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Everything you need to know about space travel (almost)

We're a long way from home...

Paul Parsons

When did we first start exploring space?

The first human-made object to go into space was a German V2 missile , launched on a test flight in 1942. Although uncrewed, it reached an altitude of 189km (117 miles).

Former Nazi rocket scientists were later recruited by both America and Russia (often at gunpoint in the latter case), where they were instrumental in developing Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) – rockets capable of carrying nuclear weapons from one side of the planet to the other.

It was these super-missiles that formed the basis for the space programmes of both post-war superpowers. As it happened, Russia was the first to reach Earth orbit, when it launched the uncrewed Sputnik 1 in October 1957, followed a month later by Sputnik 2, carrying the dog Laika – the first live animal in space.

The USA sent its first uncrewed satellite, Explorer 1, into orbit soon after, in January 1958. A slew of robotic spaceflights followed, from both sides of the Atlantic, before Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin piloted Vostok 1 into orbit on 12 April 1961, to become the first human being in space . And from there the space race proper began, culminating in Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becoming the first people to walk on the Moon as part of NASA's Apollo programme .

Why is space travel important?

Space exploration is the future. It satisfies the human urge to explore and to travel, and in the years and decades to come it could even provide our species with new places to call home – especially relevant now, as Earth becomes increasingly crowded .

Extending our reach into space is also necessary for the advancement of science. Space telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope and probes to the distant worlds of the Solar System are continually updating, and occasionally revolutionising, our understanding of astronomy and physics.

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But there are also some very practical reasons, such as mining asteroids for materials that are extremely rare here on Earth.

One example is the huge reserve of the chemical isotope helium-3 thought to be locked away in the soil on the surface of the Moon . This isotope is a potential fuel for future nuclear fusion reactors – power stations that tap into the same source of energy as the Sun. Unlike other fusion fuels, helium-3 gives off no hard-to-contain and deadly neutron radiation.

However, for this to happen the first challenge to overcome is how to build a base on the Moon. In 2019, China's Chang’e 4 mission marked the beginning of a new space race to conquer the Moon, signalling their intent to build a permanent lunar base , while the NASA Artemis mission plans to build a space station, called Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway , providing a platform to ferry astronauts to the Moon's surface.

Could humans travel into interstellar space and how would we get there?

It’s entirely feasible that human explorers will visit the furthest reaches of our Solar System. The stars, however, are another matter. Interstellar space is so vast that it takes light – the fastest thing we know of in the Universe – years, centuries and millennia to traverse it. Faster-than-light travel may be possible one day, but is unlikely to become a reality in our lifetimes.

It’s not impossible that humans might one day cross this cosmic gulf, though it won’t be easy. The combustion-powered rocket engines of today certainly aren’t up to the job – they just don’t use fuel efficiently enough. Instead, interstellar spacecraft may create a rocket-like propulsion jet using electric and magnetic fields. This so-called ‘ ion drive ’ technology has already been tested aboard uncrewed Solar System probes.

Another possibility is to push spacecraft off towards the stars using the light from a high-powered laser . A consortium of scientists calling themselves Breakthrough Starshot is already planning to send a flotilla of tiny robotic probes to our nearest star, Proxima Centauri, using just this method.

Though whether human astronauts could survive such punishing acceleration, or the decades-long journey through deep space, remains to be seen.

How do we benefit from space exploration?

Pushing forward the frontiers of science is the stated goal of many space missions . But even the development of space travel technology itself can lead to unintended yet beneficial ‘spin-off’ technologies with some very down-to-earth applications.

Notable spin-offs from the US space programme, NASA, include memory foam mattresses, artificial hearts, and the lubricant spray WD-40. Doubtless, there are many more to come.

Read more about space exploration:

• The next giant leaps: The UK missions getting us to the Moon
• Move over, Mars: why we should look further afield for future human colonies
• Everything you need to know about the Voyager mission
• 6 out-of-this-world experiments recreating space on Earth

Space exploration also instils a sense of wonder, it reminds us that there are issues beyond our humdrum planet and its petty squabbles, and without doubt it helps to inspire each new generation of young scientists. It’s also an insurance policy. We’re now all too aware that global calamities can and do happen – for instance, climate change and the giant asteroid that smashed into the Earth 65 million years ago, leading to the total extinction of the dinosaurs .

The lesson for the human species is that we keep all our eggs in one basket at our peril. On the other hand, a healthy space programme, and the means to travel to other worlds, gives us an out.

Is space travel dangerous?

In short, yes – very. Reaching orbit means accelerating up to around 28,000kph (17,000mph, or 22 times the speed of sound ). If anything goes wrong at that speed, it’s seldom good news.

Then there’s the growing cloud of space junk to contend with in Earth's orbit – defunct satellites, discarded rocket stages and other detritus – all moving just as fast. A five-gram bolt hitting at orbital speed packs as much energy as a 200kg weight dropped from the top of an 18-storey building.

And getting to space is just the start of the danger. The principal hazard once there is cancer-producing radiation – the typical dose from one day in space is equivalent to what you’d receive over an entire year back on Earth, thanks to the planet’s atmosphere and protective magnetic field.

Add to that the icy cold airless vacuum , the need to bring all your own food and water, plus the effects of long-duration weightlessness on bone density, the brain and muscular condition – including that of the heart – and it soon becomes clear that venturing into space really isn’t for the faint-hearted.

When will space travel be available to everyone?

It’s already happening – that is, assuming your pockets are deep enough. The first self-funded ‘space tourist’ was US businessman Dennis Tito, who in 2001 spent a week aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for the cool sum of $20m (£15m).

Virgin Galactic has long been promising to take customers on short sub-orbital hops into space – where passengers get to experience rocket propulsion and several minutes of weightlessness, before gliding back to a runway landing on Earth, all for $250k (£190k). In late July 2020, the company unveiled the finished cabin in its SpaceShipTwo vehicle, suggesting that commercial spaceflights may begin shortly.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s SpaceX , which in May 2020 became the first private company to launch a human crew to Earth orbit aboard the Crew Dragon , plans to offer stays on the ISS for $35k (£27k) per night. SpaceX is now prototyping its huge Starship vehicle , which is designed to take 100 passengers from Earth to as far afield as Mars for around $20k (£15k) per head. Musk stated in January that he hoped to be operating 1,000 Starships by 2050.

10 Short Lessons in Space Travel by Paul Parsons is out now (£9.99, Michael O'Mara)

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History of Space Travel

Learn about the history of humans traveling into space.

The first earthling to orbit our planet was just two years old, plucked from the streets of Moscow barely more than a week before her historic launch. Her name was Laika. She was a terrier mutt and by all accounts a good dog. Her 1957 flight paved the way for space exploration back when scientists didn’t know if spaceflight was lethal for living things.

Humans are explorers. Since before the dawn of civilization, we’ve been lured over the horizon to find food or more space, to make a profit, or just to see what’s beyond those trees or mountains or oceans. Our ability to explore reached new heights—literally—in the last hundred years. Airplanes shortened distances, simplified travel, and showed us Earth from a new perspective. By the middle of the last century, we aimed even higher.

Our first steps into space began as a race between the United States and the former Soviet Union, rivals in a global struggle for power. Laika was followed into orbit four years later by the first human, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin. With Earth orbit achieved, we turned our sights on the moon. The United States landed two astronauts on its stark surface in 1969, and five more manned missions followed. The U.S.’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched probes to study the solar system. Manned space stations began glittering in the sky. NASA developed reusable spacecraft—space shuttle orbiters—to ferry astronauts and satellites to orbit. Space-travel technology had advanced light-years in just three decades. Gagarin had to parachute from his spaceship after reentry from orbit. The space shuttle leaves orbit at 16,465 miles an hour (26,498 kilometers an hour) and glides to a stop on a runway without using an engine.

Space travel is nothing like in the movies. Getting from A to B requires complex calculations involving inertia and gravity—literally, rocket science—to "slingshot" from planet to planet (or moon) across the solar system. The Voyager mission of the 1970s took advantage of a rare alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune to shave off nearly 20 years of travel time. Space is also dangerous. More than 20 astronauts have died doing their job.

That hasn’t stopped people from signing up and blasting off. NASA’s shuttle program has ended, but private companies are readying their own space programs. A company called Planetary Resources plans to send robot astronauts to the Asteroid Belt to mine for precious metals. Another company named SpaceX is hoping to land civilian astronauts on Mars—the next human step into the solar system—in 20 years. NASA and other civilian companies are planning their own Mars missions. Maybe you’ll be a member of one? Don’t forget to bring your dog.

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The future of spaceflight—from orbital vacations to humans on Mars

NASA aims to travel to the moon again—and beyond. Here’s a look at the 21st-century race to send humans into space.

Welcome to the 21st-century space race, one that could potentially lead to 10-minute space vacations, orbiting space hotels , and humans on Mars. Now, instead of warring superpowers battling for dominance in orbit, private companies are competing to make space travel easier and more affordable. This year, SpaceX achieved a major milestone— launching humans to the International Space Station (ISS) from the United States —but additional goalposts are on the star-studded horizon.

Private spaceflight

Private spaceflight is not a new concept . In the United States, commercial companies played a role in the aerospace industry right from the start: Since the 1960s, NASA has relied on private contractors to build spacecraft for every major human spaceflight program, starting with Project Mercury and continuing until the present.

Today, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is expanding on the agency’s relationship with private companies. Through it, NASA is relying on SpaceX and Boeing to build spacecraft capable of carrying humans into orbit. Once those vehicles are built, both companies retain ownership and control of the craft, and NASA can send astronauts into space for a fraction of the cost of a seat on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft.

SpaceX, which established a new paradigm by developing reusable rockets , has been running regular cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station since 2012. And in May 2020, the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft carried NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the ISS , becoming the first crewed mission to launch from the United States in nearly a decade. The mission, called Demo-2, is scheduled to return to Earth in August. Boeing is currently developing its Starliner spacecraft and hopes to begin carrying astronauts to the ISS in 2021.

Other companies, such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic , are specializing in sub-orbital space tourism. Test launch video from inside the cabin of Blue Origin’s New Shepard shows off breathtaking views of our planet and a relatively calm journey for its first passenger, a test dummy cleverly dubbed “Mannequin Skywalker.” Virgin Galactic is running test flights on its sub-orbital spaceplane , which will offer paying customers roughly six minutes of weightlessness during its journey through Earth’s atmosphere.

