What is Space?

Space holds many secrets. It contains places  where human beings can be stretched into spaghetti shapes, or boiled, or frozen solid: that's  why astronauts wear protective clothing in the  space. 

Welcome to a mysterious — and endlessly fascinating — world. 

♦ What is space?

                               When people think of space,  they think of:

                      ♠ Weightlessness — everything  floats as if there's no gravity.

                       ♠ Nothingness — vast areas of  space are completely empty.

                        ♠ Stars —  every star is a burning ball of gas. Our Sun is a star.

                         ♠  Astronauts — people who  explore the world beyond our Earth.

                          ♠ Rockets and Satellites — These  are what scientists use to explore space.

                           ♠ Silence — there is no air in  space, so there is absolutely no sound.

 

♦ Is that space?

                              On a cloudless night, you can see  thousands of stars. Space is the name we give to  the huge empty areas in between the  atmospheres of stars and planets. Apart from the odd rock, space is sprinkled only with dust and  gas.

♦ Why is space so dark?

                                            Space is black because  there is nothing there to reflect light. From space,  Earth looks lit up because light from our Sun  reflects off sea, and land, and the particles in our  atmosphere.

♦ How the distance is measure in space?

                                                                         The  distance measure in space in light years. One light year is the distance light travels in one year: that's  10 million million km ( 6 million million miles ). 

♦ Is anyone there?

                                  • If there are aliens, it is unlikely they will speak the languages of Earth, so  communication may be a problem. Coded signals  have been sent into space. People are also  listening for signals from space.

           

                                   • SETI ( The search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence ) uses powerful radio  telescopes to scan for alien signals. However, so  far nothing has been found. 

         

                                   • Message into space:

                                                                         In 1974,

 astronomers at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, sent a radio  message from us to the stars. It was sent towards 

a cluster of stars called M13, where it will arrive  in 25,000 years. We may then get a reply after  another 25,000 years.( Is anyone there to read it ! )

                                    

 The Arecibo message lasts  three minutes. It is consists of 1,679 pulses,  which when arranged from a pictogram. The  pictogram explains the basis of life.

♦ Is a black hole may be a doorway to another  universe?

                 Some people think a black hole may be a doorway to another universe. But it's all just  speculation. Nobody really knows. However, it is  doubtful someone could survive the journey  through the hole to find out. An astronaut unfortunate enough to try would be stretched out  like a piece of spaghetti... 

            

              

“ Two Possibilities Exist: Either We Are  Alone In The Universe Or We Not Both Are Equally Terrifying. ”

                                — Arthur C. Clark.