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00:00Over the years, decades, and centuries, science has provided humankind with an endless library
00:05of knowledge.
00:06Of facts, figures, theories, and ideas.
00:10And yet, it hasn't yet conquered everything.
00:13In this video, we'll briefly encounter some of the biggest and most all-encompassing problems
00:18that science has still to solve.
00:20Then, we'll take an in-depth view at some mysteries of the solar system in particular.
00:25And lastly, we'll cast our net further out into space as a whole.
00:29To analyse some of the wider universe's most puzzling unknowns.
00:34This is Unveiled, and today we're taking a closer look at 18 things that science still
00:39can't explain.
00:41Do you need the big questions answered?
00:43Are you constantly curious?
00:44Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?
00:47And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content.
00:591.
01:04The Creation of the Universe This is a mystery that might prevail forever.
01:09How did the universe come into existence?
01:12Yes, we do have the Big Bang Theory, which is a lot more than just a famous TV show.
01:22It stipulates that the universe expanded from a single point 13.8 billion years ago, leading
01:29to the creation of stars, galaxies, planets, and everything else that exists.
01:35But what was there before?
01:48What triggered the Big Bang?
01:50Why is there something rather than nothing?
01:53Some scientists think quantum fluctuations were responsible, but we really don't know
01:58for sure.
02:00While countless questions about the origins of our universe remain, it's only a matter
02:05of time for some long-sought answers to emerge.
02:092.
02:10The Tao Hum In this small north-central New Mexico town,
02:14some residents tell of a constant faint droning sound.
02:18It interferes with sleep, and sometimes causes visitors to feel ill, getting more noticeable
02:23indoors and at night.
02:32While researchers investigated, no one was able to settle on a conclusive explanation.
02:38Some think people are experiencing tinnitus, others think that it's man-made through industrial
02:44conspiracy theorists think it's illegal government experiments or aliens.
02:55The phenomenon isn't restricted to Tao either, with the hum also cropping up in places like
03:00Auckland, New Zealand, and Windsor, Canada.
03:09Odd signals from space.
03:11Radio waves are emitted by a wide variety of sources, including our own sun.
03:17However, some radio signals from space have yet to be explained.
03:22One of the most notable was the WOW signal, detected in 1977.
03:32Coming from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, it was unusual enough to make
03:38scientists wonder if they'd just heard from extraterrestrials.
03:50Then there are fast radio bursts, transient pulses from the far reaches of the galaxy,
03:56some of which repeat.
03:57Do they come from rotating neutron stars, black holes, or aliens?
04:03We still don't know.
04:06Fingerprints
04:07Fingerprints act like a physical ID for each person.
04:11Everyone has one, and they're all unique.
04:13But we didn't evolve to have them in anticipation of solving murder cases.
04:18So what are they actually for?
04:21Turns out there isn't one concrete answer.
04:28Some believe that these tiny ridges improve grip, like the ridges on a tire, or amplify
04:33vibrations to enhance touch perception.
04:37However, experiments for both sides have come up with fascinating, but not conclusive results.
04:43So we're yet to know why we have such wrinkly thumbs.
04:52The placebo effect
04:53You know when someone says, fake it till you make it?
04:56Turns out that statement might hold water.
05:00Experiments show that many symptoms improve when subjects are given fake treatments.
05:13Research on the placebo effect has found this mostly affects things like pain and nausea.
05:19Generally speaking, it doesn't actually fix the underlying condition.
05:23But it's still incredible that our minds have so much power over our bodies.
05:35While the phenomenon has been studied from both psychological and neurological perspectives,
05:41we still aren't sure how the placebo effect works.
05:50UFOs
05:52In June 2021, the US government released a long-awaited report that summarized information
05:59about UFO sightings.
06:01It arrived in the wake of viral videos that had been taken by Navy pilots and leaked to
06:05the public.
06:06Unfortunately, the report was inconclusive, stating just that while some UAPs, Unidentified
06:19Aerial Phenomena, could be explained away, other remained mysteries, perhaps the result
06:24of secret Russian or Chinese tech.
