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TON 618 is often cited, but the central supermassive black hole of the Phoenix Cluster (Phoenix A) is potentially the most massive black hole in the observable universe. Scientists use a unit of measurement called a Solar Mass to compare the mass of the black hole with our sun. A Solar Mass is approximately equivalent to the mass of our Sun. The models of the scale of the supermassive black hole in the center of the Phoenix Cluster suggested by the scientists paper indicate an estimated mass on the order of 100 billion Solar Masses. That’s 24,100 times the mass of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way (Sagittarius A*). This supermassive black hole has a size of approximately 2,000 astronomical units (1 AU = The distance between the Sun and Earth). That’s a size comparable to 50 times the distance from the Sun to Pluto (or if placed where the Sun is it could reach the inner limit of the Oort Cloud). That would make it have a circumference that would take 71 days and 14 hours to travel at light speed (c = 299,792,458 meters per second).

Archaeopteryx is an extinct genus of bird-like dinosaurs. Even though they were small, with broad wings, and had an inferred ability to fly or glide, they had more features in common with other small Mesozoic dinosaurs than with modern birds. Archaeopteryx shared dinosaur features such as jaws, sharp teeth, three fingers with claws, a long bony tail, hyperextensible second toes (killing claw), and feathers (among other features). Archaeopteryx is considered an intermediate between our modern day birds and predatory dinosaurs like Deinonychus. In other words, if you’ve ever wondered where birds came from, the Archaeopteryx fossils provide evidence. Archaeopteryx is one of the most famous transitional fossils and gives evidence for the evolution of birds from theropod dinosaurs. Birds are dinosaurs!

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The fastest-spinning neutron star known is PSR J1748−2446ad, rotating at a rate of 716 times per second or 42,960 revolutions per minute, it’s equator is spinning at approximately 24% of the speed of light, or over 70,000 km per second. As the star got compressed into a much smaller and denser star its rotation speed increased, just like a figure skater, this is called the conservation of angular momentum. Most neutron stars are observed as pulsars. Scientists have also shown we can use pulsars as a positional guide for spaceships.

Our Milky Way galaxy is estimated to contain between 100–400 billion stars. A detailed study observed over six years by the Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork (PLANET) collaboration found that the Milky Way galaxy contains a minimum of 100 billion planets. According to the study there is one planet for every star on average.

Our Moon is drifting away from the Earth at approximately 3.8cm per year. Scientists know exactly how fast because of the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment. This effect is due to tidal interactions between the Earth and the Moon. The ocean closer to the Moon actually bulges toward it. Because of the planetary rotation of the Earth and the gravitational interplay between the Earth and the Moon, the Moon is pulled faster along its orbital path. This boost in speed slowly pushes the Moon into a larger orbit. It also means that the Earth’s rotation is ever so slightly slowing down.

How much DNA do humans really share with bananas? It is often repeated that humans share 60% DNA with bananas, but what is the important nuance of this statistic that gets left out? Genes, which are regions found in DNA that code for proteins, only make up less than 2 percent of your DNA. Scientists looked at that 2 percent and compared human and banana genes and found that 60% were a recognizable “match”, and even of those 60% match the protein similarity was found to be only 40% similar. So when it is mentioned that there is a 60% match, it is referencing the genes within the DNA. Even so, that is still a high percentage match for the genes, showing common ancestry. These are shared protein-coding genes that perform essential life functions such as cell growth, energy production, and DNA repair. All life forms originated from a single common ancestor. One evolutionary branch led to animals and humans, while another led to plants and bananas.

3,000-year-old honey found in Egyptian tombs is still edible. This is because honey contains about 80% sugars with close to no free water. It contains hydrogen peroxide released slowly by the glucose oxidase enzyme. It is also acidic, with a pH between 3.2 and 4.5 which is close to vinegar. This combination of factors makes honey hostile to microbial life.

Black hole time dilation is when the closer an object is to a black hole, the slower time passes relative to someone far away. This effect can also be seen to a much lesser degree on Earth. Physicists at NIST have tested this effect using clocks separated at different altitudes and proved the effect is real even at small scales. Black holes are much more extreme, if one astronaut spent one hour near the black hole, the other astronaut that watched from further away may experience years passing by.

Space is big, really really big. Let’s do some math: Earth has a diameter at the Equator of 7,926 miles. If one astronomical unit (AU) is 92,955,807.3 miles, and the distance between the Sun and the Heliopause is about 123 AU, that’s 11,433,564,297.9 miles ÷ 7,926 miles = 1,442,539…That means 1.4 million Earth’s could fit in a line from the Sun to the Heliopause. The Heliopause is the last boundary between material from the Sun vs other stars from interstellar space. After 35 years of travel, Voyager 1 crossed the Heliopause and entered interstellar space on August 25, 2012. Voyager 1 was launched by NASA on September 5, 1977.