Five Space Myths That We Need To Stop Believing

Some myths about space are so persistent that they do not seem to go away. But some common myths have been debunked by science and astronauts.

There are a lot of things about space that we simply cannot fathom. As very few of us have been to space, leading to the development of numerous myths about the universe that have persisted through the ages. While it is nearly impossible to debunk all of them, check out five myths that have been blown out of the water.

Earth and Venus are identical.

Earth is often referred to as Venus’ twin, but this impression is not quite accurate. This idea came up when scientists didn’t have much clue about what the surface of Venus is really like. Due to Venus’ incredibly thick atmosphere, it wasn’t until the exploration of the planet by a spacecraft that scientists discovered how unwelcoming and deadly the surface of the planet is.

Moon has a dark side.

There’s a myth that one side of the Moon is always bathed in darkness. And this idea is false. The Moon is tidally locked with the earth, implying that the same side always faces us, not the Sun. Note that all the sides of the Moon receive sunlight at various points.

All comets have tails.

All comets have tails, and this is a commonly held myth. But this is not true. Comets spend a massive amount of time in the darkness of space. They remain inactive and relatively frozen, far from the influence of stars. Comets develop tails only when they approach a star like our Sun.

Sound in Space

Space has no atmosphere, implying there is no medium for the sound waves to travel through. However, this does not suggest that the entire universe has no sound, apart from the earth. There will be sound if you go to any other planet with an atmosphere, but it might be a little bizarre. For instance, on Mars, sound has a higher pitch.

The Sun is a glowing ball of fire.

The Sun is just glowing and not burning. This distinction might seem insignificant to the average person, but the heat that the Sun generates is actually the outcome of a nuclear reaction and not a chemical one which is what burning is.

Now that you are aware of some crazy space myths, you can finally stop believing.