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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06:49
Video from Space - Weekly highlights: Week of May 3, 2020
Added 310 Views / 0 LikesVideos featured: asteroid 2020 JA makes a close flyby of Earth, Eta Aquarid meteors light up NASA All-Fireball Network cameras, China launches a new crew capsule on their Long March 5B's maiden flight, a triple system is harboring the closest black hole t
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01:11
China's new crew capsule lands in Inner Mongolia after orbital test flight
Added 315 Views / 0 LikesChina's new crew capsule landed in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on May 8. It was launched on May 5 atop a Long March 5B rocket for a demonstration mission.Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) / mash mix by Space.com's Steve Spaleta (h
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02:02
Space to Ground: SLIME IN SPACE!!!: 05/08/2020
Added 327 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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14:37
East Coast Snow & Record Cold! Record Heat out West! Florida & California Wild Fires! S Florida Rain
Added 354 Views / 0 LikesI love you, Asteroid Fight Club!Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!God bless everyone,T
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17:20
Venus Retrograde. Jupiter Retrograde. Saturn Retrograde. Pluto Retrograde.Markets to Leg down again?
Added 360 Views / 0 LikesWARNING: This video is not cheery. It's going to be a wild, wild May.Stay Cool. if you can.God bless everyone,T
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01:15
'All terminator' view created from waxing moon images
Added 303 Views / 0 LikesPhotographer Andrew McCarthy used 2 weeks of waxing moon images to create an 'all terminator' view. Full Story: https://www.livescience.com/terminator-moon-composite-image.html
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01:19
China's new crew capsule could also do deep space exploration
Added 303 Views / 0 LikesChina's new crew capsule, currently being tested on-orbit, is designed for moon missions, "near-Earth space space station operations" and can do "other missions" according to China Academy of Space Technology. Story: China launches next-generation space c
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01:06
US Space Force to launch X-37B space plane on OTV-6 mission
Added 294 Views / 0 LikesThe X-37B is scheduled to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in May 2020. Full Story: https://www.space.com/x-37b-space-plane-secret-mission-otv-6-launch-date.htmlCredit: Space.com / foota
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01:14
SpaceX Starship SN4's rocket engine test-fired
Added 362 Views / 0 LikesSpaceX Starship SN4 prototype's raptor engine was test fired on May 6, 2020 at the private spaceflight company's Boca Chica, TX facility. Full Story: https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn4-engine-static-fire-test.htmlCredit: SPadre Cam (https://www.you
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01:15
Triple system harbors closest black hole to Earth - Zoom-in video
Added 321 Views / 0 LikesTriple system HR 6819 has 2 stars and an invisible black hole. The black hole is the closest known back hole to Earth. Credit; ESO/L. Calçada, Digitized Sky Survey 2, N. Risinger (skysurvey.org) / mash mix by Space.com's [Steve Spaleta](http://www.twitter
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03:21
Planets, Milky Way, the moon and more in May 2020 skywatching
Added 340 Views / 0 LikesFind out where to see Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, the Milky Way galaxy, and more in May 2020. -- Night sky, May 2020: What you can see this month: https://www.space.com/16149-night-sky.htmlCredit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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01:05
China launches new crew capsule on rocket's maiden flight
Added 298 Views / 0 LikesChina launched their new heavy lift Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on May 5, 2020. It was carrying a new crew capsule on a demonstration mission, with no crew aboard. Learn more about the crew capsule: https://www.space.com/chi
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01:19
Fireballs! Eta Aquarid meteors captured by NASA all-sky cameras
Added 343 Views / 0 LikesSeveral cameras from NASA's All-Sky Fireball Network captured imagery of the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower fireballs as they burned up in the atmosphere in the early morning skies above the United States on May 2-4, 2020. -- The 2020 Eta Aquarid meteor shower
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01:05
SpaceX Starship SN4 gets Raptor engine, prepped for static fire test
Added 367 Views / 0 LikesSpaceX is prepping the Starship SN4 prototype for a static fire test at their facility in Boca Chica, TX. It was loaded with propellant on the evening of May 3-4 and more tests will occur the evening of May 4-5. Credit: Space.com / footage courtesy: SPadr
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01:37
'Asteroid-sized bodies' collided 25 light-years away - Hubble sees aftermath
Added 298 Views / 0 LikesWhat was once a planet, no longer exists. Learn about Fomalhaut b and the aftermath observed using the Hubble Space Telescope causing it to lose its "planethood." Full Story: https://www.space.com/disappearing-exoplanet-fomalhaut-b.htmlCredit: ESA/NASADir