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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Sun blasts powerful X2.2-class flare! See NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory views
Added 21 Views / 0 LikesThe Sun unleashed an X2-class solar flare on Feb. 23, 2025. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the fireworks in multiple wavelengths. Footage courtesy: NASA / SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, helioviewer.org | edited by Space.com's [St
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Blastoff! SpaceX launches Starlink batch from California, nails landing
Added 21 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Station in California on Feb. 22, 2025 at 8:38 p.m. EST (5:38 p.m. local time or 0138 GMT Feb. 23).Credit: SpaceX
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Blastoff! SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites, nails droneship landing
Added 16 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 23 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Feb. 21, 2025 at 10:19 a.m. ET. Credit: SpaceX
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03:08
Space to Ground: Pushing Boundaries: Feb. 21, 2025
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Got a question or comment? Use #AskNASA to talk to us.Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:https://www.nasa.gov/iss-scien
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See it! SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket debris burns up over Europe
Added 27 Views / 0 LikesThe American Meteor Society received several reports of SpaceX rocket debris burning over Europe on Feb. 19, 2025. The debris was traced to the re-entry of the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket that launched on Feb. 1. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy:
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07:45
NASA's Artemis 2 crew launches to moon and back in mission animation
Added 20 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Artemis 2 mission will launch humans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo missons. See an animation of the the flight. Credit: NASA
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Thousands of black hole candidates 'uncovered' by Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
Added 20 Views / 0 LikesThe Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has revealed 300 new intermediate-mass black bole candidates and 2500 active black hole candidates in dwarf galaxies. Credit:Images and Videos: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Legacy Surveys/D. Lang (Perimeter
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Chance of 'City Killer' Asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth Triples! - NASA
Added 26 Views / 0 LikesSuit up, Stay Cool & Game faces on.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornewsper phys.org article'City killer' asteroid now has 3.1% chance of hitting Earth: NASAby Issam Ahmed with Da
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Unarmed Minuteman III ICBM launched by Space Force to 'showcase' nuclear readiness
Added 18 Views / 0 LikesThe Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen and Vandenberg Space Force Base Guardians launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from California on Feb. 19, 2024 at 1:00 a.m. PST. The missile was "equipped with a single telemetere
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09:27
Blastoff! Rocket Lab launches high-resolution Earth-imaging satellite
Added 17 Views / 0 LikesAn Electron rocket launched the first "Gen-3" satellite for the geospatial intelligence company Blacksky from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site on Feb. 18, 2025 at 6:17 p.m. EST (2317 GMT; 12:17 p.m. on Feb. 19 local New Zealand time). Full Story: https://www
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09:23
Blastoff! SpaceX launches Starlink batch, nails first landing off coast of The Bahamas
Added 20 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 23 Starlink satellites from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Feb. 18, 2025 at 6:15 p.m. EST (2315 GMT).The rocket's first stage will came back to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff, landing on a drone
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Firefly’s Blue Ghost captures amazing moon view during lunar orbit maneuver
Added 24 Views / 0 LikesFirefly Aeropspace's Blue Ghost lander flew about 74 miles (120 km) above the surface of the moon during a lunar orbit maneuver on Feb. 18, 2025. Credit: Firefly AerspaceEdited by Space.com
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2024 Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station
Added 20 Views / 0 LikesNASA and its international partners have hosted research experiments and fostered collaboration aboard the International Space Station for over 25 years. More than 4,000 investigations have been conducted with over 4,400 research publications. In 2024 alo
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Webb Telescope sees Milky Way black hole blast 'constant stream' of flares
Added 19 Views / 0 LikesThe supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way is blasting 'constant stream' of flares, according to a new study by the Northwestern University that used James Webb Space Telescope observations. Full Story: https://www.space.com/jwst-milky-way
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Perseverance lands on Mars! #nasa #anniversery #crane #landing #mars #redplanet #space #shorts
Added 15 Views / 0 LikesSee NASA's Perserverance rover land in multiple views from Mars. The rover touched down on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021. Credit: NASA
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Another big Plane crash! False 9.0 Earthquake Signal! 5.3 TX EQ! Kentucky Trouble! & BIG FREEZE.
Added 20 Views / 0 LikesI hope you are staying awesome cool and calmwhile being happy.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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BORN AGAIN: Daredevil & LaLisa mashup (featuring Doja Cat & Raye)
Added 24 Views / 0 LikesI love LaLisa (and all the lovely and talented ladies of BlackPink) & Matthew Murdock so i decided to mix the artistic chocolate with the musical peanut butter. This is a test to see if I can actually upload this & yt doesn't ban it in all countries. Let
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Blastoff! SpaceX launches Starlink batch on booster's record-breaking 26th flight, nails landing
Added 23 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 21 Starlink satellites from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Feb. 15, 2025 at 1:14 a.m. EST (0614 GMT)."It was the 26th liftoff for the rocket's first stage, breaking a reuse mark that SpaceX set just last
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PINK & RED ALERT! Life Threatening Floods & Tornadoes possible Saturday! KY TN AR MS AL! WTF EQs.
Added 22 Views / 0 LikesHappy Valentine's Day to all who celebrate.Play defense tho.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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Cosmic Valentine's Day ❤️ #webbtelescope @LoganSpaleta #music #hubble #space #shorts
Added 25 Views / 0 LikesFor Valentine's Day see some of Space.com's favorite views from the James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope set to new music from @LoganSpaleta https://found.ee/loganspaletajustakissCredit:Interacting galaxies Arp 273 | Hubble Space Telescop