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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01:13
Moon Transits Sun from Spacecraft's Point of View | Video
Added 745 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory was treated to another lunar transit on Dec 2, 2013. The SDO team compiled the very best views from different imagers onboard the spacecraft. -- Breathtaking Sun footage from the spacecraft here: http://goo.gl/Qz4Chm Cred
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01:03
Cassini Snaps New Views Of Saturn's Hexagon | Video
Added 753 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Cassini probe has captured the highest resolution video yet of Saturn's odd, hexagon shaped jet stream that spins around the gas giants north pole. Read more here: http://goo.gl/xBU9s8 Credit: NASA / JPL
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01:15
Secretive US Space Plane Spotted Over Ontario (Twice) | Video
Added 607 Views / 0 LikesOn Nov 24th and 28th, 2013, Kevin Fetter of Brockville, Ontario captured imagery of the U.S. Air Force's X-37B space plane in the night sky. Orbiting Earth for over year, the mission's purpose and capability is "in the black." --- Read more about the secr
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01:22
New Sunspot Spits Geysers Of Fire | Video
Added 801 Views / 0 LikesOn 5 December 2013, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a sun storm that recently rotated into Earth's view spewing plasma. The largest eruption is over 15 Earth-diameters "tall."
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01:42
Sun Flips Its Poles - 'Psychedelic' Time-Lapse Animation
Added 746 Views / 0 LikesApproximately every 11 years, the magnetic polarity of the Sun reverses. 16 years of high resolution magnetic field line data are here animated n magnetic lines. Neon green = positive, purple = negative. -- When will the poles flip? - NASA explains: http:
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07:21
When Will The Sun Poles Flip? - NASA Scientist Explains | Video
Added 761 Views / 0 LikesDr. Holly Gilbert, NASA Solar Physics Laboratory Chief/Goddard Spaceflight Center, explains what happens when the magnetic field of the Sun reverses polarity and when the process will be complete.
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01:04
Japanese Astronaut Sees Comet ISON from Space | Video
Added 570 Views / 0 LikesJapanese Astronaut Koichi Wakata managed to see Comet ISON's tail from the International Space Station before it disintegrated on its pass around the sun.
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01:21
Mars' North Pole Fly-Around Delivered By European Probe | Video
Added 728 Views / 0 LikesData from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding instrument, MARSIS. aboard ESA's Mars Express has been used to create this animation of the Red Planets north pole. The ice cap is about 1000km in diameter (621 miles).
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01:13
1300-Foot-Wide Asteroid 2013 TV135's Near-Earth Flyby | Orbit Animation
Added 781 Views / 0 LikesThe space rock was discovered on October 8th, 2013 by the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Ukraine. It came within 4.2 million miles and currently has a 1 in 63000 chance of impacting Earth in 2032. Read more about it here: http://goo.gl/UYDdCd Credit
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03:23
Big Bang's First Moments Scrutinized By Space Telescope | Video
Added 637 Views / 0 LikesThe European Space Agency's Planck Observatory has delivered many discoveries in its 4.5 year career, ranging from our Milky Way backyard to the first few moments of the Universe, 13.82 billion years ago.
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01:15
Halley's Comet Peppers Earth's Atmosphere With Debris | Video
Added 669 Views / 0 LikesEven with the Moon obscuring the view, NASA's All-Sky Fireball network captured Orionid Meteor Shower's fireballs slam into the Earth's atmosphere. The two seen in this video were captured by several cameras in the United States on Oct. 20, 2013. Read mor
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05:42
Cygnus Un-Berthed From Space Station | Video
Added 716 Views / 0 LikesThe Orbital Science's cargo craft has left the ISS behind after close to a month on October 22, 2013. Its destructive Earth re-entry will commence on October 23rd.
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02:08
$75K 'Edge Of Space' Balloon Ride Gets FAA Approval | Animation
Added 709 Views / 0 LikesDesigns for the World View Enterprises' space-qualified capsule has been classified as a Commercial Space System by the Federal Aviation Administration. Find out more http://goo.gl/kAvuzH
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01:07
Bright Fireball Streaks Over New Mexico | Video
Added 779 Views / 0 LikesA fireball was picked up by the New Mexico State University meteor camera on October 19, 2013. (looped)
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03:45
'Big Bang Theory' Art Show Brings Out The Geek Chic | Video
Added 717 Views / 0 LikesOn October 19th, 2013, the Nucleus Gallery in California hosted a party for the grand opening of their new art exhibit. Over 50 pieces of commissioned artwork was available for viewing and sale ranging from photos to painting to knit dolls.
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00:58
Space-flown Jumping Spider 'Back-Flops' In Fly Hunt On Earth | Video
Added 724 Views / 0 LikesA Phiddipus johnsoni, or red-backed jumping spider (named Nefertiti), has returned from its time on the International Space Station. Its hunting skills were compromised when attempting to capture its prey, due to its readaptation to gravity on Earth. More
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02:16
'Canyon of Fire' Created By Solar Filament Eruption | Video
Added 793 Views / 0 LikesVisualizers at Goddard Space Flight Center made this video of a 'canyon of fire', created by the eruption of a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the sun's corona.The different colors highlight different temperatures.
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01:04
Powerful Solar Flare Seen In Spectacular Close-Up Video
Added 790 Views / 0 LikesAn M9-class eruption lofted a faint coronal mass ejection towards Earth on Oct. 24th, 2013. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the fireworks. For more on solar flares, lick here http://goo.gl/enNIDx
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01:07
Powerful X-Flare Erupts From Active Sunspot | Video
Added 748 Views / 0 LikesPhotos here: http://goo.gl/gVoRnA Sunspot AR1882 has made its presence known with a flurry of flares on October 25th, 2013. The second eruption registered an X1.7-class flare. The same Sunspot unleashed flares before and after the X.
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Two Powerful X-Flares Erupt From Sunspot | Video
Added 703 Views / 0 LikesSunspot AR1882 has made its presence known with a flurry of flares on October 25th, 2013. The second X-class eruption registered in the X2 range. Both X-flares are seen in the video.