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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01:54
See Boeing's Starliner get stacked atop Atlas V in time-lapse
Added 118 Views / 0 LikesBoeing's Starliner capsule has been stacked atop an United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket ahead of its May 2022 launch attempt. Credit: Boeing
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01:46
See Boeing's Starliner on-orbit in stunning animation
Added 203 Views / 0 LikesWatch Boeing Starliner orbit Earth and dock to the International Space Station in this animation. [Boeing pushes second Starliner test flight to late summer](https://www.space.com/boeing-starliner-oft-2-test-launch-delayed-summer-2021)Credit: Boeing | mas
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01:16
See China's 't-shaped' space station in cargo ship undocking views
Added 79 Views / 0 LikesThe Tianzhou-4 cargo ship undocked from the Tiangong space station on Nov. 9, 2022. It was launched to China's orbital outpost in May 2022. footage courtesy: China Central Television (CCTV)
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02:21
See China's 'Zhurong' rover land on Mars in animation
Added 228 Views / 0 LikesChina's Tianwen-1 lander and 'Zhurong' rover landed on the Red Planet on May 14, 2021. Watch the landing in this animation. Full Story: https://www.space.com/china-mars-rover-landing-success-tianwen-1-zhurongCredit: China Central Television (CCTV)
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07:20
See China's Mars rover, SpaceX's Florida landing, Super Heavy booster & more in VFS Weekly
Added 191 Views / 0 LikesFootage of China's Mars rover on the move was released, ISS transited the sun during a spacewalk, and black hole-neutron star mergers was detected for first time. Also, watch an extended cut of Ingenuity's 8th flight on Mars, SpaceX land a booster in Flor
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01:10
See China's rover and lander on Mars in amazing selfie and view from space
Added 198 Views / 0 LikesChina's Zhurong rover deployed a remote camera to the Martian surface to capture a selfie with the Tianwen-1 lander. China's space agency also released a pair of other photos from Mars. Meanwhile, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spied on the rover and
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02:01
See China's Shenzhou 14 crew land back on Earth in these highlights
Added 85 Views / 0 LikesChina's Shenzhou 14 spacecraft carrying astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe landed at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia on Dec. 3, 2022. Credit: China Central Television (CCTV)
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01:29
See China's Shenzhou 17 crew eat, work and look at Earth from the Tiangong space station
Added 52 Views / 0 LikesThe Shenzhou 17 crew, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, have been keeping busy with experiments, Earth photography and more. Catch a glimpse of their activities aboard the Tiangong space station. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: China Cent
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02:03
See China's Shenzhou-14 crew enter Tiagong space station after dock
Added 136 Views / 0 LikesChinese astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe entered the Tiangong space station on June 5, 2022 shortly after docking. Watch the launch: https://www.space.com/china-shenzhou-14-mission-launch-successCredit: Space.com | footage courtesy: China Cent
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02:43
See China's Shenzou-13 crew conduct 'routine heatlh checks' on one another in space
Added 84 Views / 0 LikesChinese astronauts Wang Yaping, Ye Guangfu, and Zhai Zhigang, currently serving aboard the Tiangong space station, use a " multipurpose otoscope to examine each others eyes, ears, and skin," according to China Central Television.Credit: China Central Tele
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01:09
See China's Zhurong rover drive onto surface of Mars in latest pics
Added 180 Views / 0 LikesChina's Zhurong rover drove down a lander ramp to the surface of Mars on May 22, 2021. This sequence of photos shows multiple camera views of the deployment. See Zhurong's first pics from Mars: https://www.space.com/china-mars-rover-zhurong-first-photosCr
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01:12
See China’s charred new crew capsule up close post-flight
Added 275 Views / 0 LikesA 'trial version' of China's new crew capsule recently returned to Earth after a test flight. See the charred capsule in these up-close views. Credti; China Central Television (CCTV)
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00:35
See China’s Tiangong-2 Space Station Re-Enters Earth’s Atmosphere
Added 321 Views / 0 LikesChina’s Tiangong-2 Space Station re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up over the Pacific Ocean on July 19, 2019. A camera aboard Tiangong-2 captured imagery. -- Full Story: https://www.space.com/china-tiangong-2-space-lab-falls-to-earth.htmlCredit: C
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01:21
See Chinese astronauts clean the Tiangong Space Station
Added 69 Views / 0 LikesThe Shenzhou-16 crew, Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao, recently took some time to give the Tiangong space station a deep clean. Credit: China Central Television (CCTV)
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00:47
See Chinese astronauts workout on Tiangong space station
Added 102 Views / 0 LikesThe Shenzhou-15 crew keeps fit with a "space bike," a "resistance device" and a "space treadmill" aboard the Tiangong space station, according to China Central Television. See astronauts Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu get a workout in. Credit: China Central T
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01:35
See Chinese spacewalkers work outside Tiangong space station in these highlights
Added 152 Views / 0 LikesChinese astronauts Chen Dong and Cai Xuzhe installed a "connection "bridge" between the three modules" of the Tiangong space station during a spacewalk on Nov. 17, 2022. It was the the third spacewalk for the Shenzhou-14 crew.Credit: Space.com | footage c
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01:04
See Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks and Jupiter in amazing Sun observatory time-lapse
Added 28 Views / 0 LikesComet 12P/Pons-Brooks and Jupiter were seen by NASA's Solar TErrestrial Relations Observatory-A (STEREO-A) from April 11-19, 2024.Credit: Space.com | NASA STEREO | edited by Steve Spaleta (https://twitter.com/stevespaleta)
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01:02
See Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in amazing Virtual Telescope Project time-lapse
Added 33 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
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01:02
See Comet 21p/Giacobini-Zinner Zip By Earth in Orbit Animation
Added 377 Views / 0 LikesComet 21p/Giacobini-Zinner is a highlight of September 2018 skywatching. See its orbit in this animation. -- Learn more about the comet: https://www.space.com/41701-labor-day-comet-21p-slooh-webcast.htmlCredit: Space.com / animation courtesy: NASA/JPL-Cal
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See Comet 96P/Macholz's stunning sun flyby in multiple spacecraft views
Added 81 Views / 0 LikesWatch Comet 96P/Macholz brighten as it flies by the sun in these time-lapses captured by the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO). Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO/STEREO | edited by Space.com's