10 misconceptions about space in which to believe ashamed

1. Cosmos cold

you can see a picture in many films: the man is in space without a spacesuit (either damaged spacesuit) and quickly freezes, turning into brittle ice statue, cracking of any exposure.

What really. In space there is no temperature. He was not cold and not hot - noHuman Exposure to Vacuum: Vacuum no convection and conduction. Generally, the vacuum - a good heat insulator. So the astronauts more problems with overheatingStaying Cool on the ISSThan with hypothermia.

And if you find yourself in space without a spacesuit in the shadow of the planet, it is likely to experience an easy cool due to evaporation of water from the skin surface. But to the solid state is not exactly freeze.

2. People can burst in space

There is a suggestion that in vacuum or in an atmosphere with a low pressure, such as Mars, a person can blow up like a balloon. Eyes come out of their sockets, burst with receptacles, and the unlucky astronaut become a bloody pulp.

What really.

The pressure in the vacuum is not available, and this can cause your lungs to burstThe human body in space: distinguishing fact from fictionIf you do not exhale before you jump out of the ship. The blood will start to appear the gas bubbles (called ebullizmEbullism at 1 million feet:) Formed on the body edema. But human skin is very elastic, and it does not allow you to explode.

experimentsSome cardiovascular responses in anesthetized dogs during repeated decompressions to a near-vacuum in dogs have shown that vacuum can be without consequences to fifteen minutes, and then the body quickly restored. But a longer stay is lethal due to hypoxia, ie the lack of oxygen.

3. The moon has a dark side

When people say "the dark side Moon"Then imagine the grim place where never sunlight falls. Perhaps that is why there are building their base Nazis and Decepticons.

What really. All sides of the moon illuminatedWhat Is the Dark Side of the Moon? The sun, and it is day and night - however, they last for two weeks. Nevertheless, the Earth's satellite is the reverse side. But due to the fact that the rotation period of the planet around its own axis and around the moon are similar, with the Earth seen only one of its hemisphere. And the first pictures were made of another Soviet AMC "Luna-3" as early as 1959. And there is nothing particularly mysterious there.

4. Black holes look like a funnel

Due to the movies and pictures on the Internet, many people believe that black holes look like a whirlwind, sucking everything around him. Or like a funnel in the sink, where the water flows.

What really. For the first time a black hole shown realistically in the film "Interstellar", based on theoretical models of physical Kip Thorne. Later NASA made her first picture using a system of eight telescopes Event Horizon Telescope. In reality, a black hole does not look like a funnel, as well as the darker sphere, surrounded accretion disk from falling on it gas.

5. The sun is yellow

If you ask someone to draw our star, the aspiring artist certainly will take the yellow pencil. Take a look at the sun, and make sure that it has the connotation.

What really. Yellow sun makes our atmosphere. And if you look at the pictures of the space, it becomes clear that his color - whiteColor of Stars. But we are so accustomed to thinking of the sun with yellow that even scientists classify like he stars as a "yellow dwarf" for convenience.

6. First flew in space dog Laika

who was the first flew into space? Of course, Yuri Gagarin. And from our brethren? A dog named Laika, as everybody knows. She was an ordinary mutt from a shelter that went first to conquer space.

What really. Laika indeed was the first to orbit the Earth. But in space there were living creatures and before it. In February 1947, the Americans with the help of captured German rocket "V2" was sent to a suborbital flight a few fruit flies (Drosophila) to study the impact on them of cosmic radiation. They flew to an altitude of 109 km, and the space is considered to mark the boundary of 80 km. So first saw him fly.

7. NASA spent billions on a writing pen in space

Simple handles in space can not be used because the ink in the rod there can not flow down. And, according to one urban legendNASA's 'Astronaut Pen'To astronauts still managed to keep records, NASA has spent $ 12 billion for the invention of a special pen. It is able to write upside down on any surface at a temperature of 0 to 300 ° C. Soviet cosmonauts also just used pencils. Here it is, Russian wit.

What really. At first, the Americans, and Russian used pencils in space, but this led to a number of problems: graphite particles peeled off and fell into the air filters of the spacecraft. A special pen invented by Paul Fisher of the Fisher Pen Company, and he did it independently of NASA. Male department sold 400 shares at $ 2.95 each.

Our astronauts also use these handles. At one time they were purchased for the work at the station "Mir". By the way, if you prefer, you can also acquire Statement space pen.

8. Through the asteroid belt is difficult to fly

Remember how in the "Star Wars" Han Solo skillfully piloted his "Millennium Falcon" to wade through the asteroid belt? He managed to go around a lot of these cosmic bodies, and even from the pursuit of imperial fighters broke away, though every second risking crashing into boulders floating around.

What really. In our solar system also has its own asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers are not sure how many boulders and call the approximate number of 10 million. But you do not even like being the coolest pilot Solo, easy to fly through them. Because the average distance between the asteroids in the belt - one and a half million kilometers. This is about four times greater than the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

Therefore, in reality, to crash into the asteroid, it will take considerable effort and careful orbital maneuver. The probability of collision is not what, but simply an unplanned rendezvous spacecraft to the boulder isNew Horizons Crosses The Asteroid Belt less than one in a billion.

9. Spaceships fly in a straight line

In the movies, the spacecraft can be easily moved from one place to another just turned directly to the goal and turned on the engine. In the same way as cars or ships in the world. And if kosmolotu need to sit down on the planet, he just rushes into its atmosphere on full speed.

What really. In realPrecious gift of celestial mechanics spacecraft are moving from one orbit to another in an arcuate Hohmann transfer orbit. And they are disabled engines. They included twice, to disperse the beginning and at the end of the braking, the rest of the way the ship is doing by inertia.

If you want to direct the shuttle yourself and see live traffic on the Hohmann transfer orbit, try to play in the space simulator Kerbal Space Program. It gives a clear idea about the basics of orbital mechanics.

Oh, and one more thing: the ships to land, decayed, turning engines on the direction of travel, to slow down. In Hollywood blockbusters like "Prometheus" this does not show that the viewer did not raise the question of why the shuttles fly backwards.

10. In the summer heat, because the Earth is closer to the Sun

The change of seasons is caused by changing the distance from the Earth to the sun. It is logical, right? Unfortunately, sometimes people think so, not only young children, but also quite adults.

What really. Earth's orbit is not quite circular - it is elliptical. Our planet reaches perihelion (the point in the orbit closest to the Sun) in January and the aphelion (the farthest point from the Sun) about six months. If it depended on the weather, we would have a summer and winter, in January to July.

seasons changeWhat causes the seasons? of inclination relative to the rotation axis of its orbital plane (the ecliptic). An orbital motion does cause fluctuations in temperature within 5 ° C, but not enough to make a change of seasons.