With these and other spacecraft in the pipeline, countless dreams of zero-gravity somersaults could soon become a reality—at least for passengers able to pay the hefty sums for the experience.

Early U.S. Spaceflight

Looking to the moon

Moon missions are essential to the exploration of more distant worlds. After a long hiatus from the lunar neighborhood, NASA is again setting its sights on Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor with an ambitious plan to place a space station in lunar orbit sometime in the next decade. Sooner, though, the agency’s Artemis program , a sister to the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s, is aiming to put the first woman (and the next man) on the lunar surface by 2024.

Extended lunar stays build the experience and expertise needed for the long-term space missions required to visit other planets. As well, the moon may also be used as a forward base of operations from which humans learn how to replenish essential supplies, such as rocket fuel and oxygen, by creating them from local material.

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Such skills are crucial for the future expansion of human presence into deeper space, which demands more independence from Earth-based resources. And although humans have visited the moon before, the cratered sphere still harbors its own scientific mysteries to be explored—including the presence and extent of water ice near the moon's south pole, which is one of the top target destinations for space exploration .

NASA is also enlisting the private sector to help it reach the moon. It has awarded three contracts to private companies working on developing human-rated lunar landers—including both Blue Origin and SpaceX. But the backbone of the Artemis program relies on a brand new, state-of-the-art spacecraft called Orion .

Archival Photos of Spaceflight

Currently being built and tested, Orion—like Crew Dragon and Starliner—is a space capsule similar to the spacecraft of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, as well as Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. But the Orion capsule is larger and can accommodate a four-person crew. And even though it has a somewhat retro design, the capsule concept is considered to be safer and more reliable than NASA’s space shuttle—a revolutionary vehicle for its time, but one that couldn’t fly beyond Earth’s orbit and suffered catastrophic failures.

Capsules, on the other hand, offer launch-abort capabilities that can protect astronauts in case of a rocket malfunction. And, their weight and design mean they can also travel beyond Earth’s immediate neighborhood, potentially ferrying humans to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

A new era in spaceflight

By moving into orbit with its Commercial Crew Program and partnering with private companies to reach the lunar surface, NASA hopes to change the economics of spaceflight by increasing competition and driving down costs. If space travel truly does become cheaper and more accessible, it’s possible that private citizens will routinely visit space and gaze upon our blue, watery home world—either from space capsules, space stations, or even space hotels like the inflatable habitats Bigelow Aerospace intends to build .

The United States isn’t the only country with its eyes on the sky. Russia regularly launches humans to the International Space Station aboard its Soyuz spacecraft. China is planning a large, multi-module space station capable of housing three taikonauts, and has already launched two orbiting test vehicles—Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2, both of which safely burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere after several years in space.

Now, more than a dozen countries have the ability to launch rockets into Earth orbit. A half-dozen space agencies have designed spacecraft that shed the shackles of Earth’s gravity and traveled to the moon or Mars. And if all goes well, the United Arab Emirates will join that list in the summer of 2020 when its Hope spacecraft heads to the red planet . While there are no plans yet to send humans to Mars, these missions—and the discoveries that will come out of them—may help pave the way.

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• What is space?

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Space is usually regarded as being completely empty. But this is not true. The vast gaps between the stars and planets are filled with huge amounts of thinly spread gas and dust. Even the emptiest parts of space contain at least a few hundred atoms or molecules per cubic metre.

Space is also filled with many forms of radiation that are dangerous to astronauts. Much of this infrared and ultraviolet radiation comes from the Sun. High energy X-rays, gamma rays and cosmic rays – particles travelling close to the speed of light – arrive from distant star systems.

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15 things kids should know about space travel

Professional and amateur astronomers alike love to share facts about our amazing universe: “The brightest star is…,” “A black hole is…,” and lots more. These facts are so incredible that we sometimes overlook our own little corner of the cosmos and how humans have ventured into it. Space exploration, however, goes hand in hand with astronomy. So, I’ve come up with a list of 15 simple facts about spaceflight that you can share with your children — or with your non-astronomer friends.

1. Russia was first

Yep, Russia (then the main country of the Soviet Union) beat the U.S. in spaceflight pretty much every step of the way until NASA landed people on the Moon. The first artificial satellite — Sputnik, launched Oct. 4, 1957 — was Russian. So was the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, who also became the first person to orbit Earth. That happened April 12, 1961. The first woman in space was also Russian. Valentina Tereshkova orbited Earth 48 times starting June 16, 1963. She’s also the only woman who ever flew a mission to space alone.

2. Space begins above our atmosphere

Believe it or not, there is a legal definition for where space begins. That’s because the movements of spacecraft are regulated by different treaties than those of aircraft. Most countries use the Kármán line, which is named for Hungarian-American physicist Theodore von Kármán, the first person to calculate an altitude where space begins. The Kármán line lies 62 miles (100 kilometers) above sea level.

3. rockets were invented long ago

The Chinese invented rockets perhaps as early as the 10th century. Some historians date their first recorded use to 1232. Early Chinese rockets used gunpowder as fuel, so they were a lot like fireworks. Soldiers attached an arrow to each rocket and launched them at their enemies during battles. By the 15th century, militaries around the world had adopted rocket technology.

4. Robert Goddard was a pioneer rocket man

Goddard was an American inventor who built the first liquid-fueled rocket. Historians credit the launch of his first rocket, on March 16, 1926, with starting the modern age of rocketry. Over the next decade, he and his team launched several dozen rockets, which traveled as fast as 550 mph (885 km/h) and as high as 1.6 miles (2.6 km).

5. Sputnik changed everything

If the question is “When did the Space Age start?”, the answer is “When Sputnik was launched.” In the 1950s, the Soviet Union was in a race with the U.S. to be the first country to send a satellite into space. Scientists and engineers on both sides spent years trying to reach this goal. Then, on Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, which became Earth’s first artificial satellite (i.e., one launched by humans). Sputnik had four radio antennas and measured 23 inches (58 centimeters) across. It orbited Earth once every 96 minutes and 12 seconds. The radio transmitter Sputnik carried only sent back beeps. It worked for three weeks until the batteries ran out. And although the message was simple, it seemed to tell every radio operator on Earth who listened to it, “The Soviet Union is in space.”

6. Alan Shepard was first for the U.S.

Shepard was a naval pilot and one of seven people chosen for Project Mercury, NASA’s first space program. On May 5, 1961, he became the first American and the second person in space. In 1971, he became the fifth astronaut — and, at age 47, the oldest — to walk on the Moon.

7. The “Moon race” began with a speech

On Sept. 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech to a crowd of about 40,000 at Rice University Stadium in Houston, Texas. Among other things, Kennedy said, “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” However, The line that most historians think started the race to land a person on the Moon didn’t come from this speech. Instead, it came from an address to Congress May 25, 1961, in which Kennedy said, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” And although Kennedy didn’t live to see it, in July 1969, the U.S. did exactly that.

8. Neil Armstrong was first on the Moon.

This naval pilot entered the astronaut program in 1962. He first flew into space in 1966 aboard Gemini 8. That mission featured the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit. Later, he was named commander of the historic Apollo 11 mission, the first human Moon landing.

9. Spacewalks aren’t really walks

Many astronauts have completed an extravehicular activity (EVA) in space. Astronauts often refer to this as a spacewalk. But usually, that term means going outside a vessel in orbit, attached by a cord.

In 1965, the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first human to walk in space. The journey, during his Voskhod 2 mission, lasted 12 minutes. The first U.S. spacewalk took place later in 1965, when astronaut Ed White walked in space for 23 minutes during the Gemini 4 mission.

10. That’s a long time in space

Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov spent 437 days and 18 hours on a single trip to space, the longest ever by any human. He launched to the Mir space station Jan. 8, 1994, and returned to Earth March 22, 1995. The longest spaceflight by a woman is 328 days. NASA astronaut Christina Koch launched to the International Space Station March 14, 2019. She returned to Earth Feb. 6, 2020.

11. This crew went the fastest

On May 26, 1969, the crew of NASA’s Apollo 10 mission (Thomas Stafford, John Young, and Eugene Cernan) reached a speed of 24,791 mph (39,897 km/h), or about 32 times faster than the speed of sound on Earth at sea level.

12. Spaceflight is dangerous.

As of this writing, 30 humans have been killed in the pursuit of outer space. Six were Soviet or Russian cosmonauts, one was Israeli, and the rest were U.S. astronauts. Of these, 11 were killed during training or test flights and 19 were killed in actual flight. The latter group includes two seven-person crews aboard the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia , which were destroyed during atmospheric flight. The three-man crew of Soyuz 11 are the only people to have died in space.

13. Spacesuits are important

Space is a harsh environment. It’s extremely cold and there’s no atmosphere. Plus, human beings are pretty fragile creatures. So, exploring space means using special suits that allow astronauts to breathe and stay at the right temperature.

In 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin wore the first spacesuit; since then, they have come a long way. In the U.S., the Project Mercury spacesuits were just a bit different from the jumpsuits worn by fighter pilots. Each had a bubble-shaped helmet and its own air supply. The Gemini suits were more advanced and there were several types. One was for wearing inside the spacecraft, while others were for spacewalks.

NASA’s spacesuits took a big leap forward with the Apollo missions. These suits were larger and made so astronauts could walk around on the Moon for hours. The suits were fireproof and had a liquid cooling system inside. The outer layer protected astronauts from possible strikes from micrometeoroids, tiny particles of rock that zip through space at high speeds.

Space shuttle astronauts wore partially pressurized suits adapted from the Air Force. And shuttle astronauts on spacewalks used the advanced extravehicular mobility unit, which gave them a lot more protection.

Future spacesuits will be even better. New models are already being used by SpaceX astronauts and will be used by the men and women who journey back to the Moon.

A book your kids will enjoy Check out A Child’s Introduction to Space Exploration: An Explorer’s Guide to Rockets, Astronauts, and Life in Zero Gravity (Black Dog and Leventhal, 2022), written by Astronomy Editor David J. Eicher and Contributing Editor Michael E. Bakich, and illustrated by Chelen Écija. It’s packed with dozens of NASA photos, illustrations, and a pull-out poster, and contains STEM activities that will help kids of all ages better understand the science behind humanity’s greatest adventure. Copies of the book signed by the authors can be ordered at MyScienceShop.com .

