Discovery

5 cosmic anomalies that fundamentally challenge our understanding of the universe

The universe is full of mysteries, anomalies and phenomena that defy conventional understanding. Here's a look at a few of these unsolved puzzles.

Dark energy and antimatter, abstract illustration. [SAKKMESTERKE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRA/AAT/Science Photo Library via AFP]
Dark energy and antimatter, abstract illustration. [SAKKMESTERKE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRA/AAT/Science Photo Library via AFP]

By Stephanie Dwilson |

Every new discovery in space seems to reveal an even greater universe of unanswered questions and brand new mysteries. It seems like there’s always a new anomaly waiting around the corner, ready to challenge long-held beliefs.

The following five cosmic anomalies have caused us to question our understanding of physics, astrophysics, and the boundaries of known science.

These discoveries have forced scientists to rethink the fundamental laws of the universe and consider new explanations and theories.

What discovery will lead us to rethink our accepted knowledge of the universe next? What would you add to this list?

An artist's rendering of an outburst on an ultra-magnetic neutron star, also called a magnetar. [NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center]
An artist's rendering of an outburst on an ultra-magnetic neutron star, also called a magnetar. [NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center]
The Sun's surface is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit while its outer atmosphere, the corona, is several hundred times hotter. [NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center]
The Sun's surface is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit while its outer atmosphere, the corona, is several hundred times hotter. [NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center]
This illustration shows a hypothetical uneven ring of dust orbiting KIC 8462852, also known as Boyajian's Star or Tabby's Star. Astronomers have found the dimming of the star over long periods appears to be weaker at longer infrared wavelengths of light and stronger at shorter ultraviolet wavelengths. [NASA/JPL-Caltech]
This illustration shows a hypothetical uneven ring of dust orbiting KIC 8462852, also known as Boyajian's Star or Tabby's Star. Astronomers have found the dimming of the star over long periods appears to be weaker at longer infrared wavelengths of light and stronger at shorter ultraviolet wavelengths. [NASA/JPL-Caltech]
An illustration shows the interstellar comet ‘Oumuamua, as it warmed up in its approach to the Sun and outgassed hydrogen, which slightly altered its orbit. [NASA, ESA and Joseph Olmsted and Frank Summers of STScI]
An illustration shows the interstellar comet ‘Oumuamua, as it warmed up in its approach to the Sun and outgassed hydrogen, which slightly altered its orbit. [NASA, ESA and Joseph Olmsted and Frank Summers of STScI]

Dark energy

Dark energy accelerates the universe’s expansion. When dark energy was first discovered in 1998, by two rival teams, the finding challenged established classical mechanics and gravitational laws.

Scientists initially believed that over time, gravity would slow down the universe’s expansion, in an idea backed by Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

But the 1998 supernova studies, conducted by the Supernova Cosmology Project and the High-z Supernova Search Team, revealed the universe was expanding faster and faster over time.

Scientists attribute this to dark energy, a mysterious anomaly that pushes space outward.

Dark energy is a mystery we still don’t fully understand, even though it accounts for up to 70% of the universe.

Some scientists even think that dark energy may not truly exist, and instead the theory of general relativity itself has a yet-to-be-discovered flaw.

Pulsar glitches

Fast-spinning neutron stars spontaneously shift speeds both up and down. These sudden changes break conventional stellar rotation and density models and continue to be unexplained.

Neutron stars are essentially an incredibly dense core left behind after a massive star exhausts its fuel supply, collapses and explodes as a supernova.

According to science news website EarthSky, one tablespoon of a neutron star's material would weigh more than Mount Everest, Earth’s highest mountain.

In 2013, NASA revealed it had observed a neutron star decreasing its spin rate abruptly. It was the first time scientists had seen a neutron star have a sudden spin-down, though they had witnessed hundreds of spin-up "glitches."

Both remain mysteries.

A paper published May 4 on the open-access archive arXiv explores possible explanations for larger glitches, noting that understanding of this phenomenon is still limited even to this day.

Coronal heating

The Sun’s outer atmosphere (corona) is inexplicably millions of degrees hotter than its surface.

The simple fact defies heat transfer logic and inspired NASA's Parker Solar Probe mission, which sought to fly through the corona, seeking answers.

In 2021, the probe succeeded in becoming the first spacecraft to fly through the corona. The mission is still active.

In a study published in September 2023, scientists analyzed coronal loops and suggested that loops vibrating in the same direction might provide energy to heat the corona.

This was one of the first logical explanations for the extreme heat of the outer atmosphere. But the phenomenon is still debated today.

Tabby’s Star

KIC 8462852, also known as Tabby’s Star, experiences dramatic, irregular dimming of up to 22%. This is too extreme to be explained by standard planetary transits and is not behavior expected of normal stars.

Over time, numerous theories have been posited to explain Tabby’s Star, from the idea that the star once swallowed a planet to a theory that an alien megastructure harvests energy from the star.

In 2017, a new study suggested an uneven dust cloud around Tabby’s Star might account for the dimming.

Anomalous acceleration

Interstellar objects like 'Oumuamua exhibit unexplained boosts in speed without visible outgassing or gravitational causes. The observations have caused scientists to question their accepted understanding of acceleration.

'Oumuamua, which exited our solar system in 2017, was up to one-quarter of a mile long (about 10 times longer than it was wide).

Its shape alone was unlike other objects in the solar system. The object also lacked a bright coma or dust tail that many comets have, and it exhibited unusual and unexpected acceleration away from the sun.

Astrophysicists with the University of Chicago suggested in 2023 that the object may have outgassed hydrogen when it was warmed by the sun, causing the acceleration. Yet that explanation is still debated.

Since then, additional interstellar objects have passed through our solar system, raising new questions.

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