DISCOVERIES THAT ARE UNUSUAL

ROANOKE COLONY

Also known as the Lost Colony, Roanoke was a colony established

on Roanoke Island in the late 16th century. Similar to the Mary Celeste,

the inhabitants eventually ended up abandoning their posts and

leaving no indication as to why.

PLACEBO EFFECT

It has long been a mystery to scientists as to how simply believing

that something can potentially make you feel better actually

does make you feel better. The results are compelling but the

mechanism remains unexplained.

KUIPER CLIFF

The Kuiper Belt is an asteroid belt that is found just beyond Neptune

(of which Pluto is a part). The strange thing about it is that it may

contain a vast empty region. Astronomers are still not sure why but

some have theorized the existence of a large, unseen

Earth sized object.

COLD FUSION

Cold fusion is a hypothetical type of nuclear reaction that would

occur at room temperature. Since its proposal there have been

several “discoveries” of cold fusion but they have remained

controversial and unreproducible. It’s possibility and a

legitimate explanation is still being disputed.

BLACK HOLES

Ever since their discovery there have been numerous theories

(including the theory of relativity) that attempt to explain their

function and existence. As of yet there has not been anything

completely conclusive if only because they make for tough

science experiments and led into complex regions of

theoretical physics.

1991 VG

1991 VG was a near Earth object discovered on November 6, 1991

by astronomer James Scotti. Due to its strange orbit and variable

brightness there was strong speculation considering a possible

artificial origin. As of today there have been several theories but

once again the original sighting remains unexplained.

CMB COLD SPOT (SUPER VOID)

The cold spot is a large region of space that is significantly colder

than any other region in the night sky. One possible explanation

is a super void, or large area of empty space.

GREAT RED SPOT

Continuing with unexplained celestial spots, we will end a bit

closer to home, at the Great Red Spot. This is a storm on Jupiter

that has been raging for several hundred years and is roughly

3 times the size of Earth. The exact reason and composition of

the Spot remains an unexplained mystery (why it is red for example).