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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04:08
‘Spectacular’ Lagoon Nebula Featured for Hubble’s 28th Anniversary
Added 422 Views / 0 LikesTake a deep dive into the Lagoon Nebula in honor the Hubble Space Telescopes 28th anniversary of service. -- See more photos and videos of the Lagoon Nebula: https://www.space.com/40356-hubble-space-telescope-anniversary-lagoon-nebula-photos.htmlCredit: E
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The centre of the Lagoon Nebula over time
Added 402 Views / 0 LikesThis is not the first time Hubble observed the Lagoon Nebula. It has done so twice in the past. While the two older observations were both made with the decommissioned Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, the new image was made using the Wide Field Camera 3, wh
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Lagoon Nebula in visible and infrared light
Added 437 Views / 0 LikesThis short videoclip shows the Lagoon Nebula, which was observed to celebrate Hubble's 28th anniversary in space, first in the visible light and later on in the infrared. Both observations were made by Hubble.While the observations in visible light allow
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00:21
Fulldome view of the Lagoon Nebula
Added 473 Views / 0 LikesThis fulldome clip shows the anniversary image released for Hubble’s 28th year in space: the Lagoon Nebula.The observations made with Hubble reveal a fantastic landscape of ridges, cavities, and mountains of gas and dust. This dust-and-gas landscape is be
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00:51
Swimming across the Lagoon Nebula
Added 394 Views / 0 LikesThe new image of the Lagoon Nebula, captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to celebrate its 28th year in space, shows colourful clouds of gas and dust of this star-formation region in incredible detail.The image reveals a fantastic landscape of r
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04:08
Hubblecast 109: Diving into the Lagoon Nebula
Added 452 Views / 0 LikesOn 24 April 1990, Hubble was launched into space. To celebrate its 28th year in orbit, some of Hubble’s precious observation time was used to observe the colourful Lagoon Nebula. One of only two star-forming nebulae visible to the unaided eye, this specta
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Diving into the Lagoon Nebula
Added 399 Views / 0 LikesThis video begins with a ground-based view of the night sky, before zooming in on the Lagoon Nebula as it can be seen with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula is immense — 55 light-years wide and 20 light-years tall — and so Hubble can only im
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00:54
NASA’s First Deep Space CubeSats
Added 420 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Mars Cube One, or MarCO, is heading to deep space to test a first-of-its-kind technology demonstration: near-real-time communication between Earth and Mars using CubeSats. Learn more about the MarCO mission at: https://go.nasa.gov/marco_launch
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OTD in Space – April 19: World's 1st Space Station Launches into Orbit
Added 474 Views / 0 LikesOn April 19, 1971, the Soviet Union launched the world's first space station, Salyut 1. This space station was a modified version of the Soviet Union's Almaz space station, which was part of a highly classified military program and was still under develop
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02:37
Crab Nebula Powered by a Pulsar - Quick Facts
Added 430 Views / 0 LikesThe Crab Nebula is frequent target of the Chandra X-ray Telescope and we've learned a lot since it's first observations. -- Learn More about the Crab Nebula: https://www.space.com/40347-chandra-crab-nebula-video-tour.html Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart
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04:16
Liftoff! SpaceX Launches NASA TESS Planet Finder Mission
Added 428 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 18, 2018. -- NASA's TESS Satellite Will Supercharge Search for Nearby, Earth-Like Worlds: https://www.
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02:21
Touchdown! SpaceX Lands Rocket's First Stage After Launching TESS
Added 431 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission on April 18, 2018. A few minutes after separation, the rockets first stage landed the "Of Course I Still Love You" drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: Spac
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03:35
Dream Chaser Space Plane at the National Space Symposium - Walk Around
Added 554 Views / 0 LikesSpace.com managing editor Tariq Malik does a walk around and describes Sierra Nevada Corp's Dream Chaser vehicle at the 34th National Space Symposium. In Nov. 2017 the same space plane made its first runway landing in a test flight: https://www.space.com/
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OTD in Space – April 18: LADEE Crashes into the Moon
Added 395 Views / 0 LikesOn April 18, 2014, NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, also known as LADEE, ended its mission by crashing into the moon. LADEE had spent seven months orbiting the moon and studying its exosphere. The exosphere is a thin layer of gas tha
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02:34
Space to Ground: Upgrading the Outpost: 03/30/2018
Added 342 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 #spacetoground to talk to us. ________________________________________ FOLLOW THE SPACE STATION! Twitter: https://twitt
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01:53
Alpha Space: Small Business Makes Big Strides
Added 360 Views / 0 LikesThe path to discovery and exploration is paved with determination, innovation, and most of all, big ideas. The International Space Station is home to many of those ideas and creating new ways for small businesses, entrepreneurs and researchers to test the
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02:36
Space to Ground: Genes in Space: 04/13/2018
Added 352 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 #spacetoground to talk to us. For more information about STEM on Station: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/st
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OTD in Space – April 17: Apollo 13 Returns
Added 437 Views / 0 LikesOn April 17, 1970, Apollo 13 returned to Earth after narrowly avoiding a deadly disaster in space. This was supposed to be the third mission to land on the moon. Astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise launched on April 11 and were two days int
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27" of Rain in 24 Hrs in Hawaii & 20 Tornadoes over the USA w More Storms coming
Added 522 Views / 0 Likeshttps://www.paypal.me/THORnews This situation is crazier than crazier. And. I'm tired from editing for the last 30 hours or so. Stay Cool. God bless everyone, T THORNEWS PO BOX 35946 HOUSTON TEXAS https://www.patreon.com/thornews @newTHOR on twitter https
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00:31
2018 NASA iTech Cycle II Energy
Added 577 Views / 0 Likes-Mark your calendars: 2018 NASA iTech Cycle II Energy -Call for Energy ideas open through: April 29 -Top 25 semifinalists announced: May 10 -Top 10 finalists announced: May 25 -2018 NASA iTech Energy Forum hosted by: Citi. June 11-14 in NYC