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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02:51
Colliding Comets May Be Hiding Alien Planet | Video
Added 748 Views / 0 LikesAstronomers studying the dust and gas around bright star Beta Pictoris have discover a cloud of debris from collisions of icy comet-like bodies. Its possilbe that the comets are trapped in a small region by the gravity of a saturn-sized planet.
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04:07
Astronauts Spend 3 Days In Below Freezing Temps For Survival Training | Video
Added 759 Views / 0 LikesIn case of an off-course Soyuz landing (and the rescue teams inability to reach the crew in a reasonable time period), astronauts are trained in outdoor winter survival. ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen looks back at his training.
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03:37
Telescope Bigger Than A Galaxy, Really - Thanks Einstein! | Video
Added 771 Views / 0 LikesEinstein's Theory of Relativity predicts that a mass of star cluster Abell 2744 warps the fabric of space around it, bending and magnifying passing starlight. The Hubble Space Telescope's exposure of the cluster reveals 3,000 magnified galaxies.
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02:03
One Twin In Space, One On The Ground - Boon For Science | Video
Added 801 Views / 0 LikesNASA astronaut Scott Kelly will spend a year aboard ISS, giving researchers a better understanding of how spaceflight effects in the human body. Scott's identical twin Mark (fmr. Space Shuttle cmdr.) provides a unique Earth-based comparison.
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01:58
'Cosmos' Honored In Space With Experiment | Video
Added 756 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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01:29
Intergalactic Voids Are Not So Empty - 'Tendrils' Pierce Cosmic Bubbles | Animation
Added 711 Views / 0 LikesAstronomers observing with the Anglo-Australian Telescope have found a strangely arranged population of faint galaxies penetrating what were thought to be huge empty regions of space. Termed 'tendrils' these strings of matter may interconnect.
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02:25
NASA Seeks Bounty Hunters for Asteroids - $35K in Awards | Video
Added 609 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Asteroid Grand Challenge is asking citizen scientists to improve how we identify asteroids. The contest runs through August 2014.
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02:05
Rare Hypergiant Star Revealed - 1300X More Massive Than Sun | Video
Added 763 Views / 0 LikesA yellow hypergiant star and its 'joined at the hip' companion star have been observed using ESO's Very Large Telescope's interferometer. This is the largest yellow star ever discovered.
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01:36
NASA's 9th Morpheus Lander -- Highest Flight Yet | Video
Added 854 Views / 0 LikesNASA JSC's prototype planetary lander made its fastest (~30 mph) and highest ascent (580 feet) on March 11, 2014. The flight lasted 83-seconds and it touched down on a landing pad 837 feet 'downrange' from the launchpad.
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01:20
Solar Flare's 'Psychedelic' Burst Seen In Different Wavelength | Video
Added 768 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured the M9.3-class flare on March 12, 2014. SDO cameras capture imagery at many wavelengths to study solar material and processes that are not visible to the human eye.
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04:44
Producing 'Live From Space' - Soledad O'Brien | Video Interview
Added 606 Views / 0 LikesAs anchor of National Geographic Channel's two hour special on March 14th, 2014 at 8pm EST, O'Brien will turn to astronauts Mike Massimino for color commentary on the ground while talking with Rick Mastracchio and Koichi Wakata on ISS.
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02:50
Probe To Fly Between Saturn And Its Rings | Video
Added 786 Views / 0 LikesOn its final orbit In 2017, NASA's Cassini probe will fly between the inner edge of the D ring and the upper atmosphere of the gas giant. It will also fly though an Enceladus plume in the next few years.
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03:15
Big Bang Gravitational Waves Discovered | Video
Added 771 Views / 0 LikesEvidence that the universe rapidly expanded in its first few nanoseconds has been found by an instrument in Antarctica: Gravitational waves, which have long eluded astronomers, were spotted, supporting this cosmic inflation model.
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05:31
Hubble Snaps 'Monkey Head' Nebula | Video
Added 744 Views / 0 LikesTo celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope's 24th year in orbit, astronomers set their sights on NGC 2174, the Monkey Head Nebula. Young stars are sculpting gas and dust of this Orion constellation nebula.
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08:21
'Star Wars' Toys Movie 'Plastic Galaxy' - Director Speaks | Video
Added 624 Views / 0 LikesProducer/Director Brian Stillman brought some classic Star Wars toys to Space.com to talk about how this phenomenon changed movie merchandising forever, the subject of his documentary 'Plastic Galaxy'.
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01:45
Asteroid Will Block Bright Star - How To Watch Online | Video
Added 662 Views / 0 LikesOn March 20th, 2014, Asteroid 163 Erigone will 'occult' Regulus, one of the brightest stars in the sky. This event will be visible from parts of the Northeast United States. Slooh.com will have live coverage.
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01:06
Mid-Atlantic Has A White St. Patrick's Day | Video
Added 726 Views / 0 LikesThis animation of NOAA's GOES satellite data shows the progression of another major winter storm over the U.S. Mid-Atlantic on March 16 and 17.
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00:51
Space Station 3D Printer Slated To Launch This Summer | Video
Added 686 Views / 0 LikesNASA astronaut G. Reid Wiseman is excited about the long term implications of 3D printers in space. Wiseman and the 'Made In Space' printer are scheduled to meet on ISS in Aug. 2014. He spoke at a NASA event on Mar. 19th, 2014.
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03:13
Life On Mars Sim: Rover Deployed In High And Dry Utah | Video
Added 765 Views / 0 LikesMarsCrew134's crew engineer Ewan Reid is testing a rover carrying a terrain mapping pair of stereo cameras and equipment to test long range robotic control during a two week human Mars mission simulation in high altitude Utah.
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03:37
'Diaper Rash' Fungus Resistant To Cream In Space | Video
Added 611 Views / 0 LikesCandida yeast, producer of diaper rash and thrush, was experimented on in the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station in 2012. Principal investigator Sheila Nielson-Preiss talks about the findings.