- [Narrator] Since it was created in 1958, NASA has been photographing
images of the Earth, the Moon, the stars, and other
astronomical objects inside, and even outside our solar system. The images can be so exotic that sometimes we don't even
know what we're looking at. And many times scientists
and experts don't know what we're looking at either. Let's take a look at 20
of the most unusual images captured by NASA and see
if they can be explained. (upbeat music) - Amazing! - [Narrator] Number 20,
Pillars of Creation. One of the most iconic
photographs ever taken by the Hubble Telescope
was captured in 1995 and showed never-before-seen details of interstellar gas lit
by ultraviolet light from nearby massive stars. The pillars are so large, the left one alone is four
light-years in length. The little finger-like protrusions
at the top of the nebula are somewhat larger than
our own solar system. The blue-ish haze around the
dense edges of the pillars is material heating up and
evaporating into space. The photograph captured the
pillars in a short-lived moment, as the pillars continue to evaporate and change shape over time. Originally called Pillars of Creation, the formations are now referred to as Pillars of Destruction. Number 19, Mars hole. After all the time NASA has spent studying and exploring Mars over the years, you'd think a hole on
the surface of the planet was no big deal. However, this photograph taken in 2017 shows a giant crater that
scientists can't explain. Mars is known for its rocky terrain, with pits all over the surface caused by frozen carbon dioxide ice evaporating into gas
during the planet's summer. The pattern of these pits is consistent across Mars' surface, except
for this one very large crater. NASA suspects that, because
this hole is so much larger and deeper than the other craters, it must have been caused by
some kind of impact or collapse. But NASA scientists don't
have enough information to determine what caused it. Volcanic activity, a meteor impact, or a surface collapse
are all possibilities. Number 18, snow from space. NASA isn't just photographing other planets and objects in space, they also take stunning images
of our own planet, like this. What looks like a snake pit from above is actually curling snow drifts around the 1,400 mile long
Dnieper River in Russia. Snowdrifts are deposits of snow sculpted by wind into a mound during snowstorms. The image was captured by the
International Space Station, which orbits Earth 16 times
each day and sends back images. Number 17, rectangle of ice. This perfectly formed rectangle
iceberg looks man-made. But in fact, it's all naturally formed. Known as tabular icebergs, these chunks of ice crack
off the edges of ice shelves, as ice has a crystal structure, meaning it prefers to
break along straight lines. Their severe straight edges
and sharp corners are fresh, and these photos caught them
shortly after they were formed. Eventually, wind, water, and waves will wear down the edges
and smooth them out. But before that erosion happens, these chunks of ice look totally man-made. Number 16, wicked witch. The Witch Head Nebula was
given its name because of its resemblance to the profile of The Wizard of Oz's Wicked Witch. It's actually the remnant of an ancient supernova or gas cloud. It's illuminated by massive stars nearby and the billowy clouds of the
nebula are baby stars growing. Number 15, gas explosion. What looks like a gas explosion in space is actually just that. Powerful jets of gas emerge from a star in the constellation of Centaurus,
nicknamed The Southerner. This nebula was discovered
as early as 1834, and is easily visible
through small telescopes. If you're in the southern hemisphere, Centarus can be seen between
25 and -90 degrees latitude. See if you can find it! Number 14, spheres on Mars. These small spheres found on Mars are thought to be formed naturally, but exactly how is still unknown. NASA scientists are not quite sure exactly what they're looking at, but some believe they're most
likely a type of concretion, a natural process also seen on Earth. Other spherical formations
previously discovered on Mars are called blueberries, but these are decidedly
different in several ways. They're crunchy on the
outside, soft in the middle, and are different in
concentration and structure from the other spheres called
blueberries that were found. Number 13, green anomaly on Jupiter. What is that mysterious green anomaly photographed last year just
above the surface of Jupiter? Is it an alien ship hovering over Jupiter, or simply a pocket of ionized gas? Jupiter outputs a massive
amount of ionizing radiation, so the green color could
just be the result of gas, like a bright aurora. UFO or alien life from
hovering so close to it would be subject to that radiation and likely would not be able
to so casually hover there. Others say it's just an
image sensor aberration and it's not really there. But there has been no formal explanation for the mysterious green image. Number 12, Eye of God. This nebula, called the Eye of God, was produced by a star
very much like our sun dying over thousands of years. It's located about 700 light-years away, in the constellation Aquarius. Even though it's so far, it's probably the closest
planetary nebula to Earth. This incredible image captured by the Hubble Telescope in 2003 shows what will happen to our sun when it eventually runs out of fuel. Good thing we won't be
around to experience that. Number 11, black void. What is that black spot
of nothingness in space? It's called the Bootes Void, also known as the Great Nothing, and it's a dark region in space that contains almost no galaxies, spanning 330 million light-years. It's a void, which is considered different from a black hole. A void is the result of a
cluster of moons and planets gravitating toward each other
and leaving a void behind. As more clusters pull
toward each other over time, the voids become bigger. Number 10, ghostly cloud. Although you'd be tempted to think this is a ghostly alien snake, it is not. Actually, it's like a mini tornado, as rotating columns of dust like this one form around low pressure air pockets. This is common on Mars, and very much like dust devils
that we see here on Earth. The dust devils on Mars usually
whirl across the surface for a few minutes before dissipating. This is why it has been difficult
