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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Watch the Artemis 1 Launch Live (Reporter's View)- Space.com Live at Kennedy Space Center
Added 224 Views / 0 LikesWatch the Artemis 1 Launch from a reporter's view at Kennedy Space Center. View the official launch live on our website ⬇️
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Watch the Boeing Starliner Pad Abort Test in Awesome Raw Video
Added 425 Views / 0 LikesSee an alternate view of the Boeing Starliner pad abort test that was conducted on Nov. 4, 2019. [Boeing Tests Starliner Spacecraft's Launch Abort System for Rocket Emergencies](https://www.space.com/boeing-starliner-pad-abort-test-success.html)Credit: Bo
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Watch the Constellations 'Dance' In ESA Gaia 3D Motion Animation
Added 506 Views / 0 LikesMeasurements from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia mission were used to create this animation of the motion of constellation stars. The "apparent shift caused by Earth’s yearly motion around the Sun," called parallax, were taken into account while c
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Watch the entire Beaver Moon lunar eclipse in 1 minute time-lapse
Added 262 Views / 0 LikesEarthlings was treated to a partial lunar eclipse on Nov. 18-19, 2021. The Griffith Observatory captured it in its entirety, time-lapsed here. -- Nearly total Beaver Moon lunar eclipse, longest of its kind in 580 years, wows stargazers: https://www.space.
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Watch the first Space Shuttle launch and land on the 40th anniversary
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Watch the James Webb Space Telescope Christmas 2021 launch from T-1 minute through deployment
Added 177 Views / 0 LikesAn Ariane 5 rocket launched NASA's James Webb Space Telescope On Dec. 25, 2021. Relive the historic launch coverage from T-1 minute through the deployment of the telescope. Also features comments from NASA and Arianespace leadership and more. Story - Jame
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Watch the James Webb Space Telescope get folded for final tests
Added 328 Views / 0 LikesNASA's James Webb Space Telescope has been folded into launch configuration for tests. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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Watch the Launch of the International SWOT Mission Live!
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Watch the lunar eclipse begin in 1-minute time-lapse
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Watch the Moon's shadows move in 2-month time-lapse from orbiter data
Added 293 Views / 0 LikesUsing data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA has created a visualization of the shadow movement near the moon's south pole. Studying the shadows "informs scientists about the temperature at and below the surface," according to NASA's Goddard
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Watch the outer solar system planets spin in new Hubble footage
Added 271 Views / 0 LikesThe Hubble Space Telescope captured footage of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in 2021. See them spin in this time-lapse.Credit: SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC), Michael H. Wong (UC Berkeley) / VISUALIZATION: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) / edit
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Watch the Pine Island Glacier give birth to a huge iceberg in satellite imagery
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Watch the R Aquarii binary star system evolve in Hubble imagery time-lapse
Added 66 Views / 0 LikesThe Hubble Space Telescope has captured imagery of the R Aquarii binary star system from 2014-2023. The images have been time-lapsed here to show the evolution of the region. Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Stute, M. Karovska, D. de Martin & M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble)
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Watch the Solar Orbiter's approach to the sun and a powerful flare!
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Watch the Southern Crab Nebula Form in Amazing Animation
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Watch the SpaceX Starlink 6 mission's 60 satellites be deployed
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Watch the Sun erupt with multiple X-class solar flares in 4K spacecraft time-lapses!
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Watch The Trailer: “Mars Calling – Manifest Destiny or Grand Illusion?”
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