The Solar System is More Terrifying Than You Think

 

169,192 views  May 26, 2026  #Megalophobia #SpaceDocumentary #Astronomy

We tell ourselves a comforting lie that the night sky is peaceful. But beyond the thin layer of air wrapped around Earth, space is not a sanctuary. It is a graveyard of worlds.

Welcome back to Cosmic Lens. In this 13-minute cinematic documentary, we are leaving the safety of our home to explore the true, terrifying nature of our Solar System. From the scorching, irradiated surface of Mercury and the runaway greenhouse hell of Venus, to the crushing gravity of Jupiter and the supersonic ice storms of Neptune.

The universe is an arena of brutal, colossal forces. Earth is our only sanctuary. There is no second home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq1f8LNVvEQ

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The Facts Nearly Everyone Gets Wrong About Pluto

 

Universe Size Comparison - From Neutron Stars to Black Holes EDITION

This video will make you question everything. Here we will take you on a mesmerizing journey through the cosmic expanse, unveiling the remarkable diversity in sizes among celestial objects, culminating in a fascinating exploration of the smallest celestial bodies to the largest black holes. 

Our pale blue dot, suspended in the cosmic void, is a mere grain of sand on the shores of an infinite cosmic ocean. In the face of galaxies that stretch beyond the limits of our comprehension and cosmic phenomena that defy our understanding, our significance appears minuscule. Yet, in this cosmic humility lies the profound beauty of our existence – a fleeting moment of consciousness and self-awareness in a universe that unfolds with relentless indifference. It beckons us to ponder the enigma of our own existence, prompting a question that resonates through the corridors of human thought: What is our place in this vast cosmos, and what meaning can we derive from our transient journey through the cosmic expanse? 

Different from the first version, in this video, we have added 4 other planets, a Neutron Star, 6 other stars, and 4 black holes. In total, we have 48 celestial bodies. Our favorite so far is the dwarf planet Hamuea. It is just so different from the other planets. In the future, we will add other planets, stars, and black holes but more importantly, we will continue the video to more massive celestial structures like Nebulas and Galaxies. We have regulated the axis of the 8 planets in our solar system. We have invested considerable time on creating the Uranus rings based on the latest pictures sent by the James Web Telescope. For the surface of the celestial bodies, we used actual maps of the planets from reliable sources NASA, ESA, etc. You can see that some planets are brighter than others. We know that planets do not emit light, but they reflect light based on their material, atmosphere, and position in space. 

 The reflectivity of an object is called albedo, and we were based on this parameter to adjust the brightness of an object. For example, you can see that Eris is the brightest celestial body with an albedo of 0.96 with 1 being the maximum. It means that this moon reflects almost entirely the light from the sun, and that's why is one of the brightest celestial bodies in our solar system. If you enjoyed this video please hit the like button, share it with your friends, and leave a comment. If you want to help us more, consider to subscribe us here so we can continue to produce similar content in the future. 

If you want any partnership or marketing in the next Universe Size Comparison video, please write us here on this page. As always, this is The Brain Maze, signing off! 

Source: The Brain Maze, YouTube, January 18, 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rO3nMZMYgw

Gerhana Matahari Sebagian 2016

Rangkaian Gerhana Matahari Sebagian diabadikan di Jakarta

Akhirnya terlaksana juga menyaksikan gerhana matahari pada tahun 2016 di Jakarta, meskipun hanya gerhana sebagian. Ini terjadi 33 tahun setelah menyaksikan gerhana matahari total di Makassar pada tahun 1983. 

Berbeda dengan sewaktu mengabadikan GMT 1983, kali ini GMS (gerhana matahari sebagian) bisa saya abadikan dengan kamera DSLR yang lebih canggih (Nikon D7000), lensa lebih besar (500 mm) dan filter khusus untuk gerhana (Mylar). Hasilnya lumayan lebih bagus dari foto-foto tahun 1983. Sebenarnya saya sudah memiliki Teleskop Celestron CNGT 6 inci tapi ada di Purwakarta.

Meskipun cuma gerhana matahari sebagian, saya bersyukur masih sempat menikmati keindahan alam ciptaan Tuhan. Maha Besar Allah dengan segala ciptaan-Nya.  

