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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Bright Auroras Shine Through Clouds Over Sweden | Video
Added 802 Views / 0 LikesAurora photographer Chad Blakley (www.lightsoverlapland.com) shot this time lapse of an aurora shimmering through the clouds over Abisko National Park in Sweden on the night of January 13th.
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01:34
Volcanic Eruption Snapped From Space | New Video Visualization
Added 802 Views / 1 LikesOn June 12, 2009, the Sarychev Volcano, on Matua Island, northeast of Japan, erupted explosively as it has previously in 1989, 1986, 1976 and 1946. An ISS astronaut grabbed this shot, recently processed into animation by NASA.
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Life On Mars Sim: Extracting Fuel Making Hydrogen From 'Mars' Soil | Video
Added 802 Views / 1 LikesMarsCrew134's crew scientist Vibha Srivastava describes extracting hydrogen fuel from soil sampled outside a simulated Mars habitat in Utah, a process called "in-situ resource utilization."
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05:43
Upgraded Space Shuttle 'Pumpkin-Suit' Tested For Asteroid Mission EVA | Video
Added 802 Views / 0 LikesNASA is testing a next generation Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit (MACES), formerly ACES, for possible use on extravehicular activities. Astronauts Stan Love and Steve Bowen, tested the suits underwater in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab.
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09:41
USA Looks like a Navy Edgar Cayce Map of the Future & the South will Flood this week
Added 801 Views / 0 LikesUSA Looks like a Navy Edgar Cayce Map of the Future & the South will Flood this week
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02:45
Apollo Moon Landing Sites, Moon Phases In Nov. 2015 Skywatching | Video
Added 800 Views / 0 LikesApollo Moon Landing Sites, Moon Phases In Nov. 2015 Skywatching | Video
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04:41
Ten Years Of Research Onboard The ISS, Ten More Years Ahead | Video
Added 799 Views / 0 LikesEven though it was under construction, the International Space Station has been performing groundbreaking research over the past ten years. A recent ten year extension means the ISS will have another decade to do research in a number of fields.
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Preparing America for Deep Space Exploration Episode 11: Committed to Exploration
Added 799 Views / 0 LikesPreparing America for Deep Space Exploration Episode 11: Committed to Exploration
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'Dream Chaser' Landing Gear Fails To Deploy On Test | Video
Added 798 Views / 0 LikesLearn more about the Dream Chaser: http://goo.gl/4b9Umk The Sierra Nevada Corp's orbital vehicle prototype failed to deploy one of its wheels during a drop test on 26 October 2013. In publishing this video, the company elected not to show the resultant da
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Fire Fountain Volcano On Moon Carved Deep Channel? Orbiter View | Video
Added 798 Views / 0 LikesFire Fountain Volcano On Moon Carved Deep Channel? Orbiter View | Video
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Solar Fireworks Ring In The New Year With Near X-Class Solar Flare | Video
Added 797 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Solar Dynamics Laboratory captured this explosive M9-class solar flare on January first, ringing in the New Year with a flare that was almost but not quite X-class.
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02:40
'Flying Saucer' Inflatable Mars Aerobrake -- How to Test It | Video
Added 797 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) system will lofted to 120,000 feet, via large scientific balloon. An attached rocket will propel the test article into a test trajectory.
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10:38
Where Will Comet ISON Go If It Survives? - Exclusive NASA Interview
Added 796 Views / 0 LikesNASA Scientist Dr. Michelle Thaller talks to SPACE.com's @TariqjMalik about the possible 'comet of the century' two days prior to its Nov. 28th, 2013 date with the Sun. All things ISON here: http://goo.gl/rgQ0u6
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Winter Storm THOR is going to make the USA wet all week coast to coast
Added 795 Views / 0 LikesWinter Storm THOR is going to make the USA wet all week coast to coast
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Over Earth: Comet Lovejoy Meets Milky Way
Added 794 Views / 0 LikesWhile flying over a stormy Africa, astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured stunning imagery of the Milky Way and the comet that lived.
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03:20
To Explore Deep Space, We Need Better Spacesuits | Video
Added 794 Views / 0 LikesNASA is working on more efficient heating and cooling, longer lasting -- nearly maintenance free -- systems, more durable fabrics, and more dextrous gloves. New oxygen recovery systems might utilize local planetary materials: 'in-situ' consumab
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Edge Of Space Commercial Balloon Flights Closer With Record-Breaking Test | Video
Added 793 Views / 0 LikesEdge Of Space Commercial Balloon Flights Closer With Record-Breaking Test | Video
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Galactic Black Hole Eats Asteroids For Breakfast -- Really
Added 793 Views / 0 LikesX-Ray flares recorded by the Chandra Observatory suggest asteroids and comets are being violently torn apart by the super-massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.
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03:22
Lunar Eclipse Will Drain Moon Orbiter's Batteries | Video
Added 793 Views / 0 LikesThe Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is solar powered and it will be in darkness for an extended period during lunar eclipses, when the moon passes into Earth’s shadow (LRO Snaps Apollo Landing Sites)
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08:08
Plutokiller hints at Eris ++ Xena ++ Planet X ++
Added 792 Views / 0 LikesPlutokiller hints at Eris ++ Xena ++ Planet X ++