outer space meaning

They launched the craft into outer space. This status as a common heritage of mankind has been used, though not without opposition, to enforce the right to access and shared use of outer space for all nations equally, particularly non-spacefaring nations. outer space n noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc. [109][110], Since 1958, outer space has been the subject of multiple United Nations resolutions. [59] The variable space-weather conditions of geospace are affected by the behavior of the Sun and the solar wind; the subject of geospace is interlinked with heliophysics—the study of the Sun and its impact on the planets of the Solar System. [147] In 1961, Venera 1 became the first planetary probe. This can cause nausea and vomiting, vertigo, headaches, lethargy, and overall malaise. The first successful planetary mission was the 1962 fly-by of Venus by Mariner 2. At or above the Armstrong line, fluids in the throat and lungs boil away. He's making a quiz, and checking it twice... Test your knowledge of the words of the year. This concept built upon a 5th-century BCE ontological argument by the Greek philosopher Parmenides, who denied the possible existence of a void in space. For the album, see, sfn error: no target: CITEREFUnited_States (, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, International Telecommunication Union responsible for radio communication, Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Timeline of knowledge about the interstellar and intergalactic medium, "Existence and nature of dark matter in the universe", Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, "Where does space begin? [115] These claims are not internationally accepted. The color black is often regarded as representing evil. [25][26] All of the observable universe is filled with photons that were created during the Big Bang, which is known as the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB). Using the estimated radiation of the background stars, he concluded that space must be heated to a temperature of 5–6 K. British physicist Arthur Eddington made a similar calculation to derive a temperature of 3.18 K in 1926. How to use outer in a sentence. “Easy!” you think, “Interstellar space is the part of space that exists between stars.” Not so fast! It has effectively no friction, allowing stars, planets, and moons to move freely along their ideal orbits, following the initial formation stage. Due to the high cost of getting into space, human spaceflight has been limited to low Earth orbit and the Moon. [53] On a round-trip Mars mission lasting three years, a large fraction of the cells in an astronaut's body would be traversed and potentially damaged by high energy nuclei. [58] The contents of interstellar space are called the interstellar medium. [156] An important factor in the total expense is the high cost of placing mass into Earth orbit: $8,000–$25,000 per kg, according to a 2006 estimate (allowing for inflation since then). [152] Likewise, a site like the Daedalus crater on the far side of the Moon could shield a radio telescope from the radio frequency interference that hampers Earth-based observations. As of 2017, 105 state parties have either ratified or acceded to the treaty. [87], The local interstellar medium is a region of space within 100 parsecs (pc) of the Sun, which is of interest both for its proximity and for its interaction with the Solar System. Some of this debris re-enters Earth's atmosphere periodically. Magneto-hydrodynamic processes in active elliptical galaxies produce their characteristic jets and radio lobes. By comparison, the air humans breathe contains about 10 molecules per cubic meter. More advanced propulsion systems could use antimatter as a fuel, potentially reaching relativistic velocities. [39] The lithopanspermia hypothesis suggests that rocks ejected into outer space from life-harboring planets may successfully transport life forms to another habitable world. [157] The cost of access to space has declined since 2013. The altitude where atmospheric pressure matches the vapor pressure of water at the temperature of the human body is called the Armstrong line, named after American physician Harry G. Armstrong. [111] Four additional space law treaties have been negotiated and drafted by the UN's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. He believed that the Universe, while not infinite, could not be held as finite as it lacked any bounds within which it could be contained. According to the Big Bang theory, the very early Universe was an extremely hot and dense state about 13.8 billion years ago[9] which rapidly expanded. [127], The concept of a Universe filled with a luminiferous aether retained support among some scientists until the early 20th century. [154], The deep vacuum of space could make it an attractive environment for certain industrial processes, such as those requiring ultraclean surfaces. [57] The distance and strength of the heliopause varies depending on the activity level of the solar wind. These observations indicate that the spatial geometry of the observable universe is "flat", meaning that photons on parallel paths at one point remain parallel as they travel through space to the limit of the observable universe, except for local gravity. The modern concept of outer space is based on the "Big Bang" cosmology, first proposed in 1931 by the Belgian physicist Georges Lemaître. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! In 1640, he demonstrated that an established force resisted the formation of a vacuum. The boundary represents the midpoint of a gradual transition over tens of kilometers from the relatively gentle winds of the Earth's atmosphere to the more violent flows of charged particles in space, which can reach speeds well over 268 m/s (600 mph). Energetic cosmic rays penetrate the cold, dense clouds and ionize hydrogen and helium, resulting, for example, in the trihydrogen cation. [66] The escape velocity required to pull free of Earth's gravitational field altogether and move into interplanetary space is about 11,200 m/s (40,300 km/h; 25,100 mph).[102]. It's what connects all our worlds." This was followed by crewed rocket flights and, then, crewed Earth orbit, first achieved by Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union in 1961. (The actual distance to the border of this cavity varies from 60 to 250 pc or more.) At these temperatures, it is called the warm–hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). [76] Interplanetary space extends out to the heliopause where the influence of the galactic environment starts to dominate over the magnetic field and particle flux from the Sun. These are shaped by the influence of the solar wind into the approximation of a teardrop shape, with the long tail extending outward behind the planet. [71][72][73][74] The International Telecommunication Union responsible for radio communication (including satellites) defines the beginning of deep space at about 5 times that distance (2×106 km). [10] This leaves open the question as to whether the Universe is finite or infinite. ‘The atmosphere is clearly not outer space, despite the difficulty of defining the boundaries of that area.’ ‘This prohibited nuclear testing in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater.’ ‘It also served as an experiment on the behaviour of gas in outer space.’ Studies indicate that 90% of the mass in most galaxies is in an unknown form, called dark matter, which interacts with other matter through gravitational but not electromagnetic forces. Synonyms for outer space include cosmos, space, the cosmos, the universe, the solar system, celestial spaces, cosmic space, deep space, empty space and ether space. Instead, these authors argue that a subsonic bow wave defines the transition from the solar wind flow to the interstellar medium. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Definition of outer space written for English Language Learners from the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary with audio pronunciations, usage examples, and count/noncount noun labels. Here are some possible explanations of why you are dreaming of outer space. The duration of space sickness varies, but it typically lasts for 1–3 days, after which the body adjusts to the new environment. This experiment resulted in the first mercury barometer and created a scientific sensation in Europe. [119], In ancient China, the 2nd-century astronomer Zhang Heng became convinced that space must be infinite, extending well beyond the mechanism that supported the Sun and the stars. [80] A cloud of interplanetary dust is visible at night as a faint band called the zodiacal light. [93] This material is called the intergalactic medium (IGM). [25][83], A number of molecules exist in interstellar space, as can tiny 0.1 μm dust particles. [65], Although it meets the definition of outer space, the atmospheric density within the first few hundred kilometers above the Kármán line is still sufficient to produce significant drag on satellites. [44] Blood and other body fluids boil when the pressure drops below 6.3 kPa, and this condition is called ebullism. Lesser symptoms include loss of body mass, nasal congestion, sleep disturbance, and puffiness of the face. space. [97], A spacecraft enters orbit when its centripetal acceleration due to gravity is less than or equal to the centrifugal acceleration due to the horizontal component of its velocity. outer space definition: 1. the part of space that is very far away from Earth 2. the part of space that is very far away…. [32] The peak flux of cosmic rays occurs at energies of about 109 eV, with approximately 87% protons, 12% helium nuclei and 1% heavier nuclei. Space definition, the unlimited or incalculably great three-dimensional realm or expanse in which all material objects are located and all events occur. [66] This region contains material left over from previous crewed and uncrewed launches that are a potential hazard to spacecraft. For a low Earth orbit, this velocity is about 7,800 m/s (28,100 km/h; 17,400 mph);[98] by contrast, the fastest piloted airplane speed ever achieved (excluding speeds achieved by deorbiting spacecraft) was 2,200 m/s (7,900 km/h; 4,900 mph) in 1967 by the North American X-15. [128] In 1887, the Michelson–Morley experiment tried to detect the Earth's motion through this medium by looking for changes in the speed of light depending on the direction of the planet's motion. The earliest known estimate of the temperature of outer space was by the Swiss physicist Charles É. Guillaume in 1896. [33] Cosmic rays can damage electronic components and pose a health threat to space travelers. The radiation of outer space has a different temperature than the kinetic temperature of the gas, meaning that the gas and radiation are not in thermodynamic equilibrium. What made you want to look up outer space? [13], Estimates put the average energy density of the present day Universe at the equivalent of 5.9 protons per cubic meter, including dark energy, dark matter, and baryonic matter (ordinary matter composed of atoms). On the other hand, uncrewed spacecraft have reached all of the known planets in the Solar System. In the high energy range, the flux of electrons is only about 1% of that of protons. When this happened, matter and energy became decoupled, allowing photons to travel freely through the continually expanding space. This has been used to show ordered magnetic fields exist in several nearby galaxies. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. … n-uncount In 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik 1 into outer space. This name comes from the old English word ‘steorra,’ and is a different form of the name star. The term outward space was used in 1842 by the English poet Lady Emmeline Stuart-Wortley in her poem "The Maiden of Moscow". This is evidenced by the spectacular pictures sent back by the Hubble Space Telescope, allowing light from more than 13 billion years ago—almost to the time of the Big Bang—to be observed. It would remain for his pupil Evangelista Torricelli to create an apparatus that would produce a partial vacuum in 1643. [61][62] For roughly four days of each month, the lunar surface is shielded from the solar wind as the Moon passes through the magnetotail. This pressure is high enough to prevent ebullism, but evaporation of nitrogen dissolved in the blood could still cause decompression sickness and gas embolisms if not managed. Learn a new word every day. Initially, more than 50% of astronauts experience space motion sickness. The Outer Space Treaty provides the basic framework on international space law, including the following principles: the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind; outer space shall be … This wind has a particle density of 5–10 protons/cm3 and is moving at a velocity of 350–400 km/s (780,000–890,000 mph). [55], Space is a partial vacuum: its different regions are defined by the various atmospheres and "winds" that dominate within them, and extend to the point at which those winds give way to those beyond. [48] Supplemental oxygen is needed at 8 km (5 mi) to provide enough oxygen for breathing and to prevent water loss, while above 20 km (12 mi) pressure suits are essential to prevent ebullism. 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Force on 10 October 1967 astronomy is steadily increasing at the brain humans. Bow wave defines the transition from the solar wind electrons to combine and hydrogen—the. The cost to send materials into space remains prohibitively high for many industries condensed into stars planets! 0.1 μm dust particles claims of national sovereignty and permits all states to explore! Earth orbit are an essential technology of modern civilization concept, see, `` space. vertigo,,... Fly-By of Venus by Mariner 4 in 1964 hence, at this altitude, human survival requires a pressure,. As for observation of the Earth 's upper atmosphere and space elevators rate of about four new per. [ 17 ] by comparison, the closest known approximation to a perfect vacuum ``,.

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