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)
-
02:05
NOAA's GOES-19 satellite is now primary GOES-East satellite
Added 59 Views / 0 LikesNOAA's GOES-19 satellite has passed its on-orbit certification after it was launched in June 2024. It is now the primary weather and environmental satellite for the contiguous United States. Credit: NOAA
-
00:30
Pan: MCG+05-31-045
Added 58 Views / 0 LikesPreviously the Hubble Picture of the Week series has featured a jewel in the queen’s hair — a spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, named for the hair of the historical Egyptian queen. However, that galaxy is only one of many known in this co
-
01:24
Binary star system surprisingly found near monster black hole
Added 58 Views / 0 LikesA pair of stars orbiting one another has been found near the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT). Full Story: https://www.space.com/first-binary-stars-sgrA-black-holeCredit; ESO
-
16:55
SpaceX CRS-31 Dragon spacecraft drifts away from space station after undocking
Added 58 Views / 0 LikesSpaceX's CRS-31 Dragon cargo capsule undocked from the International Space Station on Dec. 16, 2024 at 11:05 a.m. EST (1605 GMT). See footage of the capsule post-undocking here. Credit: NASA
-
11:08
European Space Agency in 2024 - See the Highlights
Added 58 Views / 0 LikesThe European Space Agency (ESA) was busy in 2024, see the highlights here. Credit: ESA
-
09:02
Blastoff! SpaceX launches Starlink batch in final mission of 2024, nails landing
Added 58 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 21 Starlink broadband satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capability, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 31, 2024 at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT).Credit: SpaceX
-
07:20
RED ALERT! ICE STORM COMING! + Snow, Rain and Tornadoes! then Texas Snow a week later?
Added 58 Views / 0 LikesTis the Season.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
-
04:33
What’s Behind This Door? – Prototype Immersive Technologies (PIT) Lab
Added 58 Views / 0 Likes"What’s Behind This Door?" takes you behind the doors of various facilities located at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston being used to return humanity to the Moon, through the Artemis campaign. The series features interviews with NASA experts and pro
-
03:57
Excerpt: 'Children of the Sky: Can We Raise Kids in Space?'
Added 58 Views / 0 LikesCan a space community truly be said to exist before the first child is born there? What are the risks around pregnancy and childbirth off-planet? Who should get to decide if space is safe enough for children? Would you edit your child’s genome to permanen
-
01:06
NASA ejects Orion spacecraft's forward bay cover in test - Slow motion view
Added 57 Views / 0 LikesNASA tested the Orion spacecraft forward bay cover's ejection mechanism at the Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Credit: NASA/Jordan Salkin and Quentin Schwinn | edited by Space.com
-
02:18
SpaceX Starship single engine test fire simulates flight 7 in-space burn
Added 57 Views / 0 LikesA single engine on the flight 7 SpaceX Starship was test fired on Dec. 17, 2024 to simulate an in-space burn. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: SpaceX | edited by Steve Spaleta (https://x.com/stevespaleta)
-
04:07
RED ALERT! Houston Christmas Eve Tornado Warnings!? Volcanoes Gone Wild! Santa Cruz Pier Destroyed!
Added 57 Views / 0 Likeswild.also, Merry Christmas, y'all.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
-
03:27
THE COLDEST JANUARY OF YOUR LIFE!?* and Double X-Class flare from a Super Active Sun on Sunday!
Added 57 Views / 0 Likesthank you for being amazing.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
-
04:28
See the Moon Phases from south up in 2025 full-year time-lapse
Added 57 Views / 0 LikesWatch the moon phases and libration for 2024, as seen from Earth's Southern Hemisphere, in this time-lapsed animation that is set at hourly intervals. [What is the moon phases today?](https://www.space.com/18880-moon-phases.html)[Moon Facts: Fun Informati
-
02:03
Starship | Sixth Flight Test
Added 57 Views / 0 LikesThe sixth flight test of Starship launched from Starbase on November 19, 2024, seeking to expand the envelope on ship and booster capabilities and get closer to bringing reuse of the entire system online.The Super Heavy booster successfully lifted off at
-
01:00
Zoom Video: HH49/50
Added 57 Views / 0 LikesThis video takes the viewer on a journey to Herbig-Haro 49/50, an outflow from a nearby still-forming star, in high-resolution near- and mid-infrared light with the NIRCam and MIRI instruments. The intricate features of the outflow, represented in reddish
-
01:13
3 years of Solar Orbiter imagery of the sun time-lapsed with flares sonified
Added 56 Views / 0 LikesThe Solar Orbiter's Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument captured imagery of the sun over the last few years. The solar flares (blue circles) are shown using data from the spacecraft's Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) instrument. "T
-
00:30
Pan: UGC 10043
Added 56 Views / 0 LikesWhat kind of astronomical object is this? It doesn’t look quite like the kinds of galaxies, nebulae, star clusters or galaxy clusters which Hubble normally brings us images of. In fact, this is a spiral galaxy, named UGC 10043 — we just happen to be seein
-
01:09
Sun's most powerful X flares of 2024: See the top 10
Added 56 Views / 0 LikesSee Space.com's countdown for the Top 10 most powerful solar flare of 2024. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: NASA/SDO, compiled for Ryan French | edited by [Steve Spaleta](https://www.instagram.com/spaleta_space_odyssey/)
-
02:28
IS THIS REAL? Donald Trump tweets new $Trump meme coin? WTF 2025 continues...
Added 56 Views / 0 LikesIt's a mystery for now.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews