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A wide field view of outer space as seen from Earth's surface at night. The interplanetary dust cloud is visible as the horizontal band of zodiacal light, including the false dawn [29] (edges) and gegenschein (center), which is visually crossed by the Milky Way. Outer space is the closest known approximation to a perfect vacuum.
Olbers's paradox, also known as the dark night paradox or Olbers and Cheseaux's paradox, is an argument in astrophysics and physical cosmology that says the darkness of the night sky conflicts with the assumption of an infinite and eternal static universe.
Cosmic voids (also known as dark space) are vast spaces between filaments (the largest-scale structures in the universe), which contain very few or no galaxies. In spite of their size, most galaxies are not located in voids. This is because most galaxies are gravitationally bound together, creating huge cosmic structures known as galaxy filaments.
Stars twinkle up above, but space itself is as dark as can be. Here are some puzzles and brainteasers to challenge your family and friends with, either in person or over video chat. If you look up ...
Indirect detection experiments search for the products of the self-annihilation or decay of dark matter particles in outer space. For example, in regions of high dark matter density (e.g., the centre of the Milky Way) two dark matter particles could annihilate to produce gamma rays or Standard Model particle–antiparticle pairs. [143]
With dark energy, the expansion rate of the universe initially slows down, due to the effect of gravity, but eventually increases. The ultimate fate of the universe is the same as that of an open universe in the sense that space will continue expanding forever. A flat universe can have zero total energy. [16]
The nature of both dark energy and dark matter is unknown. Dark matter, a mysterious form of matter that has not yet been identified, accounts for 26.8% of the cosmic contents. Dark energy, which is the energy of empty space and is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate, accounts for the remaining 68.3% of the contents. [8] [97] [98]
Earth's shadow (or Earth shadow) is the shadow that Earth itself casts through its atmosphere and into outer space, toward the antisolar point. During the twilight period (both early dusk and late dawn ), the shadow's visible fringe – sometimes called the dark segment or twilight wedge [ 1 ] – appears as a dark and diffuse band just above ...