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)
-
01:16
'Guitar God' Joe Satriani’s Pluto Fly-By Impressions | Music + Video
Added 689 Views / 0 Likes'Guitar God' Joe Satriani’s Pluto Fly-By Impressions | Music + Video
-
01:06
'Gushing' Hot Plasma Erupts From Sun | Video
Added 757 Views / 0 LikesA solar flare erupted from an active region on the Sun on April 4th, 2014. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught a close-up view of the turning and shifting plasma.
-
01:08
'Half dozen' explosions on Sun spotted by spacecraft in 5 hours
Added 135 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has captured a series of eruptions on the sun over the course of 5 hours on October 26, 2021.Credit: Space.com | NASA/SDO/Science teams: AIA/EVE/HMI | produced & edited by Steve Spaleta (http://www.twitter.com/steve
-
00:43
'Halo' Of Echoing X-rays From Magnetar Outburst | Video
Added 885 Views / 0 Likes'Halo' Of Echoing X-rays From Magnetar Outburst | Video
-
02:24
'Hello, Mars' single features first-ever sound from the red planet!
Added 213 Views / 0 LikesA first! This music video features the first audio to have ever been recorded from Mars, as well as the first color images taken by NASA's rover, Perseverance. Written and sung by Space.com's Chelsea Gohd (aka Foxanne)Check out Foxanne on Bandcamp & Spoti
-
03:40
'Hidden Figures' Stars: Pre-Civil Rights 'Mindset' Was Acting Challenge | Exclusive Video
Added 613 Views / 0 Likes'Hidden Figures' Stars: Pre-Civil Rights 'Mindset' Was Acting Challenge | Exclusive Video
-
06:25
'Hidden X-ray Cosmos' to be studied by XRISM mission
Added 80 Views / 0 LikesLearn how the NASA/JAXA X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) will study the 'X-ray Cosmos' in this explainer from the Goddard Space Flight Center. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.
-
02:48
'Horde of dead stars!' Spider pulsars caught destroying nearby stars
Added 44 Views / 0 LikesData from the Chandra X-ray Telescope has revealed spider pulsars, which are a group of dead stars, in globular cluster Omega Centauri "preying' on nearby stars. The Chandra team explains. Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart
-
01:01
'Hot Saturn' Without Clouds Detected Using Very Large Telescope
Added 414 Views / 0 LikesUsing the Very Large Telescope in Chile, astronomers have detected an “exoplanet atmosphere that is free of clouds,” according to the University of Exeter. -- Full Story: https://www.space.com/40526-alien-planet-wasp-96b-has-no-clouds.htmlCredit: Space.co
-
01:15
'Huge Revolution In Spaceflight' - Elon Musk Comments on 1st Reused SpaceX Rocket | Video
Added 614 Views / 0 Likes'Huge Revolution In Spaceflight' - Elon Musk Comments on 1st Reused SpaceX Rocket | Video
-
01:12
'Hungry' Black Hole Has Surprising Meal to Munch On
Added 307 Views / 0 LikesA Hubble Space Telescope observation of active galaxy NGC 3147 has revealed that the supermassive black hole at its core has a peculiar disk surrounding it. Surprise! This Monster Black Hole's Disk Shouldn't Exist: https://www.space.com/black-hole-disk-sh
-
01:48
'Impossible' monster black hole involved in 'most massive' merger detected
Added 265 Views / 0 LikesA pair of black holes merged to form an intermediate-mass black hole, named GW190521, in a new gravitational waves detection. One of the black holes that were involved in the merger "shouldn't exist according to standard theories of how stars die," accord
-
05:25
'Intelligent' robotic arm to launch with new space station module
Added 199 Views / 0 LikesEuropean Robotic Arm (ERA) will be able to "move back and forward by itself, hand-over-hand between fixed base-points," according to ESA, It will be launched to the International Space Station along with the 'Nauka' Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module.
-
01:31
'Interplanetary Shock' In Earth's Magnetic Field Observed By Van Allen Probes | Video
Added 663 Views / 0 Likes'Interplanetary Shock' In Earth's Magnetic Field Observed By Van Allen Probes | Video
-
01:42
'It b a VERY BAD SIGN!' A THORnews December Massive Tornado Blizzard Storm moment part 2-10 DAYS tho
Added 70 Views / 0 Likeshello again.*waves*Happy Holidays!Merry Christmas!God bless everyone,Love,T
-
00:55
'It's a Dangerous Business' - NASA Still Confident in Soyuz Spacecraft
Added 367 Views / 0 LikesSpace.com's Mike Wall asks NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman about the difficulties of spaceflight during a NASA press conference about the Soyuz launch abort that occurred on Oct. 11, 2018. -- Full Story on the Launch Abort on Space.com: https://www.space.com/
-
01:41
'JEDI' Aboard NASA's Juno Probe To Jupiter | Video
Added 683 Views / 0 Likes'JEDI' Aboard NASA's Juno Probe To Jupiter | Video
-
01:36
'Jellyfish' Galaxies Feed Supermassive Black Holes
Added 632 Views / 0 Likes'Jellyfish' Galaxies Feed Supermassive Black Holes
-
03:49
'Just wow!' Blue Origin NS-20 post-flight crew reactions
Added 152 Views / 0 LikesBlue Origin NS-20 crewmembers Jim Kitchen, Dr. George Nield, and Marty Allen give their impression of their New Shepard flight to space. Full Story: https://www.space.com/blue-origin-space-tourism-launch-ns-20Credit: Blue Origin
-
01:18
'Killer' Galaxy Shows Scars, But Companion is Unscathed | Video
Added 687 Views / 0 Likes'Rapacious' Galaxy NGC 1316 has devoured many other galaxies during its violent history. Fossils of this mayhem can be seen in new imagery from ESO's La Silla Observatory. In comparison, galaxy NGC 1317's spiral arms are sound.