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)
-
03:38
SpaceShipTwo Crash - First Hand Account From Mojave | Video
Added 889 Views / 0 LikesSpaceShipTwo Crash - First Hand Account From Mojave | Video
-
09:48
Historic Blizzard puts NY & East Coast under Pressure & Ice Ice, baby.
Added 889 Views / 0 LikesHistoric Blizzard puts NY & East Coast under Pressure & Ice Ice, baby.
-
00:45
New Sunspot Blasts M-Class Flare | Video
Added 888 Views / 0 LikesNew Sunspot Blasts M-Class Flare | Video
-
02:48
Monster Winter Storm Orson headed to East Coast USA. Bombogenesis!
Added 888 Views / 0 LikesMonster Winter Storm Orson headed to East Coast USA. Bombogenesis!
-
00:26
Red and Green 'Christmas' Auroras Light Up Skies Over Sweden | Video
Added 887 Views / 0 LikesChad Blakley (lightsoverlapland.com) grabbed his camera on Christmas Day 2013 and captured the festive Northern Lights above the frozen shore of Lake Torneträsk in Abisko National Park.
-
10:38
Where Will Comet ISON Go If It Survives? - Exclusive NASA Interview
Added 887 Views / 0 LikesNASA Scientist Dr. Michelle Thaller talks to SPACE.com's @TariqjMalik about the possible 'comet of the century' two days prior to its Nov. 28th, 2013 date with the Sun. All things ISON here: http://goo.gl/rgQ0u6
-
01:01
Solar Fireworks Ring In The New Year With Near X-Class Solar Flare | Video
Added 887 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Solar Dynamics Laboratory captured this explosive M9-class solar flare on January first, ringing in the New Year with a flare that was almost but not quite X-class.
-
02:35
Supermassive Black Hole's 'Death Star' X-Ray Beam Snapped By Space Telescope | Video
Added 887 Views / 0 LikesSupermassive Black Hole's 'Death Star' X-Ray Beam Snapped By Space Telescope | Video
-
07:17
Christmas Comet? New Comet of the Century? c/2014 Q2 LOVEJoy Deja Vu
Added 886 Views / 0 LikesChristmas Comet? New Comet of the Century? c/2014 Q2 LOVEJoy Deja Vu
-
05:47
NASA's New planet CERES photos! Look like the old photos.
Added 886 Views / 0 LikesNASA's New planet CERES photos! Look like the old photos.
-
01:44
Bright Auroras Shine Through Clouds Over Sweden | Video
Added 885 Views / 0 LikesAurora photographer Chad Blakley (www.lightsoverlapland.com) shot this time lapse of an aurora shimmering through the clouds over Abisko National Park in Sweden on the night of January 13th.
-
08:09
The Venus Vortex! The Climate on Venus is changing!
Added 884 Views / 0 LikesThe Venus Vortex! The Climate on Venus is changing!
-
00:50
Massive X-Flare Tops Sun's Active Week
Added 883 Views / 0 LikesThe same sunspot to unleash a M.9 flare just a few days ago erupted again with the strongest of flares, X type, on January 27, 2012. Fortunately, the Earth was spared the full brunt of the solar shockwave, but a radiation storm may still be imminent.
-
01:07
Actor Seth Green Touts NASA Spinoff Tech | Video
Added 883 Views / 0 LikesActor Seth Green Touts NASA Spinoff Tech | Video
-
09:41
USA Looks like a Navy Edgar Cayce Map of the Future & the South will Flood this week
Added 883 Views / 0 LikesUSA Looks like a Navy Edgar Cayce Map of the Future & the South will Flood this week
-
01:19
Solar 'Spitfire' Snapped By Spacecraft | Video
Added 882 Views / 0 LikesSolar 'Spitfire' Snapped By Spacecraft | Video
-
03:20
Hands-On: CELESTRON SKYMASTER 25x100 Binoculars for Sky-Watching
Added 882 Views / 0 LikesHands-On: CELESTRON SKYMASTER 25x100 Binoculars for Sky-Watching
-
08:50
Planet X Discovered: Multiple Objects have been found in our Solar System by Multiple Astronomers
Added 882 Views / 0 LikesPlanet X Discovered: Multiple Objects have been found in our Solar System by Multiple Astronomers
-
01:21
Mars Moon Phobos Fly-Around Created From Spacecraft Photos | Video
Added 881 Views / 0 LikesIn anticipation of the Mars Express' risky fly-by of the Martian Moon on Dec. 29, 2013 it (coming with 28 miles (45km) of the surface), the European Space Agency has compild imagery from previous fly-bys to create this highly detailed fly-around.
-
03:39
Earth's Cousin Find 'Whispers The Possibility That We Are Not Alone' | Video
Added 881 Views / 0 LikesEarth's Cousin Find 'Whispers The Possibility That We Are Not Alone' | Video