If it wasn’t for scientists or science in general, we would have still pictured Earth to be flat. Furthermore, people used to consider bloodletting as a medical cure before science flourished. Although science was able to prove Earth’s exact shape and find a legit medical cure, it is yet to unravel some mysterious phenomena. The reason for this is that some phenomena are rare. Therefore making it hard for scientists to observe them in real-time. On the other hand, some are very common that it is hard to find one thing that explains every occurrence. As a result of which, there are a lot of instances where scientists have failed solving a particular mystery despite researching it for a decade. These are the 10 biggest unsolved mysteries that even science struggles to explain.
1. Inside a Black Hole
Science showed mankind how a black hole looks like. But it is yet to explain what is inside a black hole. Even though it is ambitious to predict something that one can not physically observe, many scientists have worked on different thought experiments to unravel this mystery. Unfortunately, none of them was successful. A quick look into what a black hole is – a black hole is a place in space where a huge amount of matter is crushed into a tiny space. Surrounding the black hole is an enormous gravity field. So even if you think you are quite far from it, its gravity will continuously pull you towards. It will pull you till you get inside of it.
Once you are in, there is no escape. That’s how far science has taught us. If you plan on taking a trip to the black hole to solve this mystery, sorry to burst your bubble, you wouldn’t even make it inside the black hole. As you approach the black hole, the gravity will rip you apart. Slowly stretching your body until the Hawking radiation engulfs you. Concretely, you will be reduced to ashes before spending much time inside the black hole.
2. Planet Nine
The clockwork mechanism of our solar system is truly fascinating. If there is anything that it taught us, it would be the numerous possibilities to find new planets. Just like how Uranus was discovered in 1781, years after Neptune was thought to be the seventh planet. Now we have reached a point where there’s a possibility to find another one. No, I’m not talking about Pluto. But a real full-sized plant. Finding Planet Nine would be a triumph for both mathematics and advanced astronomical technology. However, it is a hypothetical concept, as of now. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist altogether. Statistically speaking, astronomers bank on a planet 10 times that of our earth-orbiting the Sun, with a period of 20,000 years, for potential Planet 9. Nonetheless, it will still remain a mystery until a sensitive telescope registers light reflected from it, to prove its existence.
3. The End of the World
The world, as we know it, came into existence because of a “big bang”. Perhaps as a product of expansion from an extremely hot and dense singularity. All is well, that ends well. Obviously, we can’t expect our planet to remain eternal. Remember the big bang, ever since then, our universe is continually expanding. However, a famous theory entitled “The Big Crunch” tells us that this expansion will eventually taper off. When this happens, everything including the planets and galaxies is drawn together into a single, dense point of mass. Subsequently, everything is wiped out. This is what scientists believe how the fate of our universe would be. Yet, there is no solid evidence to back that up. One thing’s for sure, “2012” and the majority of other apocalyptic movies are wrong!
4. ASMR
ASMR or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response was considered to be mere internet lore until people began questioning the science behind it. An ASMR experience is best described as a tingling sensation that starts from the scalp and moves down till the spine. On a quest to find its authenticity, researchers used brain imaging to find out what this phenomenon is. Even though they saw some changes in the brain’s activity while watching such videos, they were unable to find the reason for it. Above all, they only use those who have previously watched ASMR videos. Making their findings speculative, since they didn’t have any non-ASMR people to compare with.
5. The Fermi Paradox & Aliens
What’s a list of unsolved mysteries without Aliens? If you think the hype for finding alien life began from the “Area 51 movement” then you are terribly mistaken. A lot of scientists have dedicated their work on finding intelligent extraterrestrial life. The Italian-American Nobel Laureate, Enrico Fermi is one of them. He formulated the Fermi Paradox, a set of arguments that questions the existence of aliens. It contradicts lack of evidence for extraterrestrial civilizations and various high estimates for their probability.
It’s simple, our universe is too big for a small population of 5.5 billion humans. As of now, despite locating other habitable planets, we are yet to ascertain any signs of intelligent life there. Years have passed since this paradox surfaced the world of science, yet there are no developments. Many scientists believe that intelligent life is exceptionally rare. Even otherwise, they believe as if they are purposefully avoiding detection.
6. Dark Matter
We have talked a lot about the dark matter before. But that doesn’t mean it’s solved. Dark matter still remains one of the darkest secrets of the universe. Dark matter accounts for a total of 85% of the mass in the universe. Yet, we have not detected. The best we know of dark matter is that it is the spider web that is holding the fast-moving galaxies together. Read more about the dark matter here.
7. Fast Radio Bursts
Fast Radio Bursts, or FBR, is a phenomenon wherein super-fast bursts of radio waves are observed in Earth from deep space. Although it is sparse, scientists believe that this has been going on for billions of years. However, we have only started to detect them in 2007. As of now, we still don’t know what is causing them. Are they cryptic messages from intelligent life on other planets? Or are they an indication of a cataclysmic event many light years away? It is unclear, but astronomers believe the latter. Such radio bursts can come from the collision of stars.
8. Hessdalen Lights
Imagine a flash of light so stunning but deadly enough to kill you. Hessdalen Lights are uncanny balls of light flying around the Norwegian Valley. A theory relates it with something called “Coulomb Crystal”. The reason as to why it is deadly is because of the fact that Coulomb Crystals are a form of electrically-charged gas. Concretely, they are akin to a force field trapped inside a cage. Individual lights are said to emit 19 Kilowatts of power. As of now, there is no concrete explanation behind its occurrence. Moreover, what makes scientists even puzzled is that this is only observed in Norway.
9. Star Jelly
Meteor showers were not glamorised until people found a mysterious gelatinous substance called Star jelly. Remember the iconic 1958 sci-fi flick, “The Blob”, people believe it was inspired by Star jelly. As alien as it looks, there is still no explanation behind its nature. Initially, they thought of it as a byproduct formed in a battery processing unit. Scientists were unhappy. They had to carry out a plethora of DNA tests. Consequently, the test result contradicted the initial claims. The test results confirmed it to be the remnants of a frog. That’s not all, there are plenty of other theories behind it. Yet, none of them is scientifically accepted.
10. Parallel Universe
Thanks to science fiction movies, Parallel Universe is not an obscure concept. A lot of people recognise it. But what if I told you that there is no solid evidence behind its existence? Recently, an experiment claimed to find its existence, only to find out that it was a data misinterpretation.
