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)
-
11:28
Red Alert! Mars squares Saturn on the 10th. It's going to be frustrating & people combative.
Added 107 Views / 0 Likesbuckle up & stay cool.God bless everyone,T LEWISON5430 BIRDWOOD RD. #416HOUSTON TEXAS 77096https://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewison$THORnews on CashApphttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
-
04:11
Blastoff! AEHF-4 Air Force Satellite Launches Atop Atlas V Rocket
Added 513 Views / 0 LikesUnited Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket launched the AEHF-4 mission for the United States Air Force on Oct. 17, 2018. Credit: ULA
-
00:53
Mars Perseverance rover's new 'Comet Geyser' sample 'great for biosignature studies'
Added 83 Views / 0 LikesNASA's Perseverance rover on Mars has collected its 24th sample of Jezero Crater. The new 'Comet Geyser' sample is "great for biosignature studies," according to the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
-
09:56
68 Texas Rivers at Flood Stage & 3 more days of Major rain
Added 722 Views / 0 Likes68 Texas Rivers at Flood Stage & 3 more days of Major rain
-
09:32
SpaceX completes doubleheader with launch of SES satellites, nails landing
Added 124 Views / 0 LikesA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the SES-18 and SES-19 telecommunications satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on March 17, 2023. It was less than five hours after they launched a new Starlink batch from California. Full Story: h
-
01:13
Watch Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine gimble at full power during hotfire test
Added 149 Views / 0 LikesThe BE-4 engine is the “most powerful liquefied natural gas fueled rocket engine ever developed,” according to Blue Origin. Watch it gimble at full power in these hotfire test views. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: Blue Origin | edited by [Steve Spa
-
13:06
Weather Update THORnews Sloppy LowFi Labor Day edition
Added 701 Views / 0 LikesWeather Update THORnews Sloppy LowFi Labor Day edition
-
20:07
Russia & USA tensions escalate! Moon Mirage! another potential California oil spill! Strange sounds
Added 234 Views / 0 Likesthe world keeps getting wilder but my optimism is rising.God bless everyone,T LEWISON5430 BIRDWOOD RD. #416HOUSTON TEXAS 77096https://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewison$THORnews on CashApphttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
-
01:11
Martian Sunset Through Two Rovers' 'Eyes' | Video
Added 651 Views / 0 LikesMartian Sunset Through Two Rovers' 'Eyes' | Video
-
01:10
Watch the X-37B Space Plane's Nighttime Landing After Record 780 Days in Orbit
Added 340 Views / 0 LikesThe US Air Force's X-37B's Orbital Test Vehicle 5 (OTV-5) mission ended when the space plane landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Oct. 27, 2019. Story: US Air Force's X-37B Space Plane Lands After Record 780-Day Mystery Miss
-
00:59
Zoom Into Asteroid Bennu - NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission Imagery
Added 492 Views / 0 LikesNASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has been capturing mission of its target, asteroid Bennu. -- Another Space Diamond!: https://www.space.com/42304-asteroid-bennu-diamond-photo-nasa-osiris-rex.htmlCredit: NASA
-
02:17
Celebrate Earth Day with these views of our planet from NOAA satellites
Added 74 Views / 0 LikesNOAA satellites have kept their eyes on Earth and delivered invaluable data on our changing world. Celebrate Earth Day with these views. Credits:NOAANASACIRAAdditional imagery courtesy of CIMSS.Music: “A Serious Man” by Kavin Hoo [ASCAP]; ELIAS Music; Uni
-
07:46
WTF? North Korea tests Nuclear Tsunami device?! & the NEXT Bombcyclone hits California next Tuesday!
Added 148 Views / 0 Likeswe do live in strange times.God bless everyone,T LEWISONhttps://www.paypal.me/THORnewshttps://venmo.com/TEric-Lewison$THORnews on CashApphttps://www.patreon.com/thornews
-
01:53
Saturn's Hexagon, Rings and More 'Stared At' For Days - NASA Cassini Time-Lapse Video
Added 698 Views / 0 LikesSaturn's Hexagon, Rings and More 'Stared At' For Days - NASA Cassini Time-Lapse Video
-
1:03:18
Starlink Mission
Added 296 Views / 0 LikesSpaceX is targeting Tuesday, August 18 at 10:31 a.m. EDT for launch of its eleventh Starlink mission, which will include 58 Starlink satellites and three of Planet’s SkySats. Falcon 9 will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral A
-
02:00
Wild Ride To Safety - SpaceX Dragon Pad Abort Test | On-Board Video
Added 777 Views / 0 LikesWild Ride To Safety - SpaceX Dragon Pad Abort Test | On-Board Video
-
00:45
Blastoff! China Launches Earth Observing Satellite
Added 478 Views / 0 LikesChina launched the Gaofen-7 Earth observing satellite on Nov. 3, 2019 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province. -- Latest News on China's Space Program https://www.space.com/topics/china-space-programCredit: China Central Television - CCT
-
01:02
BepiColombo spacecraft zooms by Mercury - See the footage
Added 252 Views / 0 LikesSee Mercury through the lens of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft during its first flyby of the planet on Oct. 1, 2021. Footage was captured by "two of the three Monitoring Cameras (MCAM)," according to ESA.Credit: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO;