Space Phenomenon

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Additional information

see Glossary of Terms

Antimatter

Antimatter is identical in mass to matter except it has the opposite properties, eg. charge. For example, an antimatter atom consists of positrons orbiting antiprotons. For further information see Particles below.

Asteroid Belt/Field

A ring or group of small chunks of material and dust (often rock and/or ice).

Big Bang

The hypothetical, but generally accepted, origin of the Universe. The Big Bang is reckoned to have occurred approximately 20 billion years ago when out of absolute nothingness (no space or time) a single speck of all matter and energy in the Universe appeared and then expanded rapidly outwards. As it expanded it cooled forming matter and energy as we see it today.

Black Body

A theoretical object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation that reaches it and then emits again.

Closed/Open/Flat Universe

A hypothetical model that predicts the fate of the Universe, with three possible 'outcomes':

Closed Universe

The point after the big bang at which the gravitational pull of the Universe reaches a critical value in comparison with the overall mass of the Universe and the Universe stops expanding and falls back in.

Open Universe

A Universe in which the density and gravitational pull of the Universe is such that it will continually expand out forever, never having sufficiant gravitational pull to collapse back in.

==Flat Universe== A Universe in which the gravitational pull is not quite enough to prevent expansion of the Universe.

Clusters

Clusters are groups of stars with similar properties. Clusters can be classified as follows:

Globular clusters

Globular clusters are very dense groups of stars (often a group of several hundred thousand stars).

Open clusters

Open Clusters are clusters of stars found in or near the spiral arm of a galaxy, generally less dense than globular clusters.

Cluster of Galaxies

Cluster of galaxies is a group of up to several thousand galaxies held together by gravitational pull. The Milky Way is in the Local Group cluster.

Super Cluster

Super Cluster of Galaxies is a cluster of galaxies but on a much larger scale with many more galaxies.

Addtional Information

see Galaxy Structure, Star Structure

Comet

A comet is an object that orbits a star, and is not big enough to be considered a planet. A comet also has distinct characteristics:

The Nucleus

The Nucleus is usually very small compared to the size of the comet's coma. Often composed of ice and/or rock, it is typically a few cubic kilometres.

The Coma

The Coma is a hazy nebula-like gas composed of gaseous compounds that are solid in the nucleus. Can be as big as a planet.

The Tail

The Tail is the trail of gas the solar wind blows off the comets coma. It can be millions or billions of kilomtres long and most of the time extends in the direction of the solar wind irespective of the comets path. A comet can have secondary tails caused by gases being expelled from the nucleus.

The Comet's Orbit

The Comet's Orbit around a star can be very eccentric. It is further complicated by the fact that gases expelled from the nucleus somtimes alter the comet's path. Each time a comet passes close to the sun, electromagnetic radiation and solar wind from the star will remove a certain mass from the comet. Therefore when near the sun a comet often shines brightly as material is 'burnt' off, and over time a comet will slowly become smaller and dimmer.

Cosmic Singularity

Hypothetical state of the universe before the big bang, where all matter, energy and time was within a single infinitely dense point.

Dyson Sphere

A massive artifically created sphere built around a star. Utilises highly advanced technology, currently beyond Federation Technology.

Tail

A curved filament of stars that extends in a galaxy, or in some cases beyond a galaxies edge. Tails always occur on the opposite side of the galaxy where it is iteracting with another galaxy.

=Filament= A strand or string of gas, dust, planets, stars, galaxies or another stellar object.

Gravity

Gravity is the force of attraction between two masses. As the mass of the objects increases, the force of attraction between them increases. Very large objects with sufficiantly high masses, and therefore very strong gravitational fields (the area around an objected affected by the objects gravitational pull) will alter both normal space and time. For additional information see Subspace below.

Hole

The term 'hole' when applied to space phenomenon can refer to:

Black Hole

Black Hole is an object that has an escape velocity greater than the speed of light (hence it is black as light can not escape). A black hole has an extraordinary high mass, although physically it can be as small as a pinhead. This is because matter falls in to the black hole which increases its mass, therefore the black hole crushes itself even smaller.

Supermassive Black Hole

Supermassive Black Hole is a theoretical object that exists in the center of some galaxies, having a mass of millions of stars.

White Hole

White hole is a bit like the opposite of a black hole; matter is emitted from 'nothingness'. Similar to the protouniverse, where a protouniverse is theoretically a stable white hole.

Wormhole

Wormhole s a spacial discontinuity linking two areas of space and/or time. If it is stable enough one can can travel through a wormhole and cover unlimited distances in very short times.

Jet

A narrow and very fast stream of plasma.

Matter

Aside from normal matter, other types of matter have been recorded:

Dark Matter

Dark Matter is mass that is not observed but must exist to account for gratitational pulls. Can be referred to as 'missing mass'.

Degenerate Matter

Degenerate Matter is matter than has an extraordinarily high density.

Negative Matter

Negative Matter repels normal matter. This matter has never been observed, but theoretically, with a collision of Negative matter and normal matter both would cancel each other out and vanish completely (releasing no energy).

Anitmatter

Anitmatter is the opposite of normal matter, made up of antiparticles (eg. positron is the antiparticle of an electron, antiproton is the anitparticle of a proton). When matter and antimatter collide they destroy each other creating huge amounts of energy.

