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)
-
00:50
Space Junk! See how much orbital debris has grown since 1960
Added 286 Views / 0 LikesOrbital debris has increased exponentially since 1960. Cataloged objects are shown for the last 50 years in this NASA animation. -- Related Story: Astronauts take shelter as space station dodges orbital junk: https://www.space.com/space-station-dodges-deb
-
01:56
Space lasers probe Antarctica, new lakes discovered!
Added 166 Views / 0 LikesNASA Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite 2's (ICESat-2) probes of Antarctica, using its laser instrument, have revealed 'hundreds of meltwater lakes' beneath the ice sheet. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio Jef
-
01:24
Space Launch System - Fanciful New Animation | Video
Added 610 Views / 0 LikesSpace Launch System - Fanciful New Animation | Video
-
02:37
Space Launch System Rocket's First Crew Launch Dramatized By NASA | Video
Added 753 Views / 0 LikesSpace Launch System Rocket's First Crew Launch Dramatized By NASA | Video
-
08:54
Space Launch System's RS-25 Flight Engine Test Fired by NASA
Added 603 Views / 0 LikesSpace Launch System's RS-25 Flight Engine Test Fired by NASA
-
01:01
Space Particle Slams Into Satellite, Damages Solar Array | Video
Added 582 Views / 0 LikesSpace Particle Slams Into Satellite, Damages Solar Array | Video
-
01:21
Space Perspective unveils high-altitude balloon capsule for test flights to edge of space
Added 29 Views / 0 LikesThe completed prototype vehicle for Space Perspective's high-altitude balloon flight service has been revealed by the company, ahead of the capsule's first test flights to the edge of space.Credit: Space Perspective
-
01:07
Space Pioneer's Tianglong-2 rocket launches on maiden flight from China
Added 89 Views / 0 LikesSpace Pioneer's Tianglong-2 rocked successfully launched for the first time from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 2, 2023. The rocket uses liquid-propellant, which is a game changer because of its ability to "launch large satell
-
05:21
Space Plague Quarantine Madness
Added 289 Views / 0 Likesthis video is for entertainment and educational purposes only*.this is an official THORnews Doomsday Clock Drive In Theater series editionStay Cool.God bless everyone,T LEWISON5430 BIRDWOOD RD. #416HOUSTON TEXAS 77096https://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://
-
01:43
Space Plane Prototype Dropped From Helicopter In Test | Video
Added 688 Views / 0 LikesSpace Plane Prototype Dropped From Helicopter In Test | Video
-
04:28
Space Plants - How Are They Adapting?
Added 549 Views / 0 LikesSpace Plants - How Are They Adapting?
-
01:15
Space Rock Formed in Asteroid Belt 'Exiled' to the Kuiper Belt
Added 419 Views / 0 LikesEuropean Southern Observatory telescopes were used to confirm that Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2004 EW95 is carbon-rich, suggesting it was born in the inner solar system. Astronomers believe that the space rock formed in the asteroid belt and at some point w
-
01:04
Space rock slams into moon! Explosion seen from Japan
Added 74 Views / 0 LikesDaichi Fujii from the Hiratsuka City Museum in Japan captured a meteor impact the moon with multiple telescopes on Feb. 23, 2023. The crater created from the impact is “thought to be a dozen meters in diameter,” according to Fujii. Credit: Daichi Fujii (H
-
00:58
Space Rock To Zip Between Earth And Moon | Orbit Animation
Added 724 Views / 0 LikesAsteroid 2014 HL129 will fly nearly 187,000 miles away (.7 Lunar distance) from Earth on its closest approach on May 3rd, 2014. It is an estimated 32-feet-wide.
-
47:50
Space Rocks! NASA Talks Asteroid 'Secrets' and OSIRIS-REx
Added 614 Views / 0 LikesSpace Rocks! NASA Talks Asteroid 'Secrets' and OSIRIS-REx
-
01:13
Space Shuttle Endeavour stacked at California Science Center in amazing time-lapse
Added 30 Views / 0 LikesSpace Shuttle Endeavour was stacked with an external tank and pair of solid rocket boosters for a new exhibit at the California Science Center on Jan. 30, 2023. Credit: California Science Center | time-lapse by Space.com's [Steve Spaleta](https://twitter.
-
01:40
Space Sparks Episode 1
Added 179 Views / 0 LikesIn this Space Sparks episode, ESA/Hubble summarizes an exciting new discovery from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.Scientists were expecting to find an intermediate-mass black hole at the heart of the globular cluster NGC 6397, but instead they found
-
01:35
Space Sparks Episode 10: Hubble Finds the Most Distant Star Ever Seen
Added 149 Views / 0 LikesThis Space Sparks episode reveals how the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has established an extraordinary new benchmark.More information and download options: http://esahubble.org/videos/heic2203a/Credit:Directed by: Bethany Downer and Nico Bartmann Edit
-
01:52
Space Sparks Episode 10: Wolf-Rayet 124 - A Star in Transition
Added 74 Views / 0 LikesA Wolf-Rayet star is a rare prelude to the famous final act of a massive star: the supernova. As one of its first observations in 2022, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope captured the Wolf-Rayet star WR 124 in unprecedented detail. Learn more in