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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01:05
NASA astronaut Suni Williams sees orbital sunrise during spacewalk - Time-lapse
Added 47 Views / 0 LikesNASA astronaut Suni Williams works outside the International Space Station on Jan. 16, 2025. Credit: NASA | edited by Space.com's Steve Spaleta
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00:58
SpaceX Starship Flight 7 #booster #catch @LoganSpaleta #music #launch #spaceflight #chopsticks
Added 47 Views / 0 LikesSpaceX launched the seventh test flight of the Starship megarocket from Starbase in Texas on Jan. 16, 2025. Starship's Super Heavy booster successfully separated, and returned to Earth and was caught by the "chopsticks" on the launch tower. Video features
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09:48
RED ALERT! 20+ Inches of Rain headed to North California! & Asteroid 2025 Beautiful But...
Added 47 Views / 0 LikesYou are amazing.Happy Lunar New Year!God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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05:32
Space to Ground: All Heart: Feb. 14, 2025
Added 47 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Got a question or comment? Use #AskNASA to talk to us.Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:https://www.nasa.gov/iss-scien
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10:02
Jared Issacman refuses to answer whether Elon Musk was in his NASA chief interview with Trump
Added 47 Views / 0 LikesJared Isaacman was asked whether Elon Musk was at his interview with President Trump at his Senate confirmation hearing to become the next administrator of NASA.CreditL NASA
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01:23
Mars Ingenuity helicopter accident investigation reveals likely cause of crash
Added 46 Views / 0 LikesThe investigation into the Mars helicopter Ingenuity accident has found that the "lack of surface texture gave the navigation system too little information to work with,” likely causing the rotors blades to hit the surface of the Mars and suffer damage, a
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06:38
PINK ALERT! Wildfire TERROR in S. California! & BIG Texas & Southern ICE & Snow storm approacheth!
Added 46 Views / 0 Likesit's going to be a wild, wild weather week.buckle up & stay cool.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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10:11
All of Los Angeles just got an accidental Evacuation Warning & Texas & the South get Ice Snow Floods
Added 46 Views / 0 LikesThank you for being awesome.God bless everyone,Stay cool.T
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03:15
Blue Origin's massive New Glenn rocket soars in flight profile animation
Added 46 Views / 0 LikesSee the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket's flight profile and first stage landing in this new animation. Credit: Blue Origin
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05:27
How To Fly Orion
Added 46 Views / 0 LikesNASA’s Orion spacecraft is built to fly autonomously – and on the Artemis I mission, flew 25.5 days uncrewed around the Moon. On Orion’s next flight to the Moon, Artemis II, astronauts will be aboard, and the crew will pilot the spacecraft for the first t
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02:58
Space to Ground: Historic Spacewalk: Jan. 31, 2025
Added 46 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Got a question or comment? Use #AskNASA to talk to us.Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:https://www.nasa.gov/iss-scien
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00:30 New
Pan video: NGC 1514 (MIRI image)
Added 46 Views / 0 LikesThe NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has taken the most detailed image of planetary nebula NGC 1514 to date thanks to its unique mid-infrared observations. Webb shows its rings as “fuzzy,” intricate clumps of dust. It’s also easier to see holes pun
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02:57 New
Oprah Winfrey on-hand to support Gayle King's Blue Origin launch to space
Added 46 Views / 0 LikesGayle KIng's long-time friend Oprah Winfrey was on-hand to support her Blue Origin launch to suborbital space. Credit: Blue Origin
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00:30
Pan video: NGC 2566 (MIRI)
Added 45 Views / 0 LikesThe galaxy filling the frame in this NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month is NGC 2566, a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Puppis. In this image Webb’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) puts the thick clouds of interstellar d
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06:00
7.1 Tibet EQ! Dangerous Windstorm for S. Cal! BIG Snow & ICE Storm TX+! & Nasty Nor'Easter?
Added 45 Views / 0 Likeswild weather ahead y'all.yeeha. 2025.God bless everyone,Thttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewisonhttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
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08:24
Blastoff! SpaceX launches US spy satelllites from California, nails landing
Added 45 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the NROL-57 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base Friday on March 21, 2025 at 2:49 a.m. EDT (0649 GMT; 11:49 p.m. on March 20 local California time). Full
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00:30
Pan: NGC 1637
Added 44 Views / 0 LikesThe subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week is NGC 1637, a spiral galaxy located 38 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Eridanus.This image comes from an observing programme dedicated to studying star formation
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04:04
Space to Ground: Hailing Frequencies: Feb. 07, 2025
Added 44 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Got a question or comment? Use #AskNASA to talk to us.Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:https://www.nasa.gov/iss-scien
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03:58
Space to Ground: A Wooden Satellite Dec. 13, 2024
Added 44 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Got a question or comment? Use #AskNASA to talk to us.Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:https://www.nasa.gov/iss-scien
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04:03
U.S. Spacewalk 92 Animation (Radio Frequency Group 2 5)
Added 44 Views / 0 LikesAn animation of U.S. spacewalk 92 scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23, when two NASA astronauts will exit the station’s Quest airlock to complete removal of a faulty electronics box, called a radio frequency group, from a communications antenna on the starboa