special supernovae that outshine galaxies, we will take a look at the most peculiar objects and events in our Universe. Additionally, every week we will dedicate a section to current events happening in our beloved space program NASA. I hope you will enjoy this blog as much as I'll enjoy writing it. Now lets begin our journey through space and time!