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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01:54
Astronauts Drink Urine and Other Waste Water | Video
Added 957 Views / 0 LikesISS commander Chris Hadfield explains how astronauts stay hydrated and why Space Station must try to recycle everything. -- Life in Space: Astronaut Chris Hadfield's Video Guide: http://goo.gl/fdgcgU
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01:20
Comet Lovejoy Slingshots 'Round The Sun
Added 956 Views / 0 LikesConfounding astrophysicist's predictions, the two football field-sized comet survives a swing past the sun, though it lost much mass as these views from three different satellite reveal.
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01:34
Most Powerful Quasar Discovered | Video
Added 956 Views / 0 LikesAstronomers have found a quasar that's more than five times more powerful than any previously seen. Quasars are mega-bright geysers of matter and energy powered by super-massive black holes at the centers of young galaxies.
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02:21
Astronomers Peer Into Supermassive Black Hole Jets | Video
Added 955 Views / 0 LikesUsing the Atacama Large Millimeter/submilimeter Array in Chile, astronomers probed the supermassive black holes that are at the center of most galaxies, principally to analyze the molecular gas their massive gravity wells propel into powerful jets.
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01:10
Pluto Fly-By Video From New Horizons' Images By Björn Jónsson
Added 955 Views / 0 LikesPluto Fly-By Video From New Horizons' Images By Björn Jónsson
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05:56
Brown Dwarfs in Eclipsing Binary systems
Added 954 Views / 0 LikesBrown Dwarfs in Eclipsing Binary systems
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05:12
Giant lucky Horse Shoe of Solar Tornadoes on the Sun
Added 953 Views / 0 LikesGiant lucky Horse Shoe of Solar Tornadoes on the Sun
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01:37
NASA To Award $20K For Mars 'Ejectable Mass' Idea | Video
Added 952 Views / 0 LikesNASA To Award $20K For Mars 'Ejectable Mass' Idea | Video
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02:29
LeVar Burton On MAVEN: Star Trek Star Explains New Mars Mission | Video
Added 950 Views / 0 LikesIn a public service announcement, LaVar Burton (Geordi La Forge / Star Trek: The Next Generation) talks about the new mission that will study the Martian atmosphere.
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00:49
Comet's Tail Ripped Off By Sun's Fury
Added 949 Views / 0 LikesNASA's STEREO A satellite captured Comet Encke's tail being torn off by a coronal mass ejection in 2007. Magnetic field interactions are thought to be the culprit behind the comet losing its tail. Credit: NASA / Music: Atom Strange www.atomstrange.com
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00:57
Cosmic Yin-Yang of Double Disc Binary Stars Recasts Exoplanet Search | Video
Added 948 Views / 0 LikesCosmic Yin-Yang of Double Disc Binary Stars Recasts Exoplanet Search | Video
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04:10
Temporal Distortion of Earth's Skies: Stunning Time-Lapse
Added 947 Views / 0 LikesThis mind-bending look at our day and night sky -- including some auroras -- was cut together by Randy Halverson (Dakotalapse.com). The score was composed by Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, Eureka, etc.).
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01:41
Comet ISON's Ghost Seen By Two Spacecraft | Video
Added 946 Views / 0 LikesA wispy remnant of the comet survived its whip around the Sun, but is quickly starting to fade from sight. Imagery from NASA/ESA SOHO probe (Nov 30th - Dec 1st) and NASA's STEREO spacecraft (Nov 28th and 29th) are time-lapsed. All things ISON here: http:/
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05:00
Planet Orbiting Sun's Twin Discovered In Star Cluster | Video
Added 944 Views / 0 LikesExoplanets have been found in star clusters but this is the 1st orbiting a star almost exactly like the Sun. ESO's HARPS planet hunter instrument, mounted on a Chilean telescope, found the hot gas world in long-lived cluster Messier 67. -- Read more here:
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02:34
Mystery Antarctic 'Crater' Could Be House-Sized Meteor Impact | Video
Added 941 Views / 0 LikesMystery Antarctic 'Crater' Could Be House-Sized Meteor Impact | Video
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08:09
Blood Moon #4 is a Super Moon Total Lunar Eclipse with weirdos.
Added 941 Views / 0 LikesBlood Moon #4 is a Super Moon Total Lunar Eclipse with weirdos.
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02:59
The Strangest Story of 2014 - Only for Adults with a sense of Humor
Added 940 Views / 0 LikesThe Strangest Story of 2014 - Only for Adults with a sense of Humor
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03:47
Fruit Flies To Soar To Space Station For Deep Space Voyage Data | Video
Added 938 Views / 0 LikesFruit Flies To Soar To Space Station For Deep Space Voyage Data | Video
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09:14
WTF is this Asteroid Madness? January 2015 - Asteroid 2004 BL86
Added 938 Views / 0 LikesWTF is this Asteroid Madness? January 2015 - Asteroid 2004 BL86