Have an idea for a story? Let us know!

Contact: Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor
M1 lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

This issue:

Y Petition to give Vancouver environmental activist his
passport back

(Y Beauty on a Budget

(Y SXSW cancels two panels relating to Gamergate

And more!

Suit Reet Ray guide to to.”
ry galaxy and ‘beyond: °

» Everything in our known universe

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

enowned sci-fi author

Douglas Adams once stated
“Space is big. Really big. You
may think it’s a long way down
the road to the chemist, but
that’s just peanuts compared to
space.” Indeed, the observable
universe is 13.5 billion light years
across, and has an estimated
diameter of 93 billion light
years. Due to its mind-boggling
size and human limitations (we
are, of course, limited to this
planet for our observations),
many elements of the universe
remain unknown—even its
general size and composition
is debated. However, many
physical objects are present
and easily observable. Here’s
a breakdown of what’s what.

Many of these names
and definitions come from
protocol by the International

: Astronomer’s Union from

: as recently as 2006. The

: astronomy field has advanced

: tremendously in the last few

: centuries, and it is likely some

: of these definitions will be

: revised as our knowledge of the
; universe continues to grow.

Small solar system

: objects: A general term for

: anything within a solar system

: that does not meet the criteria

: of other definitions. These

: include asteroids, comets, and

: “minor planets” (solid objects

: too small to be an actual planet).
: These objects can be as small

> as one kilometre across or

: as large as a few hundred.

Satellite/moon: An

: object that orbits a planet

: (or dwarf or minor planet),

: generally made up of shrapnel
: from forming planets. While

: sizes vary, generally they are

: 1000-6000 kilometres across.

Planet: A body that orbits

: around a central star with a

: mass large enough to be nearly
: spherical. They also “clear the

: neighbourhood,” meaning

: they become gravitationally

: dominant in their areas.

: Objects that only meet the

: first two criteria, such as

: Pluto, are known as “dwarf

: planets.” The planets in our

: solar system range from a size
: of 4,879-142,984 kilometres,

: with Earth clocking in at 12,742
: kilometres in diameter.

Star: The most abundant

: object in our universe, stars

: are incredibly hot balls of gases
: held together by gravity that

: support nuclear fusion. Both

: the mass and diameter of stars
: vary greatly; they also contract
: or expand depending on what

: stage of their “lives” they are

: in. Some stars are as little as

: 20 kilometres across, but the

: largest star in our universe is

: thought to be 2.4 billion (yes,

 

: with a b) kilometres across. A

: rough estimation (it’s difficult

: to determine such large figures)
: suggests there are approximately :
: 100 octillion (100,000,000,0
: 00,000,000,000,000,000,0
: oo) stars in the universe.

Galaxy: A shaped large

: star system formed by gravity.

: Dwarf galaxies contain a mere

: few billion stars, while larger

: ones, such as Earth’s very own

: Milky Way, contain an estimated
: 200-400 billion stars. While

: the sheer number of galaxies

: in the universe (detected at 100

: billion for now) makes it hard to
: measure size, we do know that

: it varies greatly. The smallest

: detected galaxy is “only” 300

: light years across (a light year

: being equivalent to 9.5 trillion

: kilometres), with the largest

: known to be 2 million light

: years across. Galaxy groups and
: clusters are currently thought

: to be the largest observable

Image via thinkstock

: objects in the universe.

Black hole: Little is known

: about these areas, which contain

more mass and gravity than

: anything else, so that nothing
: (even light, the fastest thing in
: the universe) can escape from
: their pull. Theorized to be at

: the centre of many galaxies,

: they are hypothetically formed
: from the remains of exploded

: stars. It’s also thought that

: they could be literal holes in

: space time: possible portals

: across our universe, or even

: gateways to another.

All in all, space is incredibly

: big, but also incredibly

: fascinating. So break out the

: new terms you've learned at

: parties to impress your friends,
: or attractive, astronomically-

: inclined people sitting alone

: at the bar. Like with space,

: the possibilities are endless.

 

Listed: the 10 things you can still

look forward to 1n fall

» The pick-me-ups you need now that Halloween and Thanksgiving are over

   

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor
AB F iifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

  

Fr

re you suffering from post-

Halloween blues? Been
eating candy till you were ready
to pop? Well put down the
sugar and the soda—it’s time
to look forward to something
other than Halloween and
Thanksgiving. Here’s my top 10
list of things still left in fall.
1. Pumpkin spice lattes

are still a thing, and

once those go away

it’s straight to eggnog

lattes! Isn't life good?

2. The leaves are still changing

colour. Apparently Martha

Stewart wannabes care
about that kind of crap.

: 3. It’s spawning season!

If you live near a river

or a creek you can look
forward to waking up to
the smell of rotting fish
and the annoying call of
gulls till everything dies.

: 4. Everything is dead! If you

have outdoor allergies
this is a good thing.
If you have indoor
allergies, your dog/cat
has probably stopped
shedding and is extra fluffy
with their winter coat.
Extra good for petting.

6. Ifyou live in a remote area
and used the excuse of
trick-or-treaters to stock

up on candy, you can now
eat it—Halloween is over!

: 7. Noone will ask you to

go hiking with them,
and if they do they don’t
expect you to say yes.

: 8. You will not be wearing a

bathing suit for the rest of

a Th LEE

  

the year, so making sure you Se

have a bikini ready body is
no longer a requirement in
your life (if it ever was)—

time to break out the cake!

9. Daylight savings now

ensures you can wake

up and lay in bed not
sleeping but not wanting
to leave your warm cocoon
for an extra hour

10. Fall and winter food means

gravy on everything!

 

 

Image via thinkstock