The Amazing Fact Generator, much like me, is hungry. I can go to the kitchen and grab some leftover pizza, but The Amazing Fact Generator requires cold hard facts to sustain it.
While we’re waiting for our fact-checker to verify our favorite fact from last week (I’ll announce the winner tomorrow), let’s get this week’s contest rolling. Our topic today is outer space, so leave your (amazing) fact in the comments with your name and location. If it’s both amazing and true, we’ll feed it to the Generator in a ritual sacrifice and credit it to you. The supplier of the most amazing fact will receive a copy of The Space Tourist’s Handbook: Where to Go, What to See, and How to Prepare for the Ride of Your Life.
Important note: Please don’t just go to a competing trivia site and copy/paste a fact, then claim it as your own. That’s cheating, and since The Amazing Fact Generator is the smartest construct ever created, it will know and it will come after you. Also, let’s limit everybody to five submissions each.
To get a feel for the kinds of facts the Generator likes, take a look at what’s in there already.
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Syzygy, the word for the unity of planetary bodies that results in an eclipse, is the highest value Scrabble word that can be played without using a vowel (although you do have to use a blank for one of the “y”s).
posted by Hugh Ryan on 2-26-2008 at 1:28 pm
You may not believe this, but there used to be a planet called Pluto.
Grace
Chapel Hill, NC
posted by Grace on 2-26-2008 at 1:30 pm
A few years back, British scientists analyzed sound waves emanating from a black hole and discovered that it was effectively “singing” a B flat. This black hole put Barry White to shame, because the B flat was 57 octaves below Middle C.
posted by Ira on 2-26-2008 at 1:43 pm
“Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” began as a radio show, was a short lived T.V. series, and a stage play in addition to the books and movie. There is little continuity between the versions, Douglas Adams redesigned the stories each time they would come to life as he saw fit.
I know it’s not actually a space fact, but the title of the book made me instantly think of The Guide.
posted by Jessica on 2-26-2008 at 2:06 pm
The environment surrounding quasars, supermassive black holes, can produce marble, glass, rubies and sapphires.
Kristen
Tallahassee, FL
posted by Kristen on 2-26-2008 at 2:27 pm
Hugh, good and nerdy for us, your fact rules.
And Ira, yours is very much the real deal.
posted by Mari on 2-26-2008 at 2:33 pm
NASA scientists are rigorous in determining what materials, including inks, are allowed to travel into space with the astronauts due to the amount of off-gassing that may occur and the air tight nature of the spaceships. Everything has to be tested and space certified before it is allowed to fly in a ship. Even something as simple as a poster poses a huge problem in space.
posted by Chase on 2-26-2008 at 2:43 pm
There are roughly 30 galaxies within one-tenth of the diameter of the moon. That means that within the diameter of the moon alone there are 300 galaxies. Given that the moon is 1/4 the size of Earth, that means there are 1200 galaxies within a space the size of Earth’s diameter. And Earth is merely a tiny speck 2/3 of the way out in this one galaxy.
Kinda makes you feel small, doesn’t it?
Efland, NC
posted by Kacie Harkavy on 2-26-2008 at 3:30 pm
NASA celebrated their 50th anniversary along with the 40th anniversary of the Beatles recording the song “Across The Universe” by beaming the song into deep space on February 4, 2008
posted by beth on 2-26-2008 at 3:41 pm
In order to deal with the unique physics of writing in space, the United States space program spent thousands of dollars analyzing the possible effects of zero gravity on ink, worked with different consistencies and delivery methods, inventing the ball point pen and eventually the “space pen.”
Faced with the same issue, the Russian space program used pencils.
posted by Eric on 2-26-2008 at 3:55 pm
@Eric
Sorry to tell another Eric/k this but the space pen has been thoroughly debunked. Just click on my name to read the whole story.
posted by Erik N. on 2-26-2008 at 4:22 pm
Since our solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago it has only completed 20-25 orbits around the center of our galaxy.
posted by Erik N. on 2-26-2008 at 4:29 pm
@ Kacie:
I am a little confused by your wording. Are you meaning to say that there are ~30 galaxies within one-tenth of the diameter of the moon as viewed from Earth? So if the Moon subtends ~1/2º as viewed from Earth, ~30 galaxies would fit in a space that subtended 1/20º? Thanks for any clarification!
posted by Er on 2-26-2008 at 4:32 pm
Saturn’s mean density is less than that of water, so if you could find a big enough tub, it would float.
posted by Manda on 2-26-2008 at 5:36 pm
Venus is the only planet in our solar system on which the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. This is because it rotates clockwise as viewed from above the north pole of the sun, in retrograde motion.
posted by Manda on 2-26-2008 at 5:42 pm
As viewed from the moon, our Earth also goes through phases. All the way from a “New Earth,” to a “Full Earth” (and everything in between). In the vast majority of movies, the earth is always seen as “full”, thus many people do not realize this occurrence.
Also, until within recent years, nearly every map of the moon published was actually flipped (due to astronomers viewing the moon through a telescope), however,this has changed due to the publics’ confusion when viewing these maps.
posted by Daniel on 2-26-2008 at 5:53 pm
The average temperature of the universe is under 3 Kelvin.
posted by Ed on 2-26-2008 at 9:24 pm
When I was a kid during the early 70′s, I used to eat the chocolate flavored Space-Sticks…I can still remember the foil wrappers they came in and what they tasted like…I wish they’d bring them back on the market- i mean Tang is still out there, right?
posted by donner on 2-26-2008 at 10:07 pm
Ed, that can’t be right. The lowest possible temperature is absolute zero or 0 K, which is when everything stops moving.
posted by Samantha on 2-27-2008 at 4:18 am
Samantha -
Keep in mind that space is mostly space. 3 Kelvin seems about right.
posted by Ira on 2-27-2008 at 7:10 am
If the size of the earth’s orbit were the size of the circumference of a dime, the nearest star would be 3 miles away.
