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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05:00
Planet Orbiting Sun's Twin Discovered In Star Cluster | Video
Added 833 Views / 0 LikesExoplanets have been found in star clusters but this is the 1st orbiting a star almost exactly like the Sun. ESO's HARPS planet hunter instrument, mounted on a Chilean telescope, found the hot gas world in long-lived cluster Messier 67. -- Read more here:
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01:30
Black Hole Caught Killing Star (And Eating It For Lunch)
Added 832 Views / 0 LikesA supermassive black hole has been apprehended in the act of devouring a star. In March 2011, NASA's SWIFT satellite saw intense, mysterious gamma ray bursts. Now scientists have figured out what happened a long time ago in that galaxy far, far awa
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01:03
Jupiter Trojan asteroid has unusual comet-like tail - Orbit animation + Image
Added 830 Views / 0 LikesWatch Jupiter Trojan asteroid 2019 LD2;s orbit the sun for 25 years in this orbit animation. New imagery from the University of Hawaiʻi's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) reveals that it has an unusual comet-like tail. Credit: Space.c
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05:17
Top 5 Science & Astronomy Breakthroughs in 2014 according to Accuweather
Added 828 Views / 0 LikesTop 5 Science & Astronomy Breakthroughs in 2014 according to Accuweather
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04:21
DANGER! WTF? Temperatures dropped to ZERO off California coast for NO REASON
Added 828 Views / 0 LikesDANGER! WTF? Temperatures dropped to ZERO off California coast for NO REASON
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07:12
X-Class Flare, Earth directed CME, Solar Tsunamis & Sun strangeness
Added 827 Views / 0 LikesX-Class Flare, Earth directed CME, Solar Tsunamis & Sun strangeness
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02:21
Hands-On: OBERWERK MARINER 8x40 Binoculars for Sky-Watching
Added 826 Views / 0 LikesHands-On: OBERWERK MARINER 8x40 Binoculars for Sky-Watching
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01:13
NASA 360 Presents - Imagine the Possibilities
Added 826 Views / 0 LikesNASA 360 Presents - Imagine the Possibilities
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04:53
Comet c/2014 Q2 LoveJoy is much bigger than anyone expected. 4.6 mag
Added 825 Views / 0 LikesComet c/2014 Q2 LoveJoy is much bigger than anyone expected. 4.6 mag
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00:50
Happy New Year Message From Space Station | Video
Added 824 Views / 0 LikesHappy New Year Message From Space Station | Video
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02:01
NASA 3D Prints Injectors for 'SLS-Mini' Test Firing | Video
Added 823 Views / 0 LikesNASA 3D Prints Injectors for 'SLS-Mini' Test Firing | Video
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05:40
Jupiter and the Gemini Twins Shine In March 2014 Skywatching | Video
Added 822 Views / 0 LikesThe bright stars and star clusters of the constellation Gemini are on display along with post sunset sightings of Jupiter and Mars. Saturn and Venus make early morning appearances.
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04:13
Antares Rocket Explosion - First Hand Account From NASA Wallops | Video
Added 822 Views / 0 LikesAntares Rocket Explosion - First Hand Account From NASA Wallops | Video
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03:20
Hands-On: CELESTRON SKYMASTER 25x100 Binoculars for Sky-Watching
Added 820 Views / 0 LikesHands-On: CELESTRON SKYMASTER 25x100 Binoculars for Sky-Watching
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01:17
Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies Collision Simulated | Video
Added 819 Views / 0 LikesUsing data from the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have developed this simulation of the head-on collision of our Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy. Estimated to occur in 4 billion years.
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03:38
SpaceShipTwo Crash - First Hand Account From Mojave | Video
Added 819 Views / 0 LikesSpaceShipTwo Crash - First Hand Account From Mojave | Video
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03:01
James Webb Space Telescope Facts You Need To Know | Video
Added 818 Views / 0 LikesJames Webb Space Telescope Facts You Need To Know | Video
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01:23
Whirlpool Galaxy Hosts Black Holes Orbiting Sun-Like Stars | Video
Added 817 Views / 0 LikesWhirlpool Galaxy Hosts Black Holes Orbiting Sun-Like Stars | Video
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01:24
Most Distant Galaxy: New Candidate Found | Video
Added 815 Views / 0 LikesLikely most distant object known, galaxy MACS0647-JD was recently found by the Great Observatories - Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, looking back to 420 million years after the Big Bang in the region between Ursa Major and Minor.