- Yeah Scotty, there's
something on the wing. Don't know what it is, kind of a mystery. Humans have been studying space for as long as technology has allowed us. We know more now than ever before, but that doesn't mean
that we know everything. In fact, there are
still some big mysteries that astronomers and
scientists have questions about to this day that remain unanswered. (dramatic music) Here are 10 Mysteries of Space that Scientists Can't Explain. Number 10 are total eclipses. Now you probably think,
oh, we know everything about eclipses, it's
pretty straightforward, but believe it or not, they
still hold mystery even today. Eclipses occur when the moon
moves in front of the sun, obscuring its view, that we know. One minute you're going
about your business in broad daylight and
suddenly it's nighttime. Well, one mystery that still
surrounds the total eclipse is a phenomenon known as shadow bands. Just before the moon
covers the sun completely, strange shadowy ripples occur. They move over everything below on earth in hypnotic patterns,
like waves from the sea, and there's a huge
debate about what exactly these strange patterns are. One theory is that they're
caused by turbulence in the atmosphere and that
the shadows that we see are simply light bending
in the air currents above. Another theory is that
shadow bands are supersonic shock waves created by the moon's shadow, but the truth is nobody even
really knows what causes them. Personally, I like to
call them moon farts. I'm a simple man, I like simple terms. Number nine is what happened to Venus? The planet Venus is truly mysterious. It's a similar size to Earth, and orbits at just the
right distance from the sun to have liquid water on its surface. So it should be similar to
our planet, but it's not. Venus is one of the
most inhospitable places in our solar system, with crushing atmospheric
pressure due to its carbon dioxide atmosphere
and clouds of sulfuric acid, this is not the sort
of place you want to go on a family vacation. Daddy, can I go swimming? No son, your skin will melt off. It's believed that Venus was once covered in habitable oceans, so what changed? Well, the truth is, nobody knows. One possible reason is
due to its slow spin. A single day on Venus is as
long as 243 days here on Earth. Because of this, Venus
generates no magnetic field like Earth does, and therefore
has far less protection against the sun's heat. But the real question remains, what caused the planet to spin
so slowly in the first place? Hey, hey there, no, I
see you Earth, I see you, you're moving fast, but I just
don't live my life that way, like to take it slow. Number eight is is there a planet 9? Some astronomers have suggested
that the number of planets in our solar system is actually a mystery. We know now that there are
many dwarf planets out there, such as Pluto, but is
there anything bigger? Could there be a full-sized
planet waiting to be discovered? Rumors persisted for many
years of another planet, simply referred to as Planet
9 being out there somewhere, but until recently, the
evidence has been contradictory. But just in the last few years, however, more evidence supporting the
existence of ninth planet has been discovered. Mathematical models
suggest that there may be a large planet out
there exerting influence on smaller objects near it. And if it does exist,
it could be as much as four times the size of Earth. Now, scientists say that there's no chance that such a planet could spin
towards us out of the void, but if it does, well, say
your prayers, 'cause you dead. Number seven is a monolith on Mars. There are several theories that
mysterious alien structures exist on the Martian surface. Now most have been debunked,
but that doesn't mean that there aren't still
strange things out there. Once in a while, NASA will
take a picture of an object in space which fires up the
imaginations of everyone. One such object is called The Monolith. It was first photographed by
the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as it orbited the planet. The object is rectangular and
is about five meters wide, standing distinct from its environment, but that is nothing
compared to a similar object that was discovered on the
Martian moon of Phobos. The Phobos Monolith is
about 85 meters across and has been described as
the size of a building. Now most people believe
that these strange objects are just huge boulders, but
when Buzz Aldrin himself asks the question, and I quote, "who put that there?" it
certainly makes you wonder. Number six are the Blades of Pluto. When the New Horizons spacecraft
flew past Pluto in 2015, humanity received its closest ever view of the icy dwarf planet, and
some of the resulting images left scientists scratching their heads. Pluto appeared to be a
far more mysterious place than previously thought. In some startling photographs,
New Horizons observed what looked to be
strange, gigantic forests of ice on the surface. These huge fields of
jagged ice are massive, with individual blades of ice
as tall as some skyscrapers. Now, similar structures do
in fact exist here on Earth, but they're no bigger than a person. Some have suggested that
the jagged ice fields formed because on Pluto,
methane jumps between a solid and gas without
becoming a liquid when melting. Now this could result in the
bizarre frozen structures, but this has yet to be verified. But until this can be
verified, scientists use the technical term
chilly chilly ice fields. It's an interesting mystery. Number five are the Glowing Eyes of Ceres. Another fascinating mystery
was discovered in 2015. As the Dawn spacecraft approached Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt, it photographed a bizarre surface feature. At first, it looked like a
single large glowing white spot, but then as the spacecraft drew nearer, scientists observed several others. Of course, much was made
of this at the time, with most hoping for some
sort of alien explanation. Them spots, they's aliens, I told you, they're aliens, the spots, the spots. While leading theories
suggest that the lights are caused by a type of
salt-reflecting light, nobody really knows for sure. One possible explanation
is that a large impact, probably an asteroid, hit Ceres. In the aftermath, a sort
of salty brine bubbled up from beneath the surface. This in turn turned into a
solid, reflective material, creating the eerie bright spots. But personally, I'm still
holding out for aliens. Call me old fashioned. Number four is what is Oumuamua? There are countless objects
in our solar system, planets, minor planets,
dwarf planets, comets, asteroids, moons, basically
you name it, we've got it. We understand what these objects are, but in 2017, astronomers
discovered a mysterious object in our solar system unlike anything
they've ever seen before. Named Oumuamua, this
strange elongated object was traveling so fast it
could only mean one thing, that it was the first object
from another solar system entering our own ever discovered. Cigar-shaped, reddish in
color, and probably a piece of metal or rock, Oumuamua
came from somewhere vastly different from
our own solar system. How it got here, we don't know yet. All we do know is that
it took millions of years to get here and as we
speak, it's headed back out of the solar system to
another unknown destination. Alien time capsule, get your
tin hats, I'm out, that's it. Number three is where
did the moon come from? The moon isn't just a helpful
light in the sky at night, it creates the tides that
stabilizes the Earth's spin. Now we've stepped foot
on the lunar surface and sent several probes to investigate our solitary companion, but
despite knowing all of this, the moon's origin is still a mystery. No one is sure where
it came from, however, the most popular explanation
is that a Mars-sized planet smashed into Earth about
4.5 billion years ago. The resulting debris then pulled together, creating the moon that we see today. Other theories claim that the
moon was birthed by the Earth itself, splitting apart
from it at an early stage, while another popular
theory argues that the moon was just passing by at the right time and Earth's gravitational
pull held it in place. Whoa, Mr. Moon, you look
kinda fun, orbit me forever. Thank you. Number two is what's
happening to Saturn's rings? Saturn is famous for the
impressive rings which surround it, but something mysterious
is happening to them. Saturn's rings are largely comprised of ice and rock orbiting the planet. As Saturn's 62 moons travel close by, the gravitational pull creates huge waves across this material, moving
in the direction of the moons, much like our moon does to our oceans. Now this is to be expected,
but there's another mysterious ripple which
moves in towards the planet. Something inside Saturn is
causing these disturbances, and as of yet, no one knows what it is. One theory is that there's
a large stable sphere inside the atmosphere, which rotates
about once every seven hours, but as of right now, no
one knows what's causing these massive waves, and for that reason, I wouldn't recommend surfing on them. You hear me, Silver
Surfer, it's dangerous. And number one is is
there life somewhere else? Probably the biggest and
oldest mystery that mankind has ever had about space is
whether or not there's life inside or outside of our solar system. The understanding that we
have of our solar system, as well as our ability to
detect telltale signs of life have vastly improved, and
while there's no definitive evidence yet, there are
some tantalizing clues out there to be found. The Curiosity robot on Mars has detected methane anomalies which
are yet to be explained. One possible explanation is
that the methane is produced by alien bacteria under
the surface of the planet. Other prime locations for life include some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, which appear to have liquid
oceans under their surfaces, some of them perhaps kilometers deep. On Earth, life has evolved
to live without sunlight and feed on thermal
vents deep in the ocean, so if this is possible here, who knows what lurks under
the ice of the distant moons. So those were the 10
biggest mysteries of space that scientists can't explain, and if you guys enjoyed
this, remember to give it a big thumbs up and also be
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and I'll see you in space. (giggles) Bye.