06:34So we still don't know for sure whether or not aliens are visiting Earth.
06:39If not, it leads to an even larger question.
06:43Why haven't we encountered signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life in the universe?
06:48The objects seen in the various clips are Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, or UAPs.
06:55Animal Migration
06:56To survive seasonal changes, animals from around the world make arduous journeys to
07:01other, more suitable locales.
07:04But scientists still don't know how they find their way.
07:14When humans struck out for new lands, they needed every navigational tool under the sun
07:19and sometimes still ended up lost.
07:22But a bunch of swallows can keep coming back to the same spot every year?
07:27Research has shown that some animals, such as pigeons, can sense the Earth's magnetic
07:32field.
07:33But we still have a lot more questions, like how many species possess this skill?
07:39How does it help them find such specific and far-off locations?
07:43We know the why, but we still don't know the how.
07:56Why We Dream
07:58Dreams are a big part of our lives, so it's shocking that they continue to baffle researchers.
08:05How do dreams work, and why exactly do we have them?
08:08This lack of muscle activity is known as atonia, and is believed to be a protective
08:13mechanism to prevent us from acting out our dreams and getting injured.
08:17Some have stipulated that dreams assist in memory processing, as the brain creates links
08:22and connections, hence why we might have dreams based on recent events or emotions.
08:28But then, why do dreams seem so random?
08:32We aren't really sure, and it opens the door to an even bigger question.
08:38Why do we sleep at all?
08:40From an evolutionary standpoint, it leaves us vulnerable to predators.
08:44It boggles the mind, but regardless of these discoveries, we can all agree that getting
08:49cozy and having a nap is not something we'd want to give up.
09:01Dark Matter
09:02It makes up 85% of all matter in the universe, but we have no idea what it is.
09:09It includes a substance called dark matter, and a force called dark energy.
09:14We can infer that dark matter exists from various indirect means, but it doesn't interact
09:20with electromagnetic radiation, so we can't observe it directly.
09:25Like dark energy, however, the universe wouldn't be the same without it.
09:29Together, dark matter and dark energy make up 95% of all mass energy in the universe.
09:37That's a lot of stuff to know nothing about.
09:40Invisible forces and matter affect us in ways that we don't even realize.
09:45Dark energy is a mysterious force that fills the space between objects.
09:50When we finally figure out what dark matter is, it'll be a giant leap in our understanding
09:56of how the universe works.
09:59We can't quite put our finger on it, we don't know exactly what it is.
10:04How Life Began
10:06There's a strong scientific consensus that evolution explains how different species have
10:11changed and separated over time.
10:14But how did life come to exist in the first place?
10:18How did biological processes emerge from non-living matter?
10:23So you have to start with a world which is just chemistry and geology.
10:29Did all these molecules just fall into place through chance?
10:33While there are theories, with water often thought to hold the key, scientists can't
10:38answer this one conclusively.
10:41When they do, it will help us understand where we came from, and know whether life is even
10:46possible anywhere else.
10:48But what is it?
10:50Is it animal or plant?
10:52It's perhaps one of the most crucial questions we'll ever answer, and life will forever change
10:58once we have the key to this mystery.
11:01The more of these experiments you tick off, if you like, the more you realise we're on
11:06the point of understanding it.
11:09So there's our palate cleanser to start.
11:11By now, your brain should be nicely addled with all of the unknowable complexities of
11:15existence.
11:16So, let's next take a deeper dive into the solar system in particular, to take a closer
11:20look at four unexpected discoveries on solar system planets.
11:27Only a few decades ago, around the middle of the twentieth century, we were just beginning
11:31to physically travel into the solar system.
11:34But a lot has changed and advanced since then.
11:37Today, we've landed various spacecraft on the moon, and we've sent various machines
11:41to other planets.
11:42We've landed probes on asteroids, and even visited comets, in what has been quite the
11:47golden age of space exploration.