If the solar system were the size of a softball, the milky way galaxy would be the size of North America.
posted by jimg on 2-27-2008 at 11:50 am
The solar system, with the earth, revolves around the milky way galaxy every 200 million years. That means, that in the 4.25 billion years that the earth has been in some form or another, “we” have revolved around the galaxy over 20 times. Apparantly, we “jump” between spiral arms in order for us to stay at roughly the same distance from the center.
posted by jimg on 2-27-2008 at 11:55 am
The milky way galaxy is believe to be a “barred spiral” (shaped like an “S”), as opposed to a traditional pinwheel shape.
There is another, smaller galaxy “colliding” with ours perpendicularly, on the far side from where we are. Eventually, the two galaxies will be ripped apart without anything actually touching…
posted by jimg on 2-27-2008 at 12:02 pm
At one time space was called ‘ether’ and was believed to be composed of a liquid substance. This is apparent in the writings of Sci-Fi writers of the early 20th century.
It take Mercury longer to rotated on its axis than it takes to revolve around the sun.
posted by Owen on 2-27-2008 at 12:42 pm
@ Er
I’ll rephrase. The angular diameter of the moon is about 30 arcminutes. So, in the space of just 3 arcminutes (1/10th of that diameter) there are 30 galaxies.
posted by Kacie on 2-27-2008 at 1:23 pm
If you were to take the Earth and remove all of the space between the atoms, moelcules, etc., it would shrink down to about the size of a baseball.
posted by It's good to be the King on 2-27-2008 at 3:04 pm
Here’s another fact (as best as is known)with a question to ponder, and then I’ll shut up:
* The universe is @ 13 billion years old
* The earth is @ 4.25 billion years old
Why would an “insignificant” pebble such as the earth be 1/3 the age of the entire universe?
posted by jimg on 2-27-2008 at 3:16 pm
jimg,
Better question, why wouldn’t it be? I guess what I’m trying to say is: what chunk of time would be more pleasing to you and over what duration would you like this chunk of time to extend? I know who people who can fix it for you.
posted by Gary on 2-27-2008 at 3:26 pm
In terms of the a life span, from conception to dust, the Earth is still an infant and it acts like one. The Earth is constantly changing and reforming because of it’s “molten hormones” that are brewing from within. For those of you that are worried about global warming, extinction provoking comets and the like, don’t worry. The Earth still thinks that it is invincible.
posted by Gary on 2-27-2008 at 3:31 pm
Gary–
No political or faith questions here, just looking at the science.
I’m just amazed at it, if it turns out to be accurate. I would have thought that the universe would be substantially older than the earth, as it is substantially larger, like an oak tree relates to an individual leaf…
Also, what could this mean in terms of the prevalence of intelligent life? All rhetorical, of course.
posted by jimg on 2-27-2008 at 3:54 pm
@ Manda:
And when you let the water out, Saturn will leave a ring around the tub!
/Corny Astronomy Teacher Joke
posted by Ohne Hosen on 2-27-2008 at 5:26 pm
Almost every surface feature of Venus is properly named after women or goddesses. There are three exceptions: Alpha Regio, Beta Regio and the Maxwell Montes (named for James Clerk Maxwell).
Sorry if my English sucks :P.
posted by Francisco L. on 2-27-2008 at 10:50 pm
When Apollo 13 left the moon headed back to Earth, if their trajectory had been off by just two degrees, they would have missed Earth by 10,000 miles.
posted by Brandy on 2-28-2008 at 12:23 pm
The planet Uranus was discovered by English astronomer William Herschel in 1781. He almost named the planet George in honor of King George III.
posted by Sarah on 2-28-2008 at 12:40 pm
forgot to add my location.
Columbia, SC
posted by Sarah on 2-28-2008 at 12:41 pm
On August 16, 1960, Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger parachuted to Earth from the height of 102,880 feet (31,330 m), well into our Stratosphere. Free falling for over 4 minutes, his decent to Earth reached speeds of 614 mph (989 km/h). This jump still holds records for highest parachute jump and fastest speed by a man through the atmosphere. For all intents and purposes Joe Kittinger, and not Yuri Gagarin, was the first space tourist.
posted by Steve on 2-28-2008 at 1:05 pm
Due to the quirks of the workings of the inner ear for balance, all astronauts that go into space suffer acutely from vertigo (read: they throw up a lot) for the first several days until they adjust.
The flipside is that upon returning to Earth, the first several days back it’s virtually impossible to make them motion sick.
Madison, WI
posted by Irene on 2-28-2008 at 2:41 pm
The U.S. definition of an astronaut is someone who has traveled at least 50 miles above the Earth’s sea level. Over the years, the U.S. military and NASA have disagreed over the distance that earned a pilot “astronaut” status, but the case of three NASA test pilots who flew their X-15s above 50 miles in the 1960s was finally resolved in 2006 when they were finally awarded their “Astronaut Wings.”
posted by kerensa on 2-28-2008 at 3:06 pm
Buzz Aldrin’s mother’s maiden name was Moon.
Queens NY
posted by Sue on 2-28-2008 at 8:39 pm