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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00:30
Pan: NGC 337
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesThe subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week is the spiral galaxy NGC 337, located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale).This image combines observations made at two wavelengths, highlighting t
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00:30
Pan: The Large Magellanic Cloud
Added 33 Views / 0 LikesToday’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features a dusty yet sparkling scene from one of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Large Magellanic Cloud is a dwarf galaxy situated about 160 000 light-years aw
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00:30
Pan: LEDA 803211
Added 29 Views / 0 LikesBehind this star is a galaxy named LEDA 803211. At 622 million light-years distant, this galaxy is close enough that its bright galactic nucleus is clearly visible, as are numerous star clusters scattered around its patchy disc. Many of the more distant g
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00:30
Pan: HOPS 150 and HOPS 153
Added 23 Views / 0 LikesThese protostars get their names from the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey, which was carried out with ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory. The object that can be seen in the upper-right corner of this image is HOPS 150: it’s a binary system, two young protos
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02:00
Video tour of Hubble’s panoramic view of the Andromeda Galaxy
Added 28 Views / 0 LikesThis video features the largest photomosaic ever assembled from Hubble Space Telescope observations. It is a panoramic view of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, located 2.5 million light-years away. It took over 10 years to make this vast and colorful por
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00:04
Transition Video: 2022 and 2023 observations of Wolf-Rayet 140
Added 23 Views / 0 LikesThis video alternates between two James Webb Space Telescope observations of Wolf-Rayet 140, a two-star system that has sent out more than 17 shells of dust over 130 years. Mid-infrared-light observations highlight them with excellent clarity.By comparing
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11:32
15+ Inches of Rain for South Texas! Near Earth Asteroid 2025 FB8 aligned with Earth, Venus & Mars!
Added 39 Views / 0 Likeswhat. a. week.and it's only wednesday.stay cool.God bless everyone,https://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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01:09
Partial Solar Eclipse in March 2025 - What it will look like? See a map
Added 47 Views / 0 LikesOn March 29, 2025, a partial solar eclipse visible in the northeastern part of North America, much of Europe and Russia. See an animation of what it will look like and a visibility map from Timeanddate.com. [Full Story](https://www.space.com/the-universe/
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08:51
Blastoff! SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites from California, nails landing
Added 101 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 27 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on March 26, 2025 at 6:11:40 p.m. ET (2211 GMT). Credit: SpaceX
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05:44
More Monster Eclipse Storms coming! Big Hail in Washington! Floods in South Texas! & BIG Weekend!
Added 65 Views / 0 LikesHappy birthday, LaLisa.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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11:04
Preparing for Artemis: NASA's Geology Training for Lunar Exploration
Added 64 Views / 0 LikesFrom the volcanic fields of Arizona to the lunar-like landscape of Iceland, NASA scientists are actively preparing astronauts and mission support teams for conducting science on the Moon.Learn about NASA’s rich history of geology training and hear how sci
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01:07
SpaceX Dragon debris burns up on re-entry over California
Added 74 Views / 0 LikesThe American Meteor Society (AMS) received several reports of a fireball in the skies over California on March 24, 2025. "It could have been debris from the satellite known as DRAGON FREEDOM-2 DEB that was launched from Cape Canaveral on 9/28/2024," accor
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09:20
Blastoff! Rocket Lab launches wildfire-hunting satellites from New Zealand
Added 68 Views / 0 LikesAn Electron rocket launched eight wildfire detection satellites for German-based company OroraTech on March 26, 2025 from Rocket Lab's New Zealand launch facility.Credit: Rocket Lab
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01:45
Wow! James Webb Space Telescope captures a 'cosmic tornado'
Added 81 Views / 0 LikesThe James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured an amazing video of the outflow Herbig-Haro 49/50 (HH 49/50), a newborn star. Credit:Directed by: Bethany Downer and Nico BartmannEditing: Nico BartmannWeb and technical support: Enciso SystemsWritten by: Bet
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08:54
Blastoff! SpaceX launches secret US spy satellite, nails landing in Florida
Added 99 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the NROL-69 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on March 24, 2025 at 1:48 p.m. EDT (1748 GMT). [Full Story](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launch
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09:13
Super Red Alert! Record Breaking Major Monster Eclipse Storm possible this weekend!
Added 96 Views / 0 LikesIt's the biggest 7 day warning area ever issue by the NWS.It's going to be a wild eclipse week, y'all.Buckle up.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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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
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05:35
The Brutal War on Soda: part 0 Snap Crystal Pop! It begins!
Added 55 Views / 0 Likesyou should donate to THORnews because i am awesome.God bless everyone,https://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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01:07
Largest 3D map of our universe to date created using Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
Added 94 Views / 0 LikesThe Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) mounted on the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory has been used to create the largest 3D map of our Universe to date. Full Story: https://www.space.com/the-universe/dark-e
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08:24
Blastoff! SpaceX launches US spy satelllites from California, nails landing
Added 49 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the NROL-57 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base Friday on March 21, 2025 at 2:49 a.m. EDT (0649 GMT; 11:49 p.m. on March 20 local California time). Full