Nebula

A quantity of matter in space, usually caused by the build up of dust and gas or the remenants of a stellar explosion (eg. supernova), or gas ejected from a star. Nebula can be extremely large. A planetary nebula is a plume of gas that has been ejected from a Red Giant and appears like a planet (same size, etc.).

Particles

The Universe is made up of particles. Some types of particles and their properties are explained below:

Molecule

A molecule is the smallest particle that retains its compound chemical properties. A compound is made of various elements chemically bonded together (there are literally millions of different compounds). Molecules are made of atoms.

Alpha particles

Alpha particles consist of two protons and two nuetrons, the nucelus of 'standard' helium.

A Beta particle

A Beta particle is a high speed electron.

Atom

The atom is the smallest particle that has the characteristics of its element. An element is a material composed of one type of atom only (there are over a hundred different known elements, many naturally and some artifical). Atmos are made of electrons that orbit a neucleus containing protons and neutrons.

Protons

Protons are contained with an atoms nucleus. They are positvely charged. Made of three quarks.

Electrons

Electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom at various dsitances from the nucleus. They are about 1/2000 the mass of protons and neutrons (considered neglible in nuclear equations). Electrons are negatively charged.

Neutrons

Neutrons are chargless particles with the same mass as Protons. Found in the nucleus of an atom, generally. Made of three quarks.

Photons

Photons are small 'packets' of energy that form the electromagnetic spectrum.

Isotopes

Isotopes are atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons, hence the isotope has a different mass.

Ions

Ions are atoms that have lost or gained an electron. An an ion that has lost and electron is positive, and an ion that has gained an electron is negative.

Neutrino

Neutrinos are chargeless particles with virtually no mass.

Antiparticles

Antiparticles are identical in amss to their 'normal' counterparts, but opposite in properties.

Positrons

Positron is the antiparticle to an electron.

Antiproton

Antiproton is the antiparticle to a proton.

Elementary particles

Elementary particles are the fundamental particles of the universe; Bosons and Fermions. They can not be broken down in to smaller particles.

Boson

A boson is an elementary particle that carries or conveys force.

Fermion

A fermion is an elementary particle that is the basis of matter and antimatter.

Gluon

A gluon is a boson that is the 'strong force' which binds quarks. There are eight types of Gluon particles.

Intermediate vector boson

An intermediate vector boson is a boson that carries the weak force. The weak force is a very short range force that causes particle decay.

W particles

W particles are charged intermediate vector bosons.

Z particles

Z particles are neutral intermediate vector bosons.

Leptons

Leptons are fermions that are unaffected by the strong force (eg. electrons, muons, taus and neutrinos).

Muons

Muons are charged leptons, similar to electrons, but very unstable.

Taus

Taus are negatively charged leptons, similar to Muons and electrons, but much larger and even more unstable than muons.

Quarks

Quarks are femions that respond to the strong force. Quarks are bound together by gluons to form protons and neutrons. There are six types of quark.

Virtual particles

Virtual particles are particles that appear out of nothingess, and then vanish, according to the theory of probability. They can not be directly observed but their effects are detectable.

Additional infromation

see Substances and Particles Index

Panspermia

The phenomenon where life travels from planet to planet by 'spores', similar to the way in which plants reproduce.

Plasma

The fourth state of matter (solid, liquid, gas and plasma). A body of ionized particles that is subject to magnetic fields and electric charge.

Protouniverse

Hypothetical event that occurs before a Big Bang. Matter is formed from nothigness before the explosion of the Big Bang. Related to the White Hole theory.

Protogalaxy

A round ball of hydrogen gas, tens of times bigger than a mature galaxy, that is the beggings of a normal galaxy.

Pulsar

A pulsar is a star that has unusually hot surface spots. The pulsar rotates quickly, and when one of these 'spots' comes in to view it effectively emits a pulse of electromagnetic radiation. Hence it appears that a pulsar's luminosity varies. Pulsars are used extensively for navigation reference points.

Quantum Filament

A Quantum Filament is like a loop in space. This has all kinds of strange effects on matter and time, usually not physically damaging, but very often quantum filaments can trap ships in a time loop or severely disrupt warp fields. Other effects may occur.

Quasar

A quasar is an intense unexplained source of electrogmagnetic radiation and neutrino particles.

Quaseroid

A quaseroid has similar electromagnetic and neutrino emissions to a quasar but they are generally much smaller.

Roche's Limit

Distance from a planet beyond which a sattelite must travel to avoid gravitational stress from the planet.

Stragglers

Stars that have similar characteristics to newly born stars (large and hot), but have actually been created by the collision of two Red Giants.

Strings

Cosmic strings of extremely dense material, theoretically direct remements of the Big Bang.

Solar Wind

A stream of charge particles that is emitted by a star and reaches out through the star's system of planets.

Spicule

A jet of gas that is thin and fast, and dies quickly, and comes off a star. Can reach out thousands of kilometres.

Subspace

Subspace is created when normal space is stretched or compressed by gravity. A Warp drive creates a gravitational field that warps space and this is called a subpace field.

Subspace Anomoly

Subspace Anomoly is when there are measured subspace effects, or gravitational effects, but there are no apparent 'normal matter' causes.

Subspace Vortex

Subspace Vortex is when space is stretched or compresed so far that it bends back on itself (eg. wormhole), or it is severely distorted in another way.

Substorm/Geomagnetic storm

When changes in a planet's magnetic field occur due to the bombardment of the solar wind on the atmosphere.

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