Menyambut GMT 2016

GMT 2016 mengingatkan saya menyaksikan dan memotret GMT tahun 1983 di Ujung Pandang (sekarang Makassar) dengan peralatan seadanya, yaitu kamera SLR Olympus OM 10 dan lensa cermin (catadioptric) Elicar 300 mm serta menggunakan filter yang terbuat dari film kamera yang dibakar.

GMT atau gerhana matahari total adalah peristiwa alam yang langka karena peristiwa yang sama baru akan kita saksikan lagi di tempat yang sama lebih dari 350 tahun kemudian. Catatan tentang GMT 1983 saya muat di blog ini tahun 2013, dalam bahasa Inggeris, klik disini.

Berikut foto-foto yang sempat saya ambil sewaktu GMT 1983, kualitas gambarnya sudah kurang bagus dan waktu itu saya menggunakan film slide.

Pada saat matahari hampir tertutup bulan, tepat jam 12 lebih 56 menit 47 detik

Merjan Bailey (bailey bead) berkilau sesaat setelah gerhana total berlalu

Beruntung saya bisa menyaksikan gerhana matahari total waktu itu, karena sekarang saya tinggal di Jakarta dan tidak sempat mengunjungi lokasi lintasan gerhana sehingga cuma bisa mengamati gerhana matahari sebagian.

Untuk mengabadikan peristiwa langka tersebut, meskipun cuma sebagian, saya sudah menyiapkan kamera Nikon D7000, lensa Bower 500 mm buatan Korea, dan filter Mylar yang saya pesan khusus melalui eBay. Ini adalah foto matahari yang saya ambil pada jam 7 pagi hari ini, masih terlihat sedikit awan, mudah-mudahan hari Rabu lusa, 9 Maret 2016, cuaca secerah pagi ini sehingga kita semua bisa menyaksikan peristiwa langka ini. Maha Besar Allah dengan segala ciptaan-Nya.

Jakarta, 7 Maret 2016, dua hari menjelang GMT.

Moon Eclipse and Uranus

Observing the sky object could be anywhere and you will find surprising discovery.

This is what I experienced when I was in Soe, a small town, capital of TTS district in Timor island, October 2014 for a duty. I already knew that in the night of 8 October 2014, after sunset, there will be a total moon eclipse, and I have purposely brought a handy, collapsible tripod for my Nikon D7000 to take the picture of the eclipse.

Since 5:15pm (already almost dark there) I have already set my equipment and, surrounded by local people, I took the moon eclipse in a few minutes interval. I also used movie mode of the camera. My first attempts were not very successful. With almost dark surrounding, and the small tripod, I could hardly make focus adjustment. Finally I got a good photo of the moon eclipse and I am  satisfied with the results.

When I was back in hotel room and checked the Stellarium, I found a small dot at the upper side of the moon which, to my surprise is Uranus! I hurriedly checked my photo again and enlarged it. And yes! A small dot emerged, which I highly confident that it was Uranus.

Here are the photo series I took on the eclipse, and below are the enlarged photos of Uranus, with relative distance to the moon and a close-up photo. Not very clear, but as amateur astronomer I am glad that I could take one of the sun's planet, the sister planet of the Earth.

This is for the second time I accidentally identified a planet. Previously I was able to capture Neptune. Read my article about this in the following link: The first observation of moon and planet

First attempt, at 5:31pm local time (WITA), blurred

Second attempt, at 5:38pm, getting better

This is the 19th attempt at 6:24pm, the earth's shadow already receded

This is with the movie-mode of my Nikon D7000:

And these are the photos of Uranus (i) relative to the moon (on the upper right), and (ii) close-up photo:

(i) Uranus, seen as blue dot on the upper right side

(ii) Planet Uranus in close-up, the blurred tail is because the camera is set on a fixed tripod with longer exposure

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-large planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System.  Uranus is similar in composition to Nepture, and both are of different chemical composition to the larger gas giant Jupiter and Saturn (Wikipedia).  

Uranus as taken by Voyager 2 in 1986 (Wikipedia)