Every time we think of the solar system, we may imagine the planets, the stars, the sun, and a great black void. Almost out of habit, in the collective imagination the enormous sun is located in the center of everything. However, the reality is different, and now it has been revealed: the center of the universe is not the sun.
Before affirming that everything in this universe revolves around the sun, we have to take into account some considerations. The first is that this giant star has never been stationary. The sun revolves in the galaxy at an approximate speed of 828,000 kilometers per hour, that is, it takes approximately 225 million years to make a complete turn..
Furthermore, if we could see the solar system from a more general perspective, what we would observe is a propeller-like movement where the sun is not precisely in the center. This would mean that there is something else at the center, something that governs the movement (even) of the sun and the entire universe..
The true center of the universe
Better known as the center of gravity or centroid, this is the point at which the mass of all objects is balanced. This midpoint is not necessarily the center of a star. For example, in the case of the Earth, the moon does not revolve around the planet. In reality, both bodies revolve around a common center of gravity.
Regarding the solar system, recently a group of researchers tried to discover the precise location of the center of the universe. All this was known thanks to the data released by a dozen pulsars, that is, neutron stars that rotate at high speed sending pulses of radiation to Earth.
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These pulsars are so precisely accurate that some consider them the clocks of the universe. But how exactly did these neutron stars help? According to a study, the goal is to detect gravitational waves coming from a black hole.
This method, through black holes, would make it possible to obtain greater precision on the waves that sail in the universe. Although masses and other distortions in space are thought to possibly change the waves, the researchers decided to take a chance.
«Our precise observation of pulsars, scattered throughout the galaxy, has located us in the cosmos better than we have been able to do so far,» says Stephen Taylor (study collaborator).
If the signals from the pulsars are going in the right direction, the position of the center of the solar system would be being displaced from the center of the sun towards its surface. That is, the midpoint would not be in the nucleus of the star, but in a space on its surface.
The location of the center is still not very certain, but scientists are getting closer to discovering it, thanks to the waves sent out by neutron stars. In conclusion, it will take a black hole to pinpoint where the center of the universe is, and experts know they are close to it.
Keep reading: Astronomical calendar for July: the events of the universe for the second half of the year
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