11:49But despite all the knowledge we've undoubtedly gained, space never fails to surprise.
12:02On Earth, the slow movement of the land beneath our feet is a continuous process.
12:07Sometimes via earthquakes, it can cause huge amounts of destruction… but ultimately,
12:12over the course of millions of years, it also leads to transformation, ensuring that this
12:16world that we call home never stays the same for too long.
12:19But so many of the other solar system planets have undergone massive change over their own
12:24histories, too… even if wholly Earth-like tectonics aren't currently seen elsewhere.
12:29In the case of one planet, though, Mercury, we've come to realise something in particular.
12:34Today's first unexpected discovery?
12:37That Mercury is shrinking.
12:39Mercury's nature first came to light through NASA's Messenger space probe mission, which
12:44orbited the planet between March 2011 and April 2015.
12:48It conducted an extensive survey of the Mercurian surface, most notably revealing what NASA
12:53refers to as small, cliff-like structures all over it called fault scarps.
12:58An already tiny planet compared to the rest of the solar system, Mercury has only around
13:03300 miles' worth of mantle and outer crust to play with.
13:07But we know that it's shrinking anyway, because it's believed that those fault scarps only
13:11form when the crust reacts to an inner core that's reducing in size… which happens
13:15as the core cools down over millions of years.
13:18The true extent of Mercury's shrinkage, however, is still debated.
13:22Around the time of the Messenger mission, scientists were suggesting about an eight-mile
13:26loss from its diameter.
13:28Since then, it's been argued that the loss is less than that… but either way, the future
13:33of Mercury becomes much more puzzling when we know that it's actively reducing in size.
13:38Our second unexpected discovery takes us much farther away from the sun, past Venus, Earth,
13:43Mars and the asteroid belt, to the gas giants of Jupiter and Saturn.
13:48Among other things, these planets host some of the largest and most violent planetary
13:52storms in the solar system.
13:54The Great Red Spot of Jupiter is one example, having been in the spotlight since it was
13:58first observed in the 1600s.
14:00And we do know of other, similar storms, too, detected on the surfaces of the ice giants
14:05Uranus and Neptune.
14:06Much like the storms we're accustomed to on Earth, these space weather events almost
14:10always appear to be circular or spiral in shape.
14:14In an unexpected twist, however, astronomers know of a completely different shape of storm
14:19over Saturn's north pole.
14:21Thanks to its six distinct sides, it's widely known as Saturn's hexagon.
14:26Saturn's hexagon was first discovered in 1987 by one David Godfrey, an astronomer who
14:32was working on data taken from the Voyager mission six years earlier, in 1981.
14:37High-resolution images of this unusual atmospheric feature weren't available until decades later,
14:43though, when NASA's Cassini mission orbited Saturn for thirteen years, between 2004 and
14:492017.
14:50Now, we can see with clarity just how bizarre this Saturnian structure really is… but
14:55is there any explanation for it?
14:57Well, there have been various studies held… but really, this particular storm remains
15:01something of a mystery.
15:03Many hypotheses centre on how the swirling vortex clearly seen at the hexagon's centre
15:08could be interacting with the surrounding atmosphere of Saturn as a whole, with various
15:13models tested over the years to show that, weird as it may seem, a hexagonal shape is
15:18possible.
15:19Meanwhile, debate is also ongoing over how deep the storm really is, with some contending
15:24that it's hundreds of miles deep, while others claim it could be many thousands of
15:28miles from the top to bottom.
15:30One thing that is for sure is that this is one storm you do not want to be caught in
15:34the middle of.
15:35But, moving on to our third unexpected discovery, and we of course know that, aside from the
15:39hexagon, Saturn is more classically known for its iconic rings.
15:43We also know that over recent decades we've confirmed ring systems around some of the
15:48other solar system planets, too, including all of the remaining outer planets, Jupiter,
15:53Uranus, and Neptune.
