The Universe

The Orion Nebula

In my opinion, there's nothing quite as breathtaking as looking at photos of space. The possibilities seem almost never-ending. There are countless planets, moons, and stars. The Milky Way galaxy alone contains approximately 300 billion stars, and there are countless other galaxies in the universe. Many more stars are being formed, particularly in places called stellar nurseries. A popular stellar nursery, appropriately called the Orion Nebula, is found in the constellation of Orion. Gases, such as hydrogen, and cosmic dust, or 'stardust', give the nebula its cloud-like look. To put it simply, a star is formed when hydrogen combines with other gases and '"collapses", due to its own gravity. The energy from this produces heat, which gives the star its hot, solid core. It goes on to collect even more dust and gas and eventually becomes what we know of as a star. All kinds of stars can be formed: short-lived stars with very hot cores, longer-lived stars with cooler cores, small stars, or even stars larger than Earth's sun, though it would take over 50 million years to form completely.

Knowing all this, how can any of us really be bored? The Universe is so expansive and interesting. Even if learning about space doesn't interest you, Earth alone is filled with so much knowledge that the average person knows nearly nothing about. I would greatly encourage you to seek out something that interests you. Even if it's just reading an article a day or taking a short class, you can increase your intelligence and sense of fulfilment in life. The world needs more people willing to learn and think outside of their daily lives. You don't have to be a genius to make the world a better place; you just have to be willing to learn.