14. Astronauts use the bathroom in space.

Bathrooms became very important for Alan Shepard, NASA’s first astronaut. There was no toilet because the flight would last only 15 minutes. Nobody thought that he might have to wait in his capsule for about four hours before the launch. When he asked to go, the command crew first said no, but finally said OK — but he couldn’t leave the capsule. Luckily, the air flowing through his suit dried everything out before the launch. After that, NASA designed equipment to deal with pee. 

The first one was connected to a plastic tube, a valve, a clamp, and a collection bag. It wasn’t great because it sometimes leaked. In 1962, John Glenn used one on his five-hour flight.

Because the Gemini flights were a lot longer than earlier ones, NASA finally had to deal with poop in space. The first equipment was pretty simple: a bag that the astronauts taped to their butts. NASA’s first space station, Skylab, needed a toilet because astronauts would be living in space for months. Unfortunately, it was just a hole in the wall with a fan for suction and a bag.

With women as part of the space shuttle crews, NASA needed to rethink their toilet design. It was called the Waste Collection System. The opening was much smaller than a regular toilet hole, so an astronaut’s aim had to be good! Today, astronauts on the International Space Station use a much larger toilet and a vacuum sucks waste away. The waste then goes into a container that its jettisoned and burns up in Earth’s atmosphere. Using the bathroom in space is still a pain, but it’s a lot better than it was.

15. The future looks bright.

The U.S., Russia, China, India, and other nations are all active with big plans for their space programs. And rather than governments being the only players in space, private companies are now joining the effort. SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and more are getting involved in space travel.

The U.S. and China both have plans to return humans to the Moon. Japan and South Korea are planning their first robotic lunar-landing missions, too. Several countries, space organizations, and companies would also like to send humans to Mars. This would be an extremely expensive, time-consuming, and dangerous endeavor.

Many nations are also actively exploring our solar system via robotic craft, including the United Arab Emirates, which recently sent a probe to Mars for the first time. There are missions from the U.S., Europe, and Japan — both planned and underway — to visit asteroids and comets, and other missions will explore the outer planets and their moons.

The science behind the ‘spiders’ on Mars and the Inca City

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An updated list of space missions: Current and upcoming voyages

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NASA bids farewell to the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter with new photos

Nasa’s snake-like eels robot impresses in early testssssssss.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket: A Game-Changer in the Space Industry

Blue origin’s be-4 rocket engine: powering the future of space exploration, tory bruno: the rocket man, the enigmatic planet 9: the hunt for a hidden world in the outer solar system, darpa’s luna-10 initiative: paving the way for a thriving lunar economy.

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What is space travel?

Space travel refers to human or robotic travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere into space. It includes missions to other planets, moons, asteroids, and beyond.

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What was the space race?

The space race was a period of competition between the Soviet Union and the United States over who could conquer space exploration first.

• First man in space
• Apollo program
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• Modern space race
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The space race was a series of competitive technology demonstrations between the United States and the Soviet Union, aiming to show superiority in spaceflight. 

It was an outgrowth of the mid-20th-century Cold War, a tense global conflict that pitted the ideologies of capitalism and communism against one another, according to an online exhibit from the National Air and Space Museum . 

From the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, the two superpowers were embroiled in a bitter competition over who could 'conquer' outer space first. Beginning with the launch of the first satellite and culminating with a joint mission between the two superpowers, the space race was a unique period in space exploration.

How the space race began

Following the end of the Second World War, a bitter ideological conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union known as the Cold War , began. The Cold War had many battlefields, from the United States' intervention in Vietnam to the nuclear arms race. Another area of conflict was the battle to 'conquer' the exploration of space first. The first aim of this "space race" was the launching of an unmanned object, a satellite, which could successfully orbit Earth.

The United States first began planning this venture in 1954, according to a NASA article . However, on Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union announced that they had successfully launched a satellite, Sputnik . A month later they followed this with the launch of Sputnik 2, which carried a dog named Laika , making the Soviets the first to send a living creature into outer space, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich .

In the United States, the response to the news that the Soviet Union had sent an object into outer space, caused public panic. "When Sputnik launches, President Eisenhower doesn't see it as an existential threat," according to Brian C Odom, acting Chief Historian for NASA. "He sees it as just what it was, the Soviet Union launching a transceiver transmitter into orbit. But the American public saw it differently, right because they saw it as this larger cold war competition." 

Following the launch of Sputnik, it was deemed appropriate that a private organization should be founded in order to best facilitate the burgeoning American Space Program, according to NASA. In late 1957, America's first attempt at a satellite, the Vanguard TV-3, almost immediately crashed back onto the launchpad, according to The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum . Although the successful launch of Explorer 1 on Jan. 31, 1958, did help soften this blow, it was still decided that a private body should be set up. 

There were other factors involved too. "Eisenhower's chief problem during this period was which branch of the military would be responsible for developing a launch vehicle," according to Odom, "however, this was problematic because it put the various branches in competition with each other. Eisenhower was really trying to disentangle all the military branches from being in competition with each other and move space exploration into a government agency dedicated to peaceful, open communication."

NASA officially opened for business on Oct. 1, 1958. However, the early years of NASA were a far cry from what the organization would become. The fledgling institution was in the process of finding its feet and discovering how it would approach the various problems concerned with launching both humans and objects into space.  "In those early years, particularly 1958-1961, NASA was working to understand what its overall program would be," Odom said. 

"What were its priorities, where would it apply the majority of its funding? There was a huge element of NASA that was thinking, what are the scientific questions that this agency is going to answer? Questions like what can we do with satellites in space? It was kind of a wild west, It was trying to figure out what it wanted to be."

The first man into space

On April 12, 1961, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man into space when he successfully completed a 108-minute flight orbiting Earth a single time, According to New Scientist . Following the flight, Gagarin became a celebrity within the Soviet Union but was kept from returning to space due to the authority's fears that, were there to be an accident, they could lose a useful propaganda tool, according to the BBC . However, on March 27, 1968, Gagarin died in an accident during a routine training flight, according to Phys.Org .

A month after Gagarin's historic flight, on May 5, 1961, the United States was able to catch up with their Soviet Rivals, when Navy Test pilot Alan Shepard became the second man into space, according to The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Because of the placement of the portholes in the capsule, Shepard was, unfortunately, unable to view any stars, according to his flight report . 

"Following Shepard's flight in May 1961, it became very clear that the space race was continuing,"  Odom said. "President Kennedy committed to the lunar program and once that commitment was made, the resources came with it. NASA's attention for the next seven or eight years was focused on putting a man on the moon." 

A major turning point in the space race occurred that same month when U.S. President John F. Kennedy stood before legislators in Congress and announced that he had committed NASA to landing people on the moon before the end of the decade.

Dangers of the space race

Alongside the victories there were also many losses, reaffirming just how dangerous space flight could be. On Jan. 27, 1967, the U.S. program had its first major disaster when a flash fire broke out during a simulated launch for the first lunar module, Apollo 1 . The first death of an astronaut during a mission was that of the Soviet Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov. On April 24, 1967, Komarov's craft Soyuz 1 crashed when its parachute became tangled, according to the BBC . 

But how does contemporary, or more recent spaceflight, compare to these early pioneering years? "One thing to stress is that space exploration has not gotten easier," Odom said. 

"The challenges that were there in the very beginning are still the challenges that we face today. Yes, they were developing brand new systems and putting human beings at the top of rockets that were built for nuclear delivery systems [the Mercury and Gemini programs ] but what we've learned over the decades of space exploration is that it hasn't gotten easier."

Aim for the moon

On Sept. 12, 1962, President Kennedy delivered a speech at Rice University Stadium, providing a clear goal for Americans in the developing space race: to put a man on the moon with the Apollo Program . "We choose to go to the Moon" Kennedy began" in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills," according to the JFK Library . 

Kennedy's speech followed an earlier one made to Congress on May 25, 1961, following Yuri Gagarin's successful spaceflight, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum . Shortly after this speech, NASA's budget would increase by 89% and its research would now have one clear long-term aim in mind - though there would be other victories and developments in the short term. 

"The space race was really a race to the moon," according to Odom."Kennedy wanted to get to the moon first. It would be a great propaganda coup. In the global South, you had a lot of countries becoming independent from former colonial powers. What system would they follow? Would they follow the U.S. liberal democracy or would they follow the Soviet example of communism? Kennedy saw the race to the moon as a way to demonstrate American technological power and the benefit of one system over another." 

Who won the space race?

On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 launched from the Kennedy space center . Four days later, at 10.56 PM EDT on July 20, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Although conspiracy theories persist that the moon landing was a hoax , more than half a billion people watched the historic event, which was broadcast on television.

This was a victory for the United States over the Soviet Union, whose own lunar program had made a number of failed attempts. Between 1963 and 1965, 11 rockets had been launched carrying small landing objects with airbags to cushion the impact, all unsuccessful, according to Popular Mechanics . 

Achieving this goal in 1966, they then shifted their research to putting the first man on the moon . However, various issues with rocket launches caused the Soviet scientists to consider a robotic launch instead. Days before the Apollo rocket took off, the Soviet Luna 15 launched. This automated module was intended to achieve a soft landing and bring back samples from the lunar surface, however, communication was lost and it is suspected it crashed into the moon's surface, according to The New York Times . 

Over the next few years, each side in the space race reached several further world-firsts. The Americans achieved the first interplanetary flyby when Mariner 2 sped past Venus in 1962, followed by the first Mars flyby in 1965 with Mariner 4. 

The Soviets sent the first woman into space, Valentina Tereshkova , in 1963 — a feat that would take the U.S. 20 more years to achieve). Other nations launched their own rockets and satellites, including Canada in 1962, France in 1965, and Japan and China in 1970. 

Though there were additional American and Soviet missions, after the successes of the Apollo program, the space race was widely believed to have been won by the U.S. Eventually, as the Cold War came to an end, both sides agreed to cooperate in space and construct the International Space Station , beginning in 1998. 

As the 1970s began, relations between the two superpowers improved and discussions on topics such as arms control began according to the Office of the Historian . 

Following the moon landing, the Soviet space program switched its focus to placing the first space station in orbit, according to Astronomy.com . 