15:54Nevertheless, it came as a surprise when astronomers working at the National Observatory in Brazil
15:59in 2014 found another ring system, but this time around a much smaller object… around
16:05an asteroid named Chiriclo.
16:08Orbiting the sun between Saturn and Uranus, Chiriclo is the first non-planetary object
16:13confirmed to have its own ring system.
16:16It was spotted during a study led by one Felipe Braga Ribas, during which this unusual cosmic
16:22formation was actually only seen for a few seconds.
16:25When it passed in front of a distant star, Chiriclo and its rings caused that star to
16:30briefly dim, and scientists were able to discern from their readings that while the asteroid
16:35itself was about 150 miles wide, it also hosted two distinct rings.
16:41An inner ring that's about four miles wide, and an outer one that's around two miles
16:45wide.
16:46Much like the rings of Saturn, which are thought by many to be the remnants of a one-time moon,
16:51it's been hypothesized that the fragments around Chiriclo may have also once formed
16:56a larger, more complete astronomical body… although we can't yet be certain.
17:01Our fourth unexpected discovery is also wrapped up in one of the most long-awaited discoveries
17:06yet to be made in all of science… alien life.
17:09While we may not have had huge success in our search for aliens to this point, it could
17:13be that one discovery on a Saturnian moon ends up changing everything.
17:18For once, we're not here referring to Titan, the largest and typically most popular of
17:22Saturn's moons.
17:23Rather, we're interested in another of the 80-plus natural satellites that orbit this
17:27furthest gas giant, the sixth-largest of all of Saturn's moons, Enceladus.
17:32Though it was discovered as far back as 1789 by William Herschel, Enceladus remained a
17:37mostly unknown world until, again, the Cassini probe.
17:41Beginning in 2005, it performed multiple flybys of this most enigmatic of moons, revealing
17:46to the world its spectacularly icy surface and securing its reputation as the most reflective
17:52body in the solar system.
17:54Despite the Cassini mission ending in 2017, however, surprising details continue to be
17:58reported from the data it collected.
18:01For example, a 2019 study by a team at the Free University of Berlin, led by Dr. Nozair
18:07Khawaja, confirmed the existence of organic compounds on Enceladus, similar to those on
18:13Earth that are vital for life.
18:15This is a potentially hugely significant discovery, with Dr. Khawaja explaining that,
18:20quote, if the conditions are right, these molecules coming from the deep ocean of Enceladus
18:25could be on the same reaction pathway as we see here on Earth, end quote.
18:30The key thing here is that Enceladus is showing more and more that it hosts the ingredients
18:34for amino acids, which are the building blocks for life as we know it.
18:38In a statement at the time, Khawaja continued that, quote, we don't yet know if amino
18:43acids are needed for life beyond Earth, but finding the molecules that form amino acids
18:48is an important piece of the puzzle, end quote.
18:51Today, thanks to studies like this, Enceladus is now seen by many as top of the list when
18:56it comes to potential homes for extraterrestrial life.
19:00The discovery itself was made possible thanks to state-of-the-art instruments onboard Cassini,
19:05which measured the ice and vapour emitted in cryovolcanic plumes shooting out from Enceladus'
19:10surface.
19:11The findings suggest complex hydrothermal environments on Enceladus, and maybe conditions
19:16similar to what we see in the deep ocean vents here on Earth.
19:20Perhaps, then, this far-off moon, orbiting the ever-mysterious planet of Saturn, could
19:25also be considered the most Earth-like other world discovered in the solar system so far.
19:31Only time will tell, but the realisation that it might be has caused the eyes of the scientific
19:36world to look in an all-new direction.
19:39Clearly, the solar system holds many mysteries… and, of course, there are many, many more
19:44to consider, as well.
19:45For the final part of this video, we're casting our net even wider to look at four
19:49more unexplained things that scientists have seen in space.
19:57In space, there are things that we've never actually seen, but that we know should be
20:01there.
20:02Dark matter, for example, which we know must exist, but only due to the effects it has
20:07on the universe around it… not because we look into the sky and instantly see it.