to capture them on camera and study and explain them. But scientists say that
if you were standing on the surface of Mars, you might just see dozens
skittering across the ground at any given moment. Number nine, a thighbone on Mars? In 2014, NASA's Curiosity
Rover spotted an unusual object on the surface of Mars that
resembled a human thighbone. Possible? As much as I wish it was, it's unlikely. Scientists quickly explained it to be simply a weathered Martian rock formation. While it has been theorized that Mars may have supported life
in the ancient past, life-forms would certainly
not have been anything larger than a microscopic organism or
we'd have seen them already. Number eight, trees on Mars? We've already seen many
strange images from Mars and this one might be the weirdest. In this image, it looks like
trees grow on the red planet. But, once again, it's
just an optical illusion. What you're seeing are dark streaks of collapsed material
running down the sand dunes, caused by carbon dioxide
frost evaporation, which seems to be the cause of many of the strange happenings on the planet. Number seven, Jupiter's red spot. If you've seen lots of photos of Jupiter, you'd likely be aware of the
giant red spot on its surface. It's a persistent high-pressure region in the atmosphere of Jupiter, producing an anticyclonic
storm where winds greater than any storm on Earth flow in the opposite direction of the pressure. Whilst cyclones on Earth
can last for up to a month, anticyclones like this one on Jupiter can last for hundreds of years. It's the largest anticyclonic storm in the entire solar system, and large enough to
swallow the earth whole. It was first seen in 1830 and has been continuously
observed ever since. However, even after all that
time studying and observing it, there is no definitive
theory about what causes the color of the giant red spot. Number six, black hole. Simply put, a black
hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so strongly that even light can't escape. Black holes usually
form when a massive star explodes and the remnant core collapses under the force of intense gravity. But, a black hole can't be seen because all that gravity is
pulling all the light into it. So, how can NASA have
images of a black hole if it can't be seen? Well, what scientists can see
is how the intense gravity affects the stars and gasses
around the black hole. So, if a star is close to a black hole, high-energy light is created that can be detected by
scientific instruments. Even though that kind of light can't be seen with the human eyes, satellites and telescopes can pick it up, as shown in these stunning images, creating the images we
know to be black holes. Pictured here, for instance,
is a black hole bounty consisting of stellar-mass black holes, which typically weigh
between five to 30 times the mass of our sun. Number five, Saturn's rings. This is what Saturn's
rings look like up close, on the dark side. This image was captured from
NASA's Cassini spacecraft and shows just how
beautiful the rings are. The rings consist of ice, rocks
and dust of different sizes. If you look closely, you'll see propeller-shaped disturbances in the ring produced by the gravity of
unseen embedded moonlets, suggesting that a constellation
of miniature moons may be hidden in those rings. These moonlets, also
known as propeller moons, are about as big as a football field, which means they're too small to see, but large enough to cause
disturbances we can see. Number four, the messenger. First discovered through
a telescope in Hawaii, this mysterious object was
given the name Oumuamua, which means Messenger in Hawaiian. The object and its
behavior were so unusual that Harvard scientists
theorized it could actually be an alien probe from interstellar space. It is long, about a
quarter mile, and thin. And it flew by Earth on a
trajectory that indicates it clearly didn't come from
within our solar system. Also, it actually accelerated
as it passed by earth. Other scientists
theorized it was a remnant from a shattered comet,
rather than aliens. Oumuamua will never return to earth, so scientists will never know its origin, but they're on the lookout
for similar objects so studies can continue. Number three, Mars rocks. This strange pyramid rock looks unusual and was actually the first rock that scientists analyzed from Mars. It ended up being a volcanic
rock called mugearite, which is found on Earth. The rock isn't large, only
10 inches by 16 inches, but its substance is a big surprise. Researchers expected the rock to be made of the same
materials as other findings on the red planet, but instead, it was more like volcanic
rock found on Earth. Number two, Ultima Thule. This is the most distant
object ever observed. It's two icy bodies that
collided and joined together, forming this double-sphered object that is just 19 miles in length. Scientists claim that the
two spheres likely joined as early as 99% of the way back to the formation of the solar system. Ultima Thule was the name
that the mission team selected for the object out of 34,000 suggestions from the public and it means beyond the
borders of the known world. The name is quite fitting. Number one, swirls on Jupiter. The colorful, turbulent, swirling clouds on Jupiter that appear across
the planet's atmosphere are still a mystery to scientists. The clouds flow alternately east and west, which creates the bands that we see. But instead of icy white, the clouds are blue,
yellow, orange and brown. No one really knows why
the clouds are so colorful. Theories are that the
combination of storm lightning and sunlight alters the
ice at high altitudes, producing the colors. Or, organic compounds and
chemicals like sulfur and carbon, are what colors the clouds. Regardless, it's one of the universe's most beautiful sights. With the advancement in
technology and imaging, more and more details are
now available to scientists. As a result, many questions about what NASA is observing have been answered. But, with the very same
advancement of technology, even more questions have been raised. What questions do you have about these mysterious and beautiful images? And which one is your favorite, and why? Let me know in the comments down below and thanks for watching! (upbeat music)