However, the astronauts in the Soyuz 11 capsule were all killed when a faulty valve, triggered after the instrument modules were separated from the orbital capsule, caused an oxygen leak. The Soyuz 11 crew are the only humans to have died in space, according to The National Space Center .  

In 1975, as a symbol of cooperation between the two superpowers, a joint mission (called the Apollo-Soyuz mission) between the U.S. and the USSR was launched. On July 17 an Apollo shuttle docked with the Soyuz mission, and the crews greeted each other, according to NASA. symbolic handshake, broadcast globally, between commanders Tom Stafford and Alexi Leonov. In many ways, this can be seen as a symbolic end to the space race. 

Yet despite the space race coming to an end, its impact is irrefutable. "We can't forget about the Cold War context for all this activity and the seemingly existential threat of the Soviet Union," according to Odom. 

"As a historian looking at this from a contextual standpoint, I can tell you that I don't think Kennedy would commit to going to the moon without the race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Without the Apollo program, how far and how quickly would our technology have advanced to the point it is at today? The Cold War made the moon landing a priority in Kennedy's mind and his commitment to it really does change America and American technology."

Is there a current space race?

Now, some believe that a new space race has begun with the United States pitted against superpowers such as China and India, as well as old rival Russia. But some criticize this notion.

"The Russians don't have a stated public interest in going to the moon with human spaceflight," Wendy Whitman Cobb, a political scientist at Cameron University in Oklahoma, told Space.com . "[The Chinese] have taken a purposefully slow, methodical approach to spaceflight and for them, I think the motivations are more in the military and national-prestige realms."

The world is much more complex today than it was during the Cold War when two major superpowers vied for dominance. Now, private companies, such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, have joined in a new contest to show off their spaceflight capabilities, according to the BBC . While there are some competitive aspects, such as the potential for fights over limited lunar resources , tomorrow's space races will involve a greater number of actors and more muddled win-lose scenarios than before. 

Additional resources:

The NASA History Division contains a wealth of information and documentation for anyone wishing to research the history of the organization. For a comprehensive list of important dates relating to the Space Race, check out Royal Museums Greenwich timeline. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum has a number of items related to the space race among it's collections, which can be viewed here . 

Timeline of the space race

Oct 4, 1957: The Soviet Union successfully sends the first man-made object into space. Sputnik is the world's first orbital satellite. 

November 3, 1957 : The second experimental spacecraft successfully launched into earth orbit, Sputnik 2 contained onboard the dog Laika - the first biological organism to enter space.

January 31, 1958: The United States launches its first satellite, Explorer 1, following the launch of Sputnik three months earlier. 

October 1, 1958: On 29th July 1958, President Eisenhower signed the Aeronautics and Space Act which established the organisation of the same name, commonly known as NASA. 

September 12, 1959 : The Soviet Union launches Lunar 2, the first spacecraft to successfully land on the surface of the moon. 

April 12, 1961: Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man into space when he successfully completed a 108 minute flight orbiting the earth a single time. 

August 19, 1960 : The USSR launches Sputnik 5 carrying two dogs, Belka and Strelka, who became the first animals to return to earth following a day in space.

January 31, 1961 : NASA sends Ham, a Chimpanzee into space. Despite the capsule losing pressure, Ham is saved by his spacesuit and returns to earth.

May 5, 1961 : Alan Shepard becomes the first American astronaut in space. Purportedly, due to the placement of the portholes he was unable to see the stars.

May 25 1961 : President Kennedy makes a speech to congress in which he announces that the United States will put a man on the moon before the end of the decade.

June 16, 1963: Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman into space, orbiting the earth 48 times across almost three days. 

July 14-15, 1965: The Mariner 4 becomes the first spacecraft not only to successfully travel to Mars but also the first to take a photograph of another planet from space.

March 18, 1965 : For 12 minutes Soviet Cosmonaut Alexi Leonov floats freely in outer space on the end of nearly 16 foot long tether, becoming the first astronaut to 'space walk'. 

February 21, 1967: Astronauts Virgil I Grissom, Edward Higgins White and Roger Chaffee lose their lives when a fire breaks out on their spacecraft during a launch rehearsal test. 

July 20, 1969 : At 10.56 PM EDT Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.

April 11-17, 1970: When an oxygen tank explodes aboard Nasa's third moon landing mission, Apollo 13, astronauts are fortunately able to return home in the lunar module, averting any loss of life. 

April 19, 1971: Salyut 1 is launched by the U.S.S.R. becoming the first space station, orbiting the earth 3,000 times during 157 days in orbit. 

July 15-24, 1975 : As a policy of detente leads to a cooling of tensions between the two superpowers, a joint mission between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. is launched.

Bibliography

• Royal Museums Greenwich
• New Scientist
• The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
• Popular Mechanics
• The New York Times
• JFK Library
• Office of the Historian

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Adam Mann is a journalist specializing in astronomy and physics stories. His work has appeared in the New York Times, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Wired, Nature, Science, and many other places. He lives in Oakland, California, where he enjoys riding his bike. Follow him on Twitter @adamspacemann or visit his website at https://www.adamspacemann.com/ .

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Where Does Interstellar Space Begin?

What is interstellar space.

At first glance, the answer seems simple. ‘Inter’ means between. ‘Stellar’ refers to stars. “Easy!” you think, “Interstellar space is the part of space that exists between stars.”

Not so fast! Wouldn’t that pretty much mean that all of space is interstellar space?

For interstellar space to be something different, then there must be some defined boundary between the space near a star and the space in between stars. But what is that boundary?

Look to the solar wind!

The solar wind pushes against the particles of interstellar space.

Scientists define the beginning of interstellar space as the place where the Sun’s constant flow of material and magnetic field stop affecting its surroundings. This place is called the heliopause. It marks the end of a region created by our Sun that is called the heliosphere.

Like Earth wind, this wind pushes against the stuff around it. What it pushes against are particles from other stars. —pretty much anything that doesn’t come from our own solar system.

How would we know when we’ve arrived in interstellar space?

When it comes to the Sun it’s all about detecting the concentration and temperature of the particles around you.

Inside the heliosphere, the solar particles are hot but less concentrated. Outside of the bubble, they are very much colder but more concentrated.

Once you arrive in interstellar space, there would be an increase of “cold” particles around you. There would also be a magnetic field that does not originate from our Sun. Welcome to interstellar space!

We've actually sent something to interstellar space!

Illustration of Voyager spacecraft

In the summer of 2012, a NASA spacecraft named Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space.

• Voyager 1 was launched in 1977. By 1989 it had visited Jupiter and Saturn, and crossed the orbits of (but did not visit) Uranus, and Neptune.
• As of 2015, it is over 12,161,300,000 miles away from Earth.
• In 300 years it will reach the beginning of the Oort Cloud . The Oort Cloud is a collection of icy material where many comets come from. This material is likely the furthest stuff still orbiting around our Sun.
• In 30,000 years it will reach the end of the Oort Cloud. The Oort Cloud is huge!
• 40,000 years from now it will be closer to another star than to our own Sun.

Learn more about Voyager 1 and 2

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If you ever wonder the meaning of an astronomical word, search no further and browse below to find the definition of the space term. The following are terms from A-Z related to space & astronomy:

Absolute magnitude – also known as absolute visual magnitude, relates to measuring a heavenly object’s brightness when viewed from 10 parsec or 32+ light years.

Absolute zero – The international community agreed to define absolute zero as equivalent to −273.15°C on the Celsius scale or−459.67°F on the Fahrenheit scale. It is the theoretical temperature entropy reaches its minimum value.

Absorption lines are a dark feature in the spectrum of a star formed by cooler gases in a star’s outer layer.

Accretion disks arise when material, usually gases, are transferred from one celestial object to another. There are two places astronomers find accretion disks, binary star systems and galactic nuclei.

Achromatic lens is a combination of lenses made of different glass. These bring two wavelengths into focus (normally red & blue) on the same plane. Achromatic lenses are used to take chromatic aberrations away from images.

Active galactic nuclei is a region in the center of a galaxy that has a higher than normal brightness. It is a class of galaxies that emit a large amount of energy from their center more than ordinary galaxies.

Active optics – Technology developed in the 80’s for reflecting telescopes. The construction enables telescopes to move 8 meter primary mirrors. As the name suggests, it works by “actively” adjusting the telescope mirrors.

Adaptive optics – technology used to improve performance of optical systems through the reduction of rapidly changing optical distortion. It is used to remove atmospheric distortion through the use of astronomical telescopes and laser communication.

Airy disk – Named after George Airy, it is the central spot in a diffraction pattern of a stars image in focus in a telescope.

Albedo is the ratio that light is reflected by a planet or satellite to that received by it. It is the ratio of total-reflected light.

Altazimuth mount is a two-axis mount used to support and rotate an instrument in two common perpendicular axes, vertical (altitude) and horizontal (azimuth).

Altitude is the height of anything above given a planetary reference plane. In astronomy the angular distance of a heavenly body above the horizon.

Anaglyph is a composite picture printed in two colors to produce a 3D image viewed through eye glasses having lenses of the same colors.

Andromeda galaxy is a spiral galaxy that is nearly two and a half million light years away in the constellation Andromeda.

Angular size is the angle between two lines of sight to its two opposite sides. It is a measure of how large an object actually appears to be.

Anisotropy is the state of being directionally dependent. The property of being anisotropic and having a different value when measured in different directions.

Annular eclipse , a solar eclipse in which the moon covers all but the bright ring around the circumference of the sun. When Sun and Moon are exactly in line, because the Moon is smaller, the Sun appears as a bright ring (annulus) surrounding the moon.

Antimatter is matter composed of anti-particles: antiprotons, antineutrons, and positrons. Hypothetically a type of matter identical to physical matter except that the atoms are made of: anti-electrons, anti-protons, and anti-neutrons.

Aperture is a hole, gap, or slit and any other small opening. Diameter of the objective of a telescope.

Aphelion is the point of orbit of a planet or comet which is farthest away from the sun.

Panchromatic – sensitive to light of all colors in the visible spectrum.

Apogee is the point in the orbit of an object (moon, satellite, etc…) orbiting the earth that is at the greatest distance from the center of the earth.

Apparent magnitude is the measure of brightness of a celestial body as seen from Earth as seen without atmosphere.

Apparition is the appearance or time when a comet is visible such as Halley’s Comet.

