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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03:45
'Big Bang Theory' Art Show Brings Out The Geek Chic | Video
Added 784 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 808 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 874 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 875 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 830 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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01:01
Two Powerful X-Flares Erupt From Sunspot | Video
Added 801 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.
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02:10
Asteroid Threat: Cutting Through Red Tape To Save The World | Video
Added 762 Views / 0 LikesB612 Foundation CEO and fmr. NASA astronaut Ed Lu talks about why an infrared space telescope is needed to search for hundreds of thousands of undocumented near-Earth asteroids and why they are doing it privately. More here: http://goo.gl/CX5Sgd
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01:15
Sun Pops Another X-Flare: Geomagnetic Storms Expected | Video
Added 793 Views / 0 LikesSunspot AR 1875 erupted with an X.1-class flare on October 28th, 2013. Geomagnetic storms are expected to reach Earth by Oct. 30th. This is the third solar X-flare in 4 days. Read more here: http://goo.gl/lsUrZ8 Credit: NASA / SDO Mash Mix: SPACE.com
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01:04
Trailer-Sized Asteroid To Zoom Between Earth and Moon | Animation
Added 839 Views / 0 LikesAsteroid 2013 UV3 will fly closer than the Moon (~.7 Lunar distance) on Oct. 29th, 2013. It is estimated to be between 39 and 89 feet wide. Learn more here: http://goo.gl/ua8Qvp
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04:14
'Albert Einstein' Spacecraft Undocks From Space Station | Video
Added 724 Views / 0 LikesESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-4) undocked front he ISS on October 28th, 2013. It delivered food and supplies the station. It will be de-orbited on Nov. 2 and destroyed upon re-entry over the Pacific Ocean.
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00:59
Probe Laser Beams Broadband From Lunar Orbit | Video
Added 765 Views / 0 LikesThe Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) aboard NASA's LADEE mission, fired its data-laser data downlinking an astonishing 622 Mbps and an error-free upload rate of 20Mbps.
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04:02
Huge Martian Landforms' Detail Revealed By European Probe | Video
Added 702 Views / 0 LikesESA's Mars Express orbited the Red Planet nearly 12,500 times by October 2013. Its high resolution stereo camera images, assembled in this "fly-around," show riverbeds, volcanos, canyons and craters. Learn more about Mars: http://goo.gl/3MHlQv
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01:04
Chelyabinsk Meteor Had Shallow Descent | Data Visualization Video
Added 844 Views / 0 LikesLearn more about Chelyabinsk Meteor: http://goo.gl/PBlN1C The space rock that stunned the world in Feb. 2013 had shallow entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Sandia National Laboratories has created a simulation of its effect on the atmosphere.
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02:14
Three Ways To Deflect An Asteroid - Former Astronaut Explains | Video
Added 676 Views / 0 LikesHow can Earth save itself from city-killing space rocks, or an all out asteroid apocalypse? Shuttle era astronaut Tom Jones lays out the 3 most effective ways, and a possible fourth.
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01:15
Major X2 Flare Erupts From Very Active Sun | Video
Added 846 Views / 0 LikesFor the fourth time since Friday Oct. 25th, the Sun has unleashed an X-class flare (the highest class of flares). NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the fireworks emanating from Sunspot AR1875 on Oct. 29th, 2013.
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07:24
What Will Be 3D Printed On Space Station? | Video
Added 746 Views / 0 LikesNASA Marshall Flight Center's 3-D print project manager Niki Werkheiser gives a few examples of the spare parts that a 3D printer on the ISS can provide.
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19:58
Chris Hadfield Lands At SPACE.com - Google Hangout Video
Added 821 Views / 0 LikesThe Canadian astronaut that took the world by storm with a series of videos from the International Space Station stopped by the SPACE.com office to share his stories. (VIDEO IS JOINED IN PROGRESS)
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01:19
Chris Hadfield Gives Surprise Performance at SPACE.com | Video
Added 818 Views / 0 LikesThe fmr. Canadian astronaut picked up SPACE.com's @SteveSpaleta guitar and performed "I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing)", a song he co-wrote with the Barenaked Ladies, post interview at their office in NYC.
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01:39
Students Build Deployable Webb Space Telescope Model | Video
Added 722 Views / 0 LikesEngineering students from California Polytechnic Institute demonstrated their two deploying models of the Webb Space Telescope, which are capable of doing the same complex unfolding process the real satellite will accomplish in 2018.
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01:09
Halloween Auroras Creep Over Sweden's Night Sky | Vid
Added 629 Views / 0 LikesThe 'ghosts and goblins' of All Hallows Eve 2013 rode over a bed of green magic above Abisko National Park. Chad Blakley (lightsoverlapland.com) was on hand to photograph the ghoulish show.