20:12On the other hand, however, there are phenomena that have been seen or heard, even though
20:16science says they shouldn't really be there.
20:19So, what gives?
20:29In the twenty-first century, we're spoiled for choice when it comes to state-of-the-art
20:33space and science initiatives.
20:35Whether it's the Hubble Telescope, which takes high-definition pictures of the universe…
20:39the Spitzer Space Telescope, which captures infrared radiation from obscure space structures…
20:44or the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which provides X-ray images of space in all its glory…
20:50it all helps to improve our knowledge.
20:52And those are just the predominantly NASA ventures.
20:55Nowadays, while NASA is still the biggest and best-funded space agency out there, there
21:00are various others that are hot on their heels, including China's CNSA, India's ISRO,
21:05and Europe's ESA.
21:07Regardless of who's running the experiments, though, they've helped scientists to find
21:11better-than-ever answers to some of our oldest questions… including how old the universe
21:15is, and how it formed in the first place.
21:17However, sometimes the cutting-edge equipment sees things that can't quite be explained.
21:23Things that don't quite fit with conventional theories.
21:26In 1912, Victor Hess made the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of cosmic rays when he observed
21:32radiation entering Earth from outside the atmosphere.
21:36Cosmic rays are charged particles that can form in the sun, but also out of other especially
21:41energetic events in space.
21:43For the most part, researchers have a good understanding of them… but ultra-high-energy
21:47cosmic rays, or UHECRs, are a different ballgame, and remain a mystery.
21:53And, in 1991, astronomers at the University of Utah recorded a cosmic ray so powerful
21:59that it equalled the kinetic energy of a baseball travelling at 60 miles an hour, an incomprehensible
22:05measure for a single atomic nucleus.
22:08This was so shocking and unexpected, in fact, that the UHECR in question was nicknamed the
22:14Oh My God Particle.
22:16Researchers have no idea where this particle and particles like it could be coming from,
22:20so it could be that the OMG came from outside or inside the Milky Way.
22:25But, regardless, we also don't know what caused it… really, though, it's more than
22:29just not knowing what event could have caused these particles, because by some measurements,
22:34they shouldn't even be possible.
22:36Chiefly, we don't know how the protons can even reach the speeds of the Oh My God Particle.
22:42Protons travelling above what's known as the Greeson-Zatsepin-Kuzmin limit, which the
22:47OMG was, should naturally lose speed by interacting with the cosmic microwave background… but
22:53the OMG wasn't doing that.
22:55It's been said, then, that the Oh My God Particle seems to break the laws of special
23:00relativity, and scientists simply can't explain it.
23:04While particle science is a relatively new field, however, we've been studying the
23:07stars since ancient times.
23:09And yet, star KIC 8462852, also known as Boyajian Star after the astronomer Tabitha S. Boyajian,
23:18has been widely called the most mysterious star in the universe.
23:22Even the world's leading experts have been stumped by it.
23:25The star itself has been known about for centuries, but in 2015 it was Boyajian who first noted
23:31how strange the light coming off of it was.
23:34For one, the star experiences regular dimming of up to 22%… a massive change.
23:40And one that can't possibly be caused by a nearby planet, as it's said that even
23:44a planet the size of Jupiter would barely cover one percent of the light.
23:48Additionally, the periods of dimming have no discernible pattern, and they come from
23:53different parts of the star… so it can't possibly be a single, large blockade that's
23:58causing it.
23:59Stranger still, is that by using archived data, astronomers have noticed that Boyajian
24:04Star has been growing dimmer overall, too… with the changes taking place over just decades,
24:11rather than the millions of years we might expect.
24:14Many theories have been put forward, but none can truly explain every abnormality seen here…
24:19which has led some to seriously consider whether alien megastructures could be at play, affecting
24:25the light as they pass.
24:26The most prominent theory is that it's dust clouds that are causing the dimming… although
24:31the prospect of cosmic dust brings about other questions, too.
24:35Stars with dust around them are usually younger stars… but Boyajian Star is quite old…
24:40so why is it bucking the trend?
24:42Plus, the dust should have been blown away by now… but it remains… so it must be
24:47replenishing… but how?
24:49And still, it's been said that the amount of dust needed for this explanation to work
24:53is a cloud about the size of the moon.
24:56Not impossible, but again, unusual… so it's little wonder that astronomers continue to
25:01monitor Boyajian Star so closely.
25:04One thing that astronomers have on their side with stars, however, is that they at least
25:07are relatively simple to track… while some other objects pass by so fast that we can
25:12barely see them.
25:13That's what happened with Oumuamua, the first observed object that came from outside
25:18our solar system.
25:20Unfortunately, when it was spotted in 2017, astronomers had only a small timeframe to
25:25view the infamous object, before it flew past Earth and back out toward the outer planet's
25:30orbits and beyond.
25:32As such, Oumuamua was notoriously tricky to classify, and remains mostly unexplained.
25:38It may have been a comet, but no cometary tale was recorded.
25:41It could have been an asteroid… except it gave off ten times more light than asteroids
25:46usually do.
25:47According to the Harvard astronomer, Abby Loeb, it could have been a passing alien spacecraft.
25:53While there's yet another theory that Oumuamua comes from another world in another star system,
25:57but a world that's not unlike Pluto… and that it's made of nitrogen ice.
26:02The Yale astronomer Gregory Laughlin, however, has noted that, quote, none of the theories
26:07are a slam dunk.
26:08The apparent uniqueness of Oumuamua is what's caused most of the confusion and debate.
26:13All theories, except Loeb's, quickly suggest that we should be seeing many more objects
26:18just like this in space.
26:20But we aren't.
26:21And now that it's no longer close enough to us, we may never know for sure exactly
26:25what the cigar-shaped something was.
26:28Finally, though, we know that not all strangeness in space is seen with our eyes.
26:33Some of it is heard, in a matter of speaking.
26:36We of course also know that space is a vacuum that sound itself can't travel through…
26:40but radio waves can.
26:42And a strange case of that is what NASA heard in 2006.
26:46A team had sent up its ARCADE machine, with the acronym ARCADE standing for Absolute Radiometer
26:52for Cosmology, Astrophysics and Diffuse Emission, to measure radio signals coming from the cosmos.
26:58They had expected that detecting the signals might have been difficult… but actually,
27:02it was easy, as one came through loud and clear, and six times louder than it should
27:07have been.
27:08The signal was swiftly dubbed the Space Roar.
27:11To date, no one knows where it comes from… and, indeed, it appears to be coming from
27:16all angles.
27:17But, again, there are theories, largely split into two camps.
27:20The generally deemed less likely idea is that it's from within the Milky Way.
27:24And the generally believed, more likely theory is that it's from outside our galaxy.
27:29Slightly more specifically, researchers believe it could be a by-product of the earliest stars
27:34in the universe, or that it may have originated from a large cluster of different galaxies.
27:39The data is by no means clear.
27:42More than fifteen years later, then, and this one strange measurement remains a mystery.
27:47Another unsolved problem in astrophysics.
27:50Despite the mysterious nature of all of these cases, however, they're still extremely
27:55important.
27:56They force us to fix existing theories, and to rethink what we thought we knew.
28:01And that's all part of improving our knowledge on how the universe works.
28:05No scientist or astronomer would ever claim that we know it all, already.
28:09And as our technology improves, you can bet that there will be more such anomalies uncovered
28:14in the coming years and decades.
28:17So what's your verdict?
28:18Which of these inexplicable scientific oddities is your brain most bamboozled by?
28:23Which will you probably be thinking about for the rest of the day?
28:26And which would you rather not think about again?
28:35For now, while it's true that science is stacked with mysterious phenomena and unknown
28:56events, perhaps we're best thinking of these seeming hurdles as opportunities.
29:01What do you think?
29:12Is there anything we missed?
29:14Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you
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