Archeoastronomy , the study of how people of the past “understand phenomena in the sky and how those phenomena affect their cultures.” Branch of archaeology that deals with use by prehistoric civilizations of astronomical techniques to establish seasons or cycle of the year, as evidenced in megaliths and other ritual structures.

ArcMinute is a unit of angular distance equal to a 60 th of a degree.

ArcSecond a 60 th part of a minute of an arcminute.

Asterism is a group of starts. Also a pattern of stars seen from earth which is not part of an established constellation.

Asteroids are any of thousands of smaller bodies or planetoids that orbit around the Sun. they range in size from 1.6 miles to 480 miles.

Asteroid belt is the region in space between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids are located.

Astrometry is the branch of astronomy dealing with the measurement of the positions and motions of heavenly bodies.

Astronomical unit (AU) a unit of length which is equal to the mean distance of the earth from the Sun.

Astronomy is the science that deals with the material universe beyond the earth’s atmosphere. Natural science engaged with the study of celestial objects.

Astrophotography a specialized branch of photography that captures images of astronomical objects and large portions of the night sky.

Aurora is a radiant emission from the upper atmosphere that occurs intermittently over the middle and high altitudes of both hemispheres. They appear in the form of luminous bands, streamers, or the like. This is caused by the constant bombardment of the atmosphere by charged particles attracted by earth’s magnetic lines.

Aurora Australis or Southern Lights are dynamic displays of light that appear in the Antarctic Skies in winter. They are nature’s light show. It is the name given to light emitted by atoms, molecules, and ions that have been excited by energetic charged particles. Common colors are pale green and pink in spiral curtains, arcs and streamers.

Aurora Borealis also know as Northern Polar lights are natural occurring light display in the heavens in the Northern hemisphere. They are nature’s light show. It is the name given to light emitted by atoms, molecules, and ions that have been excited by energetic charged particles. Common colors are pale green and pink in spiral curtains, arcs and streamers.

Auto guider is a tool used in astrophotography to track celestial objects that are photographed from drifting away from the field of view.

Autumnal equinox is the time that signals the end of the summer months and the beginning of winter. It is when the Sun passes the equator.

Averted vision – a technique to view faint objects using peripheral vision. You do not look at the object directly, but just off to the side, you do this while concentrating on the object.

Axis is the line which an object rotates. A straight line about which a body or geometric object rotates or may be conceived to rotate.

Azimuth is the arc of the horizon measured clockwise from the south point, in astronomy, or from the north point, in navigation, to the point where a vertical circle through a given heavenly body intersects the horizon.

Barlow lens named after its creator Peter Barlow, is a removable lens that can be attached to the eyepiece of a telescope and improves magnification.

Barnard’s Star is a red dwarf star that is six light years away from earth. It is also known as “Barnard’s Runaway Star”.

Barred spiral galaxy is a spiral galaxy that has a centric bar-shaped configuration made-up of stars.

Baryon is a proton, neutron, or any elementary particle that decays into a set of particles that includes a proton.

Baseline is a line that serves as a basis for measurement, calculation, or location. A line between two points or telescopes of an interferometer.

Big Bang is a theory offered by cosmologists related to the early development of the universe.

Binary star is a star system composed of two stars that orbit a common center. The primary star is brightest; the secondary is referred to as the companion star.

Binoculars are optical devices providing good depth effect for both eyes. This consists of two small telescopes fitted side by side.

Black hole theoretically a massive object formed at the beginning of the universe or by a gravitational collapse of a star exploding as a supernova. The gravitational field is intense that no electromagnetic radiation can escape.

Blazar is a compact quasar. An active galaxy with very active and highly variable radio, electromagnetic, and optical emissions.

Blink comparator is used by astronomers, it is an optical instrument used to detect differences in two photographs of the same object by rapidly switching between the two, one picture at a time.

Blueshift is a shift toward shorter wavelengths on the spectral lines of a celestial object. This is caused by the movement of the object toward the object.

Bok globule is small interstellar clouds of very cold gas and dust that are thick. Because of the thickness, they are totally opaque to visible light; however, they can be studied using infrared and radio techniques.

Bolide is a fireball. A large brilliant meteor that explodes.

Bose-Einstein condensate also known as superatom . A phase of matter in which all bosons in a given physical system have been cooled to a temperature near absolute zero and enter the same quantum state.

Brown dwarf is a cold and dark star too small to initiate nuclear reactions that generate heat and light.

Buckyball is a natural occurring type of carbon recognized as C60. The molecular structure looks like the geodesic domes designed by Buckminster Fuller.

Bulge The generally spherical and central region of a spiral galaxy.

Cannibal coronal mass ejections are fast moving solar eruptions that overtake and often absorb their slower moving kin.

Carbon star is a cool, red giant having a spectrum with strong bands of carbon compounds.

Carbonaceous chondrites are recognized as a group of chondritic meteorites composed of at least 7 recognized groups.

Cassegrain telescope is a reflecting telescope in which the light, passing through a central opening in the primary mirror, is brought into focus a short distance behind it by a secondary mirror.

Cataclysmic variable are stars that invariably increase in brightness and decrease to a nearly dormant state.

Catadioptric telescope is a telescope that uses a combination of mirrors and lenses to increase the focal length of the telescope while allowing it to be folded into a more convenient and compact size.

Charge-coupled device (CCD) is a silicon chip used to detect light. A more efficient device at collecting light than regular film.

Celestial pole are two points in which the extended axis of the earth cuts the celestial sphere and about which the stars seem to revolve.

Celestial sphere is an imaginary spherical shell formed by the sky represented as an infinite sphere. The observer’s position is the given center of the sphere.

Cepheid variable is a variable star in which changes in brightness are due to alternate contractions and expansions in volume.

Chandrasekhar limit : named after Indian astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, is the mass limit above which a star has too much mass to become a white dwarf after gravitational collapse.

Charles Messier : French astronomer recognized for publishing the astronomical catalogue that consist of nebulae, star clusters that later become known as “103 Messier objects.”

Chondrite is a stony meteorite containing chodrules. Unchanged meteorites due to melting.

Chromosphere is a layer of the sun’s atmosphere. A gaseous envelope that surrounds the sun outside the photosphere from which large quantities of hydrogen and other gases erupt from.

Circumpolar : Circumpolar stars are permanently above the horizon from a given observing point on Earth; that is to say, they never set. At Earth’s Geographical North Pole (90° north latitude), all stars in the sky are circumpolar. On Earth’s equator, no stars are circumpolar.

Clock drive is a mechanism that causes an equatorial telescope to revolve about its polar axis so that it keeps the same star in its field of view.

Coated optics are optical elements that have refracting and reflecting surfaces coated with one or more coatings of dielectric or metallic material.

Collapsar is a gravitationally collapsed star.

Collimation : Perfectly aligning a telescope’s optics.

Coma : The shroud of gas surrounding a comet’s nucleus.

Coma Berenices is a constellation in the northern sky near Boötes and Leo that contains a prominent cluster of galaxies and the north pole of the Milky Way.

Comet is a celestial body moving about the sun consisting of a central mass surrounded by an envelope of dust and gas that may form a tail that streams away from the sun.

Comet nucleus : The solid, central part of a comet, also known as a “dirty snowball.” It is made of rock, dust, and frozen gases.

Conjunction : A moment when two or more objects appear close together in the sky.

Constellation is any of various groups of stars to which definite names have been given, as Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Boötes, Cancer, Orion.

Convection : The transfer of heat by the circulation or movement of heated parts of a liquid or gas.

Core : The central region of a planet, star, and galaxy.

Corona : A faintly colored luminous ring appearing to surround a celestial body visible through a haze or thin cloud, especially such a ring around the moon or sun, caused by diffraction of light from suspended matter in the intervening medium.

Coronagraph is an instrument for observing and photographing the sun’s corona, consisting of a telescope fitted with lenses, filters, and diaphragms that simulate an eclipse.

Coronagraph mask is a circular shaped instrument designed to block light from a star’s disk. This allows the area close to the target to be studied.

Coronal mass ejection (CME) is a large-scale solar event involving an ejection of hot plasma that may accelerate charged particles and travel as far as the Earth’s orbit, preceded by a shock front that may create a magnetic storm on Earth

Cosmic microwave background : Microwave radiation that permeates the universe and represents the still cooling heat generated in the universe.

Cosmic ray : A radiation of high penetrating power that originates in outer space and consists partly of high-energy atomic nuclei.

Cosmological constant is a term introduced by Einstein into his field equations of general relativity to permit a stationary, nonexpanding universe: it has since been abandoned in most models of the universe

Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that deals with the general structure and evolution of the universe.

Cosmos : The world or universe seen as an orderly, harmonious system.

Crescent : A lunar or planetary phase wherein less than half the surface is illuminated.

Critical density : The density of a pure element or compound at a critical point. Density of the universe that provide enough gravity to bring the expansion to halt.

Crust is the outermost geological thin layer of an asteroid, moon, or planet.

Cryovolcanism is an icy volcano. When water and other liquids or vapor-phase volatiles, together with gas-driven solid fragments, onto the surface of a planet or moon due to internal heating.

Damocloid – An elliptical shaped asteroid with a comet-like orbit. It is rare and named after asteroid 5335 Damocles, the first of its kind discovered.

Dark adaptation – The ability of the human eye to adjust seeing dim objects in the dark.

Dark energy – Negative gravity that plays a role in the acceleration in the expansion of the universe.

Dark matter – a term used to describe matter in the universe that cannot be seen, but can be detected by its gravitational effects on other bodies.

Dark nebula – Dust grains that appear as clouds and is thick enough to shade light from stars in the background.

Declination – Angular distance of an object in the sky, above or below the celestial equator.

Deep-sky objects – Objects that are located beyond the solar system, usually consisting of galaxies, nebulae, stars, and star clusters.

Degree angular Scale interferometer (DASI) – Used to measure temperature and polarization in the Cosmic Microwave background. This is located at NSF Amundsen-Scott South Pole station.

Denison Olmsted – American physicist and astronomer born in Hartford, Connecticut. He is attributed for founding meteor science. He demonstrated that meteors are cosmic in origin and not an atmospheric phenomenon.

Density – Amount of matter contained in a given volume. Usually measured in grams per cubic centimeter.

Deuterium – An isotope of hydrogen with one proton and one neutron in the nucleus having an atomic weight of 2.014.

Diffraction – Spreading out of light as it passes the edge of an obstacle.

Dobsonian telescope – A telescope with a stable altazimuth mount that rotates easily.

Doppler effect – The change in wavelength of sound or light emitted by an object in relation to an observer’s position. An object approaching the observer will have a shorter wavelength (blue) while an object moving away will have a longer (red) wavelength. The Doppler effect is used to estimate an object’s speed and direction.

Double Star – Grouping of two stars. The grouping may look distinct, where the stars appear close together, or physical, such as a binary system.

Double asteroid – Two asteroids that orbit around each other and linked by the gravity between them.

Dust – Minute particles floating in space.

Dwarf galaxy – Small galaxy that contain a few million stars, it is the most common kind of galaxy in the universe.

Dwarf star – A Smaller star. Any star of average to low brightness, mass, and size.

Eccentric – Deviation from a circle, applied when describing the shape of an orbit.

Eclipse – the total or partial blocking of one celestial body by another.

Eclipsing binary – binary star with an orbital plane oriented so that one star passes in front of the other, thus completely or partially blocking the light from the other star during each orbital period.

Ecliptic – the great circle formed by the intersection of the plane of the earth’s orbit with the celestial sphere; the apparent annual path of the sun in the heavens.

Edwin Hubble – American astronomer who pioneered the understanding of the universe. He showed that other galaxies existed, specifically the Milky Way. Born in Marshfield, Missouri then later moved to Chicago at the age of 9. Young Edwin Hubble had always been fascinated with science. He attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship and studied law. He later realized that his true passion was astronomy; in 1917 Hubble received his doctorate in astronomy from the University of Chicago.

Ejecta – material from beneath the surface of a body such as a moon or planet that is ejected by an impact from a meteor and distributed on the surface. Ejecta usually appear lighter in color than the surrounding surface.

Electromagnetic radiation – Radiation that travels through space at the speed of light, and increases the interplay of oscillating and magnetic fields. The radiation has a wavelength and frequency.

Electromagnetic Spectrum – The range of all kinds of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. These include short to long wavelength gamma rays, x-rays, ultra-violet, optical, infrared and radio waves.

Electron – Negatively charged elementary particle found outside, but is attached to, the nucleus of an atom.

Electron Flux – Rate of flow of electrons through a reference surface.

Electron volt – A unit of energy equal to the energy gained by an electron that falls through a potential difference of one volt.

Element – Fundamental unit of matter consisting of fixed number of protons. Number of neutrons and electrons may vary.

Ellipse – An oval shape. Johannes Kepler discovered the orbits of planets are elliptical in shape and not circular.

Elliptical galaxy – A galaxy whose structure is shaped like an ellipse and is smooth and lacks complex structures such as spiral arms. Elongation – The angular separation of an object from the sun.

Emission – Discharge of electromagnetic radiation from an object.

Emission nebula – Cloud of hot gas being illumined from within by the radiation of energetic, young stars.

Ephemeris – Table that identifies the positions of astronomical objects at certain intervals.

Equatorial mount – a telescope mount in which one axis lies parallel to Earth’s rotational axis; the motion of the telescope about this axis compensates for Earth’s rotation.

Equinox – Two points in which the sun crosses the celestial equator in its yearly path in the sky. Equinoxes signal the start of spring and autumn seasons that occur on or near March 21 and September 22, respectively.

Escape velocity – Speed required for something or an object, to be free of the gravitational pull of a planet or other body.

Evening star – Venus, when it appears in the evening sky.

Event horizon – An invisible boundary around a black hole from which nothing can escape the gravitational pull, not even light.

Exit pupil – Image of the objective lens or primary mirror of a telescope formed on the eye side of the eyepiece.

Exobiologist – a person who studies the origin, development, and distribution of ‘living’ systems that may exist outside of Earth.

Extragalactic – Beyond the Milky Way galaxy.

Extrasolar – beyond the sun.

Extraterrestrial – beyond earth.

Eye relief – the distance between the eyeball and the lens nearest the eye of an eyepiece at which an observer can clearly see the entire field of view

Eyepiece – a magnifying lens used to view the image produced by a telescope’s primary lens or mirror.

Far ultraviolet – Ultraviolet radiation with the shortest wavelengths.

Field of view – The area of the sky visible through a telescope or binoculars.

Filter – A device that transmits light of only certain wavelengths. Used by astronomers to observe view specific wavelengths and to minimize the light of exceptionally bright objects.

Finder scope – a small, low-powered telescope attached to a larger telescope that helps the observer locate objects in the sky.

Fireball – A very bright meteor.

First quarter – Phase of the moon a quarter of the way around its orbit from new moon. Eastern portion is visibly bright during this phase.

Flare – The sudden, violent outburst of energy from a star’s surface.

Focus – Point at which rays of light passing through a lens meet.

Focal length – Distance from a lens or mirror to the point it draws light to a focus.

Focal ratio – The ratio of the focal length of a lens or mirror to its diameter.

Focuser – the device on a telescope that holds an eyepiece and moves to allow an observer to bring light to a sharp focus.

Fork mount – an equatorial mount in which the telescope swings in declination between the two prongs of a fork.

Frequency – the number of wave crests or troughs that pass a particular point in a given interval of time (usually one second); usually expressed in hertz (cycles per second)

Full moon – Phase of the moon when it is halfway around its orbit from new moon and opposite the sun in the sky; the full disk is illuminated.

Galactic disk – Disk of a spiral galaxy.

Galactic nucleus – central region of a galaxy. Contains a high density of stars and gas and a super massive black hole.

Galactic plane – Projection of the Milky Way’s disk on the sky.

Galaxy – an enormous gravitationally bound assemblage of millions or billions of stars.

Galaxy cluster – Gravitationally bound assemblage of dozens to thousands of galaxies.

Galilean moons/satellites – Jupiter’s four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto as discovered by Galileo in 1610.

Gamma rays – the highest energy, shortest wavelength form of electromagnetic radiation.

Gamma-ray burst – Short and intense burst of high energy radiation emanating from the distant universe.

Gas giant – Planets made primarily of gas, these include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

General relativity – Theory of relativity governing accelerated motion that describes gravity as a curvature of space-time.

German equatorial mount – Mount in which the declination axis sits on top of the polar axis, with the telescope on one end of the declination axis and a counterweight on the other.

Giant molecular cloud – Interstellar clouds of cold gas and dust that contain tens or hundreds of thousands of solar masses.

Gibbous – The phase of the moon between first quarter and last quarter, when the moon appears more than half illuminated.

Globular cluster – A roughly spherical congregation of hundreds of thousands of stars; most globular clusters consist of old stars and exist in a galaxy’s halo.

Granulation – A pattern of small cells that can be seen on the surface of the Sun. They are caused by the convective motions of the hot gases inside the Sun.

Gravitational lens – A concentration of matter such as a galaxy or cluster of galaxies that bends light rays from a background object. Gravitational lensing results in duplicate images of distant objects.

Gravity – the attractive force that all objects exert on one another; the greater an object’s mass, the stronger its gravitational pull.

Gravity or Gravitational waves – Weak, wavelike disturbances which represent the radiation related to the gravitational force; produced when massive bodies are accelerated or otherwise disturbed.

Greenhouse Effect – An increase in temperature caused when incoming solar radiation is passed but outgoing thermal radiation is blocked by the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and water vapor are two of the major gases responsible for this effect.

Habitable zone – Zone around a star in which a planet can maintain liquid on its surface.

Halo – Outer region of a galaxy, contains globular clusters, a few stray stars, and dark matter.

Heliacal rising – the period of time when an object, such as a star, is briefly seen in the eastern sky before dawn and is no longer hidden from the glare of the sun.

Heliopause – The point at which the solar wind meets the interstellar medium or solar wind from other stars.

Heliosphere – a vast region around the sun dominated by the solar wind.

Helium – Second lightest element, consists of two protons, two neutrons and two electrons. Eight percent of the atoms in the universe are helium.

Hertz – A unit of frequency equal to one cycle per second.

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram – a diagram that plots luminosity against temperature for a group of stars.

HII region – an area filled with clouds of ionized hydrogen; the ionization is usually caused by radiation from newborn stars.

Hubble law – the principle that a distant galaxy’s recessional velocity is proportional to its distance from Earth

Hubble space telescope (HST) – The Hubble Space Telescope makes its observations from above Earth’s atmosphere. The telescope orbits 600 kilometers (375 miles) above Earth, working around the clock. It was originally designed in the 1970s and launched in 1990. The telescope is named for astronomer Edwin Hubble.

Hydrazine – Colorless liquid which burns quickly and used as rocket and missile fuel.

Hydrogen – the simplest and lightest element; usually consists of just a single proton and electron; about 90 percent of the atoms in the universe are hydrogen.

Hypered film – Film that has been treated, usually with gas, to enhance its response to low light levels.

Hypergalaxy – A system consisting of a spiral galaxy surrounded by several dwarf white galaxies, often ellipticals. Our galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy are examples of hypergalaxies.

Igneous rock – Rock formed by the solidification of magma.

Inclination – Angle between a planet’s orbit and the ecliptic place; Angle between a satellite’s orbit and its host planet’s rotational plane.

Inferior conjunction – The configuration of an inferior planet when it lies between the sun and Earth.

Inferior planet – A planet that orbits the sun inside earth’s orbit, these would be Mercury and Venus.

Inflation – a brief and extraordinarily rapid period of expansion a fraction of a second after the Big Bang.

Infrared – a form of light with slightly lower energy than visible light but with greater energy than radio waves.

Interacting galaxies – galaxies caught in each other’s gravitational embrace, often results in galactic mergers or extreme star formation.

Interference or interferometric fringes – a wave-like pattern resulting from the successful combination of two beams of light which amplifies the light.

Interferometer – A system of two or more widely separated telescopes that achieves the resolving power of a much larger telescope.

Interferometry – The technique of using two or more widely separated telescopes to achieve the resolving power of a much larger telescope.

Intergalactic – Space between the galaxies.

International Space Station – A global cooperative program between the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, and Europe, for the joint development, operation, and utilization of a permanently habitat in space close to low-Earth orbit.

Interplanetary – Space between the planets.

Interstellar – Space between the stars of a galaxy.

Interstellar medium – Gas and dust located between the stars.

Ion – an electrically charged atom due to the loss or gain of one or more electrons.

Ionization – Process an atom gains or loses electrons.

Ionized gas – Gas heated to a state where it contains ions and free-floating electrons. Also referred to as plasma.

Ionosphere – An atmospheric layer with a high concentration of ions and free electrons.

Irregular galaxy – Galaxy without a clearly defined spiral or elliptical shape.

Isotope – Forms of an element wherein all atoms have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Jet – a narrow stream of gas or particles ejected from an accretion disk surrounding a star or black hole.

JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) – The lead U.S. center for robotic exploration of the solar system located in Pasadena, California; JPL spacecraft have visited recognized planets with the exception of Pluto.

Jet stream – a high-speed, wandering wind current in the upper troposphere that blows from west to east and affects weather

Jovian planet – A planet with the same attributes of Jupiter (gas giant).

Kelvin – a unit of temperature equal to one degree on the Celsius scale and 1.8 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale; also the absolute temperature scale defined so that 0 kelvin is absolute zero.

Kuiper Belt – a region in the outer solar system beyond Neptune’s orbit that contains billions of small, icy bodies; Pluto is the largest known Kuiper Belt Object. -L-

L chondrite – a chondrite (a stony meteorite containing small, round, silicate granules called chondrules) that has a low amount of iron.

Lagrange point – One of five locations in space relative to two bodies where less massive body can maintain a stable orbit around a common center of mass.

Large magellanic cloud – Irregular galaxy that orbits the Milky Way Galaxy.

Last quarter – Phase of the moon three quarters of the way around its orbit from the new moon, the western side is lit.

Latitude – the angular distance north or south from the equator to a point on Earth’s surface, measured on the meridian of the point.

Lens – Curved piece of glass that brings light to a focus.

Lenticular galaxy – a galaxy possessing a large bulge and small disk.

Libration – the small oscillations in the moon’s motion that allow Earth-based observers to see slightly more than half the moon’s surface.

Light pollution – Light, typically from artificial sources, that reaches the night sky, obscuring the view of faint astronomical objects.

Light-gathering power – the ability of a telescope to collect light; the larger a telescope’s aperture, the greater its light-gathering power.

Light-year – the distance light travels in one year, equivalent to approximately 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).

Limb – Edge of a celestial object.

Limiting magnitude – the apparent magnitude of the faintest objects that can be seen given the local observing conditions and any telescope, film, or other detector you may be using.

LINER galaxy – A low-ionization nuclear emission-line region galaxy belongs to a common class of otherwise normal galaxies that display low-ionization line emissions near their central regions.

Local Group – the galaxy cluster containing 35 galaxies to which the Milky Way Galaxy belongs.

Local supercluster – the galaxy supercluster to which the Local Group belongs; it spreads over 100 million light-years and boasts the Virgo Cluster as its dominant member.

Long-period comet – Comets that have orbital periods greater than 200 years.

Longitude – the angular distance of a particular place on Earth as measured east or west from the prime meridian running through Greenwich, England.

Luminosity – the total amount of light that an object radiates.

Lunar eclipse – a phenomenon caused by the Earth passing between the sun and moon.

Lunar month – the period of one complete revolution of the moon around Earth, 29.5 days.

Lunation – the time between two successive new moons; approximately 29.5 days.

Magnetograph – A recording magnetometer used for recording variations in the earth’s magnetic field.

Magnetometer – An instrument that measures the intensity of earth’s magnetic field.

Magnetopause – The boundary space between the earth’s magnetosphere and interplanetary space (40,000 miles / 65,000 km) above the earth, marked by an abrupt decrease in the earth’s magnetic induction.

Magnetosphere – The dynamic region around a planet where the magnetic field traps and controls the movement of charged particles from the solar wind.

Magnitude – The measurement of an object’s brightness; the lower the number, the brighter the object.

Main sequence – The band of stars on a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram stretching from the upper left to the lower right; stars spend most of their lives in the main sequence phase, in which they are fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores.

Maksutov telescope – A catadioptric telescope that uses a deeply curved meniscus lens as the correcting plate. (See Catadrioptric Telescope)

Mantle – The portion of a planet’s interior above the core but below the crust.

Mare – Dark and smooth area on the surface of the moon or on a planet.

Mass – A measure of the total amount of matter within an object.

Mass loss – The loss of mass by a star during its evolution; some of the causes of mass loss include stellar winds, bipolar outflows, and the ejection of material in a planetary nebula or supernova.

Megaparsec – One million parsecs, equivalent to 3.26 million light-years.

Meridian – Imaginary circle on the celestial sphere that connects the zenith to the north, or south, celestial pole.

Messier Catalog – A catalog of 107 bright deep-sky objects that belong to a catalog compiled by French astronomer Charles Messier in the 1700s.

Meteor – A flash of light that occurs when a meteoroid burns up in earth’s atmosphere, also known as shooting star.

Meteor showers – Period of meteor activity that occurs when Earth collides with many meteoroids; an individual shower happens at the same time each year and has all its meteors appearing to radiate from a common point.

Meteor storm – Rare events that occur when Earth encounters dense regions within a meteor stream. Such encounters can increase normal meteor rates by more than 1,000 meteors per minute.

Meteorite – Rock from space that survives as it passes through the earth’s atmosphere and falls to the ground.

Meteoroid – Small rock that orbits the sun.

Microgravity – A condition the force of gravity is very low, producing a near-weightless environment.

Microlensing – Effect of gravity from a small astronomical body focusing light rays, similar to lenses.

Micron – One millionth of a meter.

Microwaves – Most energetic form of radio waves.

Milky Way – Spiral galaxy containing our solar system. It can be observed by the naked eye as a faint luminous band stretching across the heavens, containing approximately a trillion stars, most of which are too distant to be seen individually.

Millisecond pulsar – Neutron star rotates hundreds of times per second, which typically accretes matter from a stellar companion.

Minor planet – Rocky body that orbits the sun; also recognized as an asteroid.

Mirror – Piece of glass coated with a highly reflective material.

Molecule – Combination of two or more atoms that represent the smallest part of a compound that has the chemical properties of that compound.

Moon – Smaller body orbiting a larger body; often refers to earth’s moon.

Morning star – Venus, when it appears in the morning sky.

Multicultural astronomy – the variety of ways cultures of the past and present have observed, recorded, interpreted, and made use of astronomy to structure their lives, and in some cases satisfy their curiosity about the universe.

Multiple star system – Gravity bound system in which two or more stars orbit a common center of mass.

MUSES-C – The MUSES-C Mission will investigate an asteroid known as an Earth-approaching type. Through this mission, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) in Japan intends to establish the technology to bring back samples of an asteroid’s surface to Earth.

MUSES stands for a series of missions performed launched by the MU rocket and C means the third mission of this series.

Naked eye – something visible without the aid of binoculars or a telescope.

Near-infrared – light from the part of the infrared band of the electromagnetic spectrum closest to the visible range.

Nebula – a cloud of interstellar gas and dust; some nebulae represent stellar nurseries, others represent stellar graveyards.

Neutrino – a subatomic particle produced in nuclear reactions and in supernovae that very rarely interacts with matter; neutrinos have no electrical charge and travel at or very close to the speed of light.

Neutron – a subatomic particle with no electric charge that resides in an atomic nucleus; it has about the same mass as a proton.

Neutron star – the collapsed, extraordinarily dense, city-sized remnant of a high-mass star.

New moon – the phase in which the moon is in the same direction as the sun in Earth’s sky, so it is unilluminated and invisible.

Newtonian telescope – a reflecting telescope in which a flat secondary mirror (called the diagonal) in the center of the tube reflects light to a focus outside the tube.

NGC – New General Catalogue, a 19th-century compendium of deep-sky objects such as galaxies, globular clusters, and nebulae.

NGC Objects – deep-sky objects such as galaxies, globular clusters, and nebulae included in the New General Catalogue.

North Celestial Pole – the point in the sky to which Earth’s Geographical North Pole points.

Nova – An explosion on the surface of a white dwarf that is accreting matter from a companion star, which causes the system to temporarily brighten by a factor of several hundred to several thousand.

Nuclear fusion – The process by which two atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier atomic nucleus; this is the energy source that causes most stars to shine.

Nucleosynthesis – the creation of heavy elements from lighter ones by nuclear fusion.

Nucleus – the central region of an atom, comet, or galaxy.

O-type star – A hot, massive blue star that emits strongly at ultraviolet wavelengths and has a surface temperature of roughly between 28,000 to 40,000 Kelvin’s.

OB Association – Loose grouping of O and B stars, which are the most luminous, most massive, and shortest-lived stars.

Objective – Telescopes primary lens or mirror that gathers light and brings it to a focus.

Obliquity – the angle between the plane of the earth’s orbit and that of the earth’s equator, equal to 23°27′; the inclination of the earth’s equator.

Occultation – The passage of one object in front of a smaller one, temporarily obscuring all or part of the background object from view.

Omega – 1. The ratio of the density of the universe to the critical density 2. The 24th letter of the Greek alphabet.

Omega centauri – Massive globular cluster in the southern constellation Centaurus located about 17,000 light-years from Earth; also known as NGC 5139.

Omega nebula – Also known as the Swan Nebula, M17, NGC 6618, the Horseshoe Nebula, and the Lobster Nebula. One of the Milky Way’s numerous stellar nurseries; the Omega Nebula is about 5,000 light-years from Earth and can be seen in the constellation of Sagittarius the Archer.

Oort cloud – Cloud of cometary nuclei that surrounds the sun at a distance of many thousands of astronomical units.

Open cluster – System containing a few dozen to a few thousand stars that formed from the same stellar nursery.

Opposition – Best time to observe a planet. The moment a planet far from the sun than Earth appears opposite the sun in the sky.

Optical double – Two stars at different distances that lie along nearly the same line of sight and thus appear close together.

Optics – Study of light and its properties; Lenses or mirrors.

Orbit – Curved path, usually elliptical in shape, an object follows around a bigger object or a common center of mass.

Orbital period – The length of time it takes one body to orbit another.

Outgassing – Release of gas from rocky body.

PAHs – Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A class of stable organic molecules. Flat molecules made of carbon and hydrogen atoms. These are common and highly carcinogenic. It is one of the by-products of combustion from automobiles and airplanes.

Parallax – Shift of a nearby object against a fixed background due to the movement of the observer. Astronomers observe the parallax of stars to measure the distances of these same stars.

Parsec – Distance an object would have to be from earth so that its parallax when seen from two points separated by 1 AU is equivalent to one arcsecond, equivalent to 3.26 light years.

Patera – A shallow crater with a scalloped and complex edge; saucer shaped volcanic structure.

Penumbra – Outer filament region of a sunspot. Lighter region of a sunspot surrounding the umbra (dark center).

Penumbral eclipse – When the moon passes into the outer ring of earth’s shadow, causing a slight shading in the moon’s appearance.

Periastron – Location in an objects orbit where it is closest to the star it orbits.

Perigree – Position of a satellite’s orbit when it is closest to earth.

Perihelion – Position of an object, or body, when it is closest to the sun.

Period – Measured interval a regular event takes place.

Periodic comet – Comet that has been observed to circle, orbit, the sun more than once.

Phase – Cycle of changes in the appearance of a moon or a planet.

Photometer – An instrument that measures light emitted by an object.

Photometry – Degree and measurement of light intensities.

Photons – Single waves of light.

Photosphere – Visible surface of the sun.

Photovoltaic – When light energy or emissions are converted into electricity.

Pixel – Short name for “picture element.” Individual light detectors on a CCD chip.

Planck scale – A unit of measurement scientists utilize to describe the universe. One unit (length) of Planck is 10^-33 centimeters.

Planet – A gaseous, rocky body that orbits a star.

Planetary nebula – Gas ejected by dying, low mass stars that appear as glowing shells.

Planetesimals – Asteroid sized bodies in a new planetary system that collide and form larger bodies.

Planisphere – Map of the sky in two-dimensions with an adjustable overlay and shows a part of the sky that is visible anytime of the night or year.

Plasma – Gas heated to a state wherein it contains ions and free floating electrons.

Plasmasphere – Area of cold and high density plasma above the ionosphere.

Plate tectonics – Theory describing the possibility on how earth’s crust is broken into plates, suggesting that those plates move thru and across earth’s surface.

Polar cap – Icy region of a planet, specifically the north and south pole.

Polarization – When the direction of electric or magnetic fields in an electromagnetic wave changes in a regular pattern.

Position angle – Direction in the heavens one celestial object from another, measured eastward from due north.

Power – Capability of a telescope or binoculars to increase the size of an object that is far away.

Poynting-Robertson effect – Interplanetary particles that are dragged and is caused by its interaction with solar radiation. This causes particles to lose momentum in their orbit and is drawn towards the sun.

Precession – Periodic change in the direction of an objects axis caused by the gravitational influence from another body.

Primary lens – Main lens of a telescope that gathers light bringing the object into focus.

Primary mirror – Main mirror of a telescope that gathers and reflects light to bring the object in focus.

Prime meridian – The line of longitude that runs through Greenwich, England.

Prism – A piece of glass that breaks white light into it’s basic colors, it is wedge shaped.

Prograde – Same direction a planet rotates. An object that move, or looks like it moves in the same direction of solar system bodies or moons.

Prominence – A massive eruption of gas streaming off the surface of the sun towards the corona.

Proper motion – Annual movement of a star across the sky.

Proton – Subatomic particle that is found in an atom’s nucleus and possesses a positive electric charge.

Protoplanet – Gas, dust, and rocks that gradually becomes a whole planet.

Protoplanetary disk – Disk of gas and dust surrounding a new planet; planets that form through the collision of particles inside the disk.

Protostar – Cloud of hot, dense gas and dust that gravitationally collapses to form a star.

Proxima Centauri – Nearest star to the sun at 4.2 light years away.

Pulsar – A rotating neutron star that showers earth with regular pulses of electromagnetic radiation.

Quadrillion – a number represented in the U.S. with a 1 followed by 15 zeros, in the U.K., 1 followed by 24 zeros.

Quantum mechanics – Law in physics describing the behavior of matter at the atomic and subatomic level.

Quasar – Highly energetic core in a young galaxy believed to be powered by a big black hole; Short for quasi-stellar object.

Radial velocity – Acceleration of an object going away from or headed towards an observer.

Radiant – Location in the sky where meteors belonging to a meteor shower appear to come from. 2. Very bright and shining.

Radiation – Electromagnetic waves as it relates to astronomy.

Radiation pressure – Amount of pressure applied on a surface by electromagnetic radiation or light.

Radio galaxy – Galaxy that emanates a large amount of radio waves.

Radio telescope – Designed to observe radio waves coming from space.

Radio waves – Type of light with the longest wavelength with the least energy.

Radiometer – Instrument to measure total energy or power from an object in the form of radiation, especially infrared radiation.

Red dwarf – Smaller star with a low mass, cooler, and less luminous than the sun.

Red giant – Cool star nearing the end of its cycle. These have expanded up a hundred times the diameter of the sun.

Red supergiant – Cool star nearing the end of its cycle. These have expanded from a hundred to a thousand times the diameter of the sun.

Redshift – Multiplication of wavelength of light coming from an object due to its motion away from earth; expansion of the universe; strong gravitational field.

Reflection nebula – Gas and dust clouds made visible due to the dust reflection from the light of nearby star.

Reflector – Telescope using curved mirrors to gather light.

Refractor – Telescope using a glass lens to gather light.

Regolith – Soil from the moon produced meteorites hitting the surface.

Relativity – Theory in physics developed by Albert Eistein. Describes measurement made by two observers who are in relative motion.

Resolution (Resolving power) – A camera or a telescopes ability to capture fine details of a subject.

Reticle – Using two fine wires as part of a grid attached to part of the focal plane or a telescope eyepiece. This is used to locate the position and size of a celestial object.

Retrograde – Viewing objects that move or appear be moving in the opposite direction of a solar system bodies.

Reusable launch vehicle (RLV) – A spacecraft that may be reused on successive missions. A single stage to orbit spacecraft.

Revolution – Orbital motion of a body around a common center of mass or another body.

Ribonucleic acid – Nucleic acid containing genetic information.

Rich clusters – Galaxy clusters with high population densities.

Rich-field telescope – Designed to show a larger field of view at low magnification.

Right ascension – Angular Distance of a celestial object located east of the vernal equinox; outer space sphere equivalent to longitude.

Rotation – Spin of an asteroid, planet, star, moon, or galaxy on its central axis.

Rotation period – Measurable interval an asteroid, planet, star, moon, or galaxy completes one rotation.

Satellite – Small body or object that goes (orbit) around a planet or asteroid.

Scarp – Cliffs created by erosion and fault movement.

Schmidt camera – Catadioptric telescope used as a camera to photograph wide-angle pictures of the sky.

Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope – Small telescope wherein light passes through a correcting lens located at the front of the telescope; it then reflects off a primary mirror back to a secondary mirror, which then directs the light through a hole in the primary and out the back of the scope; this is a popular telescope for backyard observers.

Secondary mirror – A small mirror used in a telescope that redirects light gathered by a primary mirror.

Seeing – State of observing phenomena created by earth’s atmosphere that blurs images of astronomical objects.

Semimajor axis – Average distance an orbiting body has from its main body.

SETI – “search for extra-terrestrial intelligence”

Seyfert galaxy – Galaxy with a bright nucleus coupled with spectral emission lines, first discovered by Carl Seyfert in 1943.

Shock wave – Powerful wave emanating from a sudden change in density, temperature, or pressure traveling through a medium faster than sound travels on that same medium.

Short-period comet – A comet that orbits less than 200 years.

Sidereal – Relating to or measured in association with the stars.

Sidereal year – Amount of time a body revolves around another with respect to the stars.

Siderostat – A movable flat mirror that reflects light from a celestial object to a given location.

Singularity – An area wherein space and time are infinitely distorted.

Small Magellanic Cloud – An irregular and small galaxy orbiting the Milky Way galaxy.

Solar eclipse – When the moon passes between the earth and the sun.

Solar filter – A safety precaution, a filter used to block almost all the suns light when being viewed.

Solar irradiance – Radiant energy given by the sun over all wavelengths that falls each moment on one square meter of earth’s atmosphere.

Solar mass – Amount of mass contained in the sun, equivalent to 330,000 times to that of earth.

Solar system – System that includes the sun and the smaller bodies (planets, moons, etc…) that orbit the sun.

Solar wind – Stream of charged minute particles coming from the sun.

Solstice – Two points on the celestial sphere wherein the sun is farthest north or south of the equator.

South Celestial Pole – Point in the sky earth’s South Pole points.

Space weathering – Process of changing the surface of an object in space by impacts from small meteors, cosmic rays, and even the solar wind.

Space-time – When the three dimensions of space come together with one dimension of time wherein the events can be exactly calculated.

Special relativity – Theory of relativity applied concerning uniform motion. It proposes that the equivalence of mass and energy and differs from Newtonian physics only when speeds approach that of light.

Spectra – Plural of spectrum. Radiant source energy.

Spectral class – Classification of stars based on its spectrum as dictated by the surface temperature.

Spectral line – Specific wavelength of light that corresponds to the energy exchange of an atom or molecule.

Spectrograph/Spectrometer – Instrument coupled to a telescope that records the spectrum of an astronomical object.

Spectroheliograph – Instrument to photograph the sun on a single wavelength of light.

Spectroscope – An apparatus to explore spectra.

Spectroscopy – In astronomy, it is the study of astronomical subjects.

Spectrum – 1. Whole range of electromagnetic radiation, also known as light. 2. Energy created from a radiant source.

Speed of light – Light travels through a vacuum at 186,000 miles per second, or 300,000 km per second. Distance light travels in a unit of time through a specific substance.

Spicules – Supersonic jet about 300 miles(500 km) in diameter found in the chromosphere of the Sun.

Spiral arm – Concentration of young stars, gas and dust that are finds its way out of the nucleus of a spiral galaxy.

Spiral galaxy – Spiral shaped system composed of stars, gas clouds, and dust, numbering in the billions.

Standard candle – In astronomy, refers to an object known for its brightness and is sometimes used to determine distances.

Star – Sphere of hot gas held together by gravity and emanates brightness by itself; common stars utilize nuclear fusion from its core to generate energy.

Star atlas – Collection of maps using a coordinate system to mark positions of astronomical objects, stars, galaxies, and nebula.

Star hopping – Techniques using