I sometimes think about strange things that need answers. Sometimes it’s a silly question that leads to interesting insights. This time, I wondered about the roundest object in the universe. I wanted to know which object is the most spherical, where every point on its surface is equidistant from the center.
Gravity plays a big role in making objects round. As objects grow in size, their mass and gravitational field increase. Eventually, gravity becomes so strong that anything sticking out will collapse, making the object spherical. This happens when an object reaches about 400 kilometers in size. This is why big asteroids, moons, planets, and stars tend to be spherical.
After doing some research, I found that the sun is the roundest object in the universe. Even though stars are generally round, they are not perfect spheres due to rotation creating centrifugal force. The sun’s slow rotation, coupled with its size, makes it incredibly round.
Precisely measuring the sun’s roundness is challenging due to its gaseous nature. However, using NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, astronomers found that the sun’s oblateness ratio is incredibly small, making it 99.9992 percent spherical. This ratio remains consistent even during the sun’s magnetic cycle.
Venus is another nearly round solar system body due to its slow rotation. However, it has surface elevation variations that make it less round than the sun. Neutron stars, on the other hand, are true heavyweight contenders for the most spherical object. They are remnants of massive stars and can be incredibly dense and round.
Studying the shapes of celestial bodies helps astronomers understand their internal structures and behaviors. By measuring their exact shapes, scientists can learn more about what happens beneath the surface. While the question of the roundest object may seem playful, the answers provide valuable insights into the workings of the universe.
