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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02:14
Red supergiant star Betelgeuse's boiling surface 'mimics' rotation in animation
Added 17 Views / 0 LikesBetelgeuse's boiling surface may be why the red supergiant star looks like it is rotating in observations. See a Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics animation of the star's convection. Full Story: https://www.space.com/betelgeuse-red-supergiant-star-sur
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01:07
James Webb Space Telescope's view of star-forming region NGC 604 is breathtaking in 4K
Added 18 Views / 0 LikesNASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) captured amazing views of star-forming region NGC 604. It is located about 2.73 million light-years away from Earth in the Triangulum Galaxy (M33).
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09:27
Blastoff! Rocket Lab launches Strix-3 radar-imaging satellite for Synspective
Added 18 Views / 0 LikesA Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched the Synspective Strix-3 radar-imaging satellite from New Zealand at 11:03 a.m. EDT on March 12, 2023 (1503 GMT; 4:03 a.m. local New Zealand time on March 13). Credit: Rocket Lab
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10:49
Splashdown! SpaceX Dragon with Crew-7 returns to Earth after 6 months in space
Added 17 Views / 0 LikesNASA's SpaceX Crew-7's Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov are back on Earth after splashing down off the coast of Florida on March 12, 2024. Full Story: https://www.space.com/nasa-spacex-crew-7-astronauts-return-to
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01:00
Sun blasts powerful M7.4-class flare! See sun observatory views
Added 20 Views / 0 LikesThe erupted with an M7.4-class solar flare on March 10, 2024. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the fireworks in multiple wavelengths. Footage courtesy: NASA / SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams / helioviewer.org
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08:11
NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 undocks from ISS, mission control explains with live views unavailable
Added 16 Views / 0 LikesNASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Konstantin Borisov of Russia's space agency (Roscosmos) are on their way back to Earth after undocking from the Intern
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08:39
SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites from California to complete doubleheader
Added 18 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 23 Starlink satellite lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12:09 a.m. EDT on March 11, 2024 (0409 GMT or 9:09 p.m. PDT March 10 local time). Full Story: https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-group-7-17A f
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09:09
Blastoff! SpaceX launches Starlink batch from Florida, nails landing
Added 27 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 23 Starlink satellites lifted from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT) on March 11, 2024. Full Story: https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-group-6-43According to Space.com, the Falcon 9'
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03:04
NASA's Europa Clipper is carry 'inspirational messages' to the Jovian moon
Added 20 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Europa Clipper will be carrying engraved inspirational messages, a "silicon microchip stenciled with more than 2.6 million names," and more. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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04:02
Proton* Arcs! Storms! Comets! Eclipses! UFOs! Fireballs! Lots of Flying Machine Problems!
Added 17 Views / 0 LikesI hope you have a wonderful weekend.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewison$THORnews on CashApphttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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00:30
Pan of NGC 604 (NIRCam and MIRI images)
Added 17 Views / 0 LikesTwo new images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) showcase the star-forming region NGC 604, located in the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), 2.73 million light-years away from Earth.
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00:30
Webb's new vies of NGC 604 (NIRCam and MIRI transition video)
Added 18 Views / 0 LikesTwo new images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) showcase the star-forming region NGC 604, located in the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), 2.73 million light-years away from Earth.
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03:04
NASA's Europa Clipper is carry 'inspirational messages' to the Jovian moon
Added 18 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Europa Clipper will be carrying engraved inspirational messages, a "silicon microchip stenciled with more than 2.6 million names," and more. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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03:43
Triple X-flare! See amazing views from space of February's solar fireworks in 4K
Added 19 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured stunning view of three x-class solar flares on Feb. 21-22, 2024. Full Story: https://www.space.com/sun-solar-flare-most-powerful-since-2017-february-23-2024Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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02:04
2024 Astronaut Graduating Class, "The Flies," Superlatives
Added 17 Views / 0 LikesThe 2024 astronaut graduating class gives you an insider's look at not only the who's who of their graduating class, but it allows you to get a glimpse of the accomplished astronauts’ personalities. To see them together as a group, connecting through laug
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03:17
Training Montage – Astronaut Group 23
Added 18 Views / 0 LikesFrom spacewalk training in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory to studying space station systems, to flying in a T-38 jet or trekking through the wilderness, NASA’s astronaut training program allows astronaut candidates to work through problems and build r
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01:41
NASA now has a tabletop role-playing game! Check out 'The Lost Univerese'
Added 19 Views / 0 LikesNASA has unveiled "The Lost Universe," the space agency's first table-top role playing game. Learn more about it in this preview. [Learn more](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/multimedia/online-activities/the-lost-universe/)Credit: NASA Goddard Spa
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02:15
Space to Ground: Crew-8, Arriving: March 8, 2024
Added 20 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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01:02
See Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in amazing Virtual Telescope Project time-lapse
Added 24 Views / 0 LikesGianluca Masi from the Virtual Telescope Project captured amazing imagery of Comet 12P/Pons-Brook on March 5, 2024. See a time-lapse of the comet and an image of it with the Andromeda Galaxy here. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: Gianluca Masi (Virtu