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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00:56
'Born to ride a rocket' ???? Don Pettit #astronaut #space #shorts
Added 82 Views / 0 LikesNASA astronaut Don Pettit is excited to return to space!
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01:24
'Bumble' robot finds 'simulated danger' on space station in test
Added 215 Views / 0 LikesRobots like Astrobee's "Bumble" on the International Space Station are designed to maintain to assist in the maintenance of spacecraft. Credit: NASA Ames Research Center
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01:02
'Butterfly-shape' coronal mass ejection captured by sun-observing spacecraft
Added 159 Views / 0 LikesThe NASA/ESA Solar & Heliospheric Observatory captured a 'butterfly-shaped' coronal mass ejection erupt from the sun on March 9, 2023. Full Story: https://www.livescience.com/stunning-plasma-winged-butterfly-coronal-mass-ejection-erupts-from-the-suns-fars
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03:34
'Campfires' on Sun seen in new zoomed in Solar Orbiter footage
Added 268 Views / 0 LikesESA's Solar Orbiter obtained new imagery of 'campfires' on the sun in February 2021. The process that creates campfires may "contribute significantly to the heating of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona," according to the European Space Agency.Credit:
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02:16
'Canyon of Fire' Created By Solar Filament Eruption | Video
Added 852 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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05:20
'Captain Janeway' is back on 'Star Trek: Prodigy' - Kate Mulgrew talks with Space.com
Added 264 Views / 0 LikesStar Trek: Voyager's legendary "Captain Janeway" (actress Kate Mulgrew) is back in the animated series "Star Trek: Prodigy." Mulgrew talks with Space.com contributor Scott Snowden in this exclusive interview.
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04:46
'Captain Kirk' and crew enter Blue Origin capsule to launch to space
Added 257 Views / 0 LikesBlue Origin NS-18 crew William Shatner, Audrey Powers, Chris Boshuizen an d Glen de Vries completed ingress into the New Shepard capsule ahead of launch on Oct. 13, 2021. Live Updates: https://www.space.com/news/live/blue-origin-william-shatner-launch-upd
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10:34
'Captain Kirk' gets emotional after Blue Origin spaceflight
Added 258 Views / 0 LikesBlue Origin NS-18's William Shatner talks about his amazing experience after egressing the New Shepard capsule. Live Updates: https://www.space.com/news/live/blue-origin-william-shatner-launch-updatesCredit: Blue Origin
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04:59
'Captain Kirk' Gives Command to Send Message to Voyager Probe
Added 716 Views / 0 Likes'Captain Kirk' Gives Command to Send Message to Voyager Probe
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00:55
'Captain Kirk’ Wants You To Launch Your Name to the Sun
Added 632 Views / 0 LikesNASA’s Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to launch this summer and will carry a microchip that can have your name saved on it! NASA and William Shatner invites the public to participate on this mission to explore the Sun. (Deadline April 27, 2018). -- Learn
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02:16
'Cat scratch' trenches of Mars' Nili Fossae! Flyover created from orbiter imagery
Added 80 Views / 0 LikesNili Fossae region of Mars is comprised of "parallel trenches hundreds of metres deep and several hundred kilometres long," according to ESA. Mar Express orbiter data has been used to create this flyover. Credit: Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin & NASA/JPL-Calte
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02:45
'Celestial Quartet,’ Sirius and the moon in March 2020 skywatching
Added 537 Views / 0 LikesMars, Jupiter, Saturn and the moon will create a 'celestial quartet' in the night sky during March. Also, find out where to spot the brightest star in the sky Sirius and more in this skywatching guide. - Night sky, March 2020: What you can see this month
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01:44
'Choose something you love' - ESA astronaut gives advice to kids
Added 363 Views / 0 LikesESA astronaut Luca Parmitano has some advice for children as they look to their future. [No Place Like Home: Astronaut Luca Parmitano Reminds Us How 'Precious' Earth Is](https://www.space.com/astronaut-luca-parmitano-climate-change-message.html)Credit: ES
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02:14
'Civilization of Stasis' or Spacefarers? Jeff Bezos Inspires in New Blue Origin Video
Added 394 Views / 0 LikesBlue Origin founder and CEO Jeff Bezos talks about the inspiration of NASA's Apollo missions and how humanity has a choice of capping population and energy usage or "moving out into space."Credit: Blue Orgin
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02:35
'Cosmic cannibal!' Dead star consumes material from planets in Hubble data
Added 227 Views / 0 LikesHubble Space Telescope observations of white dwarf star G238-44 has shown that it is "consuming both rocky-metallic and icy material, the ingredients of planets," according to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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02:23
'Cosmic Clouds' Lit Up By New Star | Video
Added 691 Views / 0 Likes'Cosmic Clouds' Lit Up By New Star | Video
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01:24
'Cosmic Recycling' Seeds The Prawn Nebula | Observatory Zoom-In Video
Added 843 Views / 0 Likes'Cosmic Recycling' Seeds The Prawn Nebula | Observatory Zoom-In Video
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01:58
'Cosmos' Honored In Space With Experiment | Video
Added 781 Views / 0 LikesNeil DeGrasse Tyson, the host of the re-envisioned show, introduces a zero-gravity demonstration of Newton's third law of motion. Expedition 38's Rick Mastracchio and Koichi Wakata prove the law aboard the International Space Station.
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03:14
'Dazzling' Venus, Mars, Jupiter and the moon in Feb. 2025 skywatching
Added 29 Views / 0 LikesLearn where to see Venus, Mars, Jupiter and the moon in February 2025. Night sky: What you can see this month: https://www.space.com/16149-night-sky.html)Best night sky events this month - stargazing maps: https://www.space.com/33974-best-night-sky-events
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13:20
'Destruct command!' Japan's new H3 rocket fails to deliver payload to orbit
Added 169 Views / 0 LikesJapans' first H3 rocket launch ended with an anomaly that forced JAXA mission control to transmit a 'destruct command' to the vehicle. The rocket launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on March 6, 2023 (0137 GMT on March 7) carrying the Advanced Land