Outer Space & Universe
Outer Space & Universe
Space, also known as outer space, is the near-vacuum between celestial bodies. It is where everything (all of the planets, stars, galaxies and other objects) is found.
On Earth, space begins at the Kármán line (100 km above sea level). This is where Earth's atmosphere is said to stop and outer space begins. This is not a firm boundary but is a convention used by scientists and diplomats.
Items in space are free to move back and forth; up and down; and left and right. These three dimensions are what make 3D space. Items also move forward through time, which is sometimes called the fourth dimension.
The majority of space contains very little matter and so most of it is a vacuum. Scientists do not know how big space is but we do know that space is extremely big, and is always expanding.
According to the big bang theory, all matter and energy in the Universe was compressed into a very small space. Then it exploded and started expanding. Space is still growing in size today; this means the distance from one galaxy to distant galaxies is getting longer.
Gravity is the force that keeps the Moon in orbit around the Earth and the planets in orbit around the Sun. Gravity can stretch and bend space similar to how a heavy ball placed on a stretched sheet of rubber will cause the rubber to stretch. The scientist who discovered that space can bend is named Albert Einstein. How gravity bends space is part of his theory of general relativity.
Astronauts, Cosmonauts, Taikonauts and Spationauts
An astronaut is any person who is trained by NASA to travel and perform tasks in space. Although the space traveler may not necessarily be a United States citizen, each astronaut does go through a rigorous training regiment by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Other space travelers go by other names then astronaut depending on their country of origin.
In the United States, astronaut is derived from the Greek words ástron (star) and nautis (sailor). While, in Russia, a space traveler goes by the name космонавт (English: cosmonaut), which is derived from the Greek words kosmos (universe) and nautis (sailor). Westerners call a space traveler from China a taikonaut, based on the 1998 writings of Chiew Lee Yik and Chen Lan where the term tàikōng (great emptiness), Chinese for “space”. In China, the term yuháng yuán (universe navigator) is used for space traveler.
Only the United States of America (United States), Russia (earlier, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), and the People’s Republic of China (China) have sent manned spacecraft into space. Other countries have assisted these countries by sending their own space travelers on space missions. For instance, a French space traveler is called a spationaut (from the French word spationaute), which is derived from the Latin spatium (space) and Greek nautis (sailor). (plural in Greek nautes = sailors)
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01:14 New
Chinese Shenzhou 18 crew's Long March 2F rocket rolled out the pad
Added 14 Views / 0 LikesChina's Long March-2F Y18 rocket that will launch the Shenzhou-18 crew to the Tiangong space station was rolled out to the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on April 17, 2024. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: China Central Television
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01:14 New
Boeing Starliner on the move at NASA ahead of 1st astronaut mission!
Added 14 Views / 0 LikesBoeing's Starliner rolled towards its Atlas V rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on April 16, 2024. The spacecraft was integrated to the rocket later that day for its first launch with astronauts no earlier than May 4, 2024. Full Story: https://www.spa
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01:14 New
Boeing Starliner on the move at NASA ahead of 1st astronaut mission!
Added 12 Views / 0 LikesBoeing's Starliner rolled towards its Atlas V rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on April 16, 2024. The spacecraft was integrated to the rocket later that day for its first launch with astronauts no earlier than May 4, 2024. Credit: BoeingMusic:Impact
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01:19 New
Milky Way's most massive stellar black hole discovered!
Added 16 Views / 0 LikesESA's Gaia mission, the Very Large Telescope and other ground-based telescopes have discovered stellar black hole Gaia BH3. It's mass is "33 times that of our Sun," according to the European Southern Observatory. Full Story: https://www.space.com/milky-wa
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13:30 New
O WTF? World War III Avoided. again. Dubai Floods. Major Anomaly in Ocean*? Eris. Elon. etc.
Added 16 Views / 0 LikesThank you for being so cool.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewison$THORnews on CashApphttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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02:53
Max Space expandable habitats - 'maximizing space in space'
Added 13 Views / 0 LikesMax Space expandable habitat technology could reduce costs and maximize space...in space. Credit: Max Space
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00:30
Pan: The eponymous NGC 3783
Added 17 Views / 0 LikesMore information and download options: http://esahubble.org/videos/potw2416a/Credit:ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. C. Bentz, D. J. V. Rosario, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)Music: Stellardrone - Billions and Billions
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01:20
Near-Earth Asteroids Discovered To Date | Planetary Defense: By the Numbers April 2024
Added 24 Views / 0 LikesWhat do we know about the asteroids and comets in Earth's neighborhood? Planetary defense — which includes finding, tracking, and characterizing these near-Earth objects — is part of our mission. Here's what we've found so far.Learn more about Planetary D
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01:33
NASA's building a solar sail to propel space exploration
Added 33 Views / 0 LikesNASA's futuristic solar sail technology prototype is getting ready to launch to space this year. Like a sail on the ocean propels a boat with the wind, this space sail is meant to propel payloads by harnessing the pressure of sunlight.Credit: NASA Ames Re
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05:24
Sierra Space 'Ghost' to 'return objects' to Earth
Added 28 Views / 0 LikesSierra Space is developing a "low beta reentry vehicle" to "safely return objects from space – and through space – directly to precise locations on Earth." Credit: Sierra Space
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08:51
SpaceX launches Starlink batch on booster's record-breaking 20th flight, nails landing
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 23 Starlink satellites from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on April 12, 2024. It was the 20th liftoff for this particular Falcon 9 first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description, setting a new reusab
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04:42
In the shadow of the 2024 solar eclipse
Added 33 Views / 0 LikesWatch as Space.com Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik and his daughter Zadie and friends fall under the shadow of the moon during the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 while observing in a park at the State University of New York Potsdam in Potsdam, New York.
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01:06
Stunning nebula has 'violent history' - Very Large Telescope studies
Added 22 Views / 0 Likes"Nine years’ worth of data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) and other telescopes has revealed the mysterious past of an unusual pair of stars," according the European Southern Observatory. Find out more about the HD 148937 system here
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04:06
Space to Ground: Above the Umbra: April 12, 2024
Added 18 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Got a question or comment? Use #AskNASA to talk to us.Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:https://www.nasa.gov/iss-scien
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03:13
RED ALERT! Asteroid 2024 GJ2 might hit Earth today! MAJOR STORM next week! Volcano Smoke Rings!
Added 14 Views / 0 LikesHow are you?Stay cool.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewison$THORnews on CashApphttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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08:56
SpaceX launches advanced US Space Force weather satellite, nails landing in California
Added 21 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is lifted launched the U.S. Space Force called USSF-62 mission from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on April 11, 2024 at 10:25 a.m. EDT (7:25 a.m. local California time; 1425 GMT). According to Space.com, the USSF-62 will
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08:56
Blastoff! SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites from Florida, nails landing
Added 20 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink satellites launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on April 10, 2024 at 1:40 a.m. EDT (0540 GMT). Full Story: https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-group-6-48About 8.5 minutes later,
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00:53
Mars Perseverance rover's new 'Comet Geyser' sample 'great for biosignature studies'
Added 19 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Perseverance rover on Mars has collected its 24th sample of Jezero Crater. The new 'Comet Geyser' sample is "great for biosignature studies," according to the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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01:13
2024 solar eclipse shadow seen from space by satellites and space station
Added 22 Views / 0 LikesThe shadow cast on Earth from the 2024 total solar eclipse on April 8 was seen by NOAA's GOES-16 satellite, a SpaceX Starlink satellite, and the International Space Station. Total solar eclipse 2024 thrills millions across North America: https://www.space
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00:30
Pan: Hidden in a dark cloud
Added 21 Views / 0 LikesThe subject of this week’s Picture of the Week from Hubble is the spiral galaxy IC 4633, located 100 million light-years away from us in the constellation Apus. IC 4633 is a galaxy rich in star-forming activity, as well as hosting an active galactic nucle