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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01:02
Slide down a SpaceX launch pad emergency chute! See it tested
Added 26 Views / 0 LikesSpaceX's Launch Pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida has been fitted with a chute for astronauts to use in case of emergency. See it deployed and tested here. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: SpaceX | edited by Steve Spaleta (h
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08:53
SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satelltes on booster's record-tying 19th flight
Added 26 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 23 Starlink internet satellites launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 23, 2024 at 11:09 p.m. EDT (0309 GMT on March 24). Full Story: https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-group-6-42It was th
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01:58
RED ALERT! Two Big Storms & a Nor'easter* type thing in next 100 hours!
Added 26 Views / 0 Likes+ speedy little Mercury goes retrograde.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewison$THORnews on CashApphttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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08:50
Blastoff! SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites in early morning, nails landing
Added 26 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 23 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on April 5, 2024 at 5:12 a.m. ET. Credit: SpaceX
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01:49
To Make Life Multiplanetary
Added 26 Views / 0 LikesThe goal of SpaceX is to build the technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary. This is the first time in the 4-billion-year history of Earth that it’s possible to realize that goal and protect the light of consciousness.At Starbase on Thursday, Ap
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01:05
China successfully tests Earth-moon communications with new satellite pic, says CCTV
Added 26 Views / 0 LikesAccording to China Central Television, the Tiandu-1, Tiandu-2 and Queqiao-2 satellites have successfully tested communications from moon orbit to Earth. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: China Central Television (CCTV) | edited by [Steve Spaleta](http
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00:43
2023 Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesThe International Space Station is a microgravity research lab hosting groundbreaking technology demonstrations and scientific investigations. More than 3,700 investigations conducted to date have generated more than 4,000 research articles published in s
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01:06
Sun unleashes two big X-flares as US suffers cell phone outages, unclear if related - See in 4K
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesSunspot AR3590 unleashed X1.8 and X1.7-class solar flares within a few hours of one another on Feb. 21-22, 2024. Cell phone outages spiked across the United States around the same time but it is unclear if they are connected to the flares. Full Story: htt
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03:07
Meet NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps, Crew-8 Mission Specialist
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesNASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is a mission specialist for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. This also will be Epps’ first trip to the space station. She is from Syracuse, New York, and earned a bachelor’s in physics from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York,
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00:30
Pan of NGC 604 (NIRCam and MIRI images)
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesTwo new images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) showcase the star-forming region NGC 604, located in the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), 2.73 million light-years away from Earth.
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01:19
Japanese company Space One developing four-stage Kairos solid rocket
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesIf successful, Space One will be first Japanese private launch company to reach orbit. The Kairos rocket will launch from Space Port Kii in Kushimoto, western Japan. Credit: Space.comn | animation: Space One | edited by [Steve Spaleta](https://twitter.com
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00:30
Pan: I Zwicky 18 (I Zw 18)
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesThe NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured a spectacular view of the galaxy I Zwicky 18 (I Zw 18) in this new image. The galaxy was first identified by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in the 1930’s and resides roughly 59 million light-years fr
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04:19
Watching a SpaceX launch from NASA mission control in Houston - Raw video
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesSpace.com's Elizabeth Howell was inside mission control at NASA's Johnson Space Center during a SpaceX launch.
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02:23
See amazing Starship flight 3 highlights as SpaceX prepares for next launch
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesSpaceX launched Starship on Integrated Flight Test 3 from their Starbase facility in South Texas on March 14, 2024. SpaceX has conducted static fire test for the next test flight. Full Story: https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-third-test-flight-launchC
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01:13
2024 solar eclipse shadow seen from space by satellites and space station
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesThe shadow cast on Earth from the 2024 total solar eclipse on April 8 was seen by NOAA's GOES-16 satellite, a SpaceX Starlink satellite, and the International Space Station. Total solar eclipse 2024 thrills millions across North America: https://www.space
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08:56
SpaceX launches advanced US Space Force weather satellite, nails landing in California
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is lifted launched the U.S. Space Force called USSF-62 mission from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on April 11, 2024 at 10:25 a.m. EDT (7:25 a.m. local California time; 1425 GMT). According to Space.com, the USSF-62 will
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06:33
Saturn's moon Mimas may have a subsurface ocean! Paris Observatory explains
Added 24 Views / 0 LikesData from NASA's Cassini mission suggests that Saturn's moon Mimas may have a "relatively new and still evolving" subsurface ocean, according to the Observatoire de Paris. Full Story: https://www.space.com/saturn-death-star-moon-mimas-liquid-subsurface-oc
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08:27
RED ALERT! "SERIOUS UNDISCLOSED NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT" reported. Dangerous New Technologies?
Added 24 Views / 0 LikesHappy Pluto Conjunct Mars Valentine's day to all who celebrate.Stay Cool.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewison$THORnews on CashApphttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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00:37
Watch India's reusable launch vehicle's runaway landing in test
Added 24 Views / 0 LikesThe Indian space agency's RLV-LEX-02 landing experiment was successfully conducted on March 22, 2024 at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Karnataka. Credit: ISRO
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00:30
Pan: Hidden in a dark cloud
Added 24 Views / 0 LikesThe subject of this week’s Picture of the Week from Hubble is the spiral galaxy IC 4633, located 100 million light-years away from us in the constellation Apus. IC 4633 is a galaxy rich in star-forming activity, as well as hosting an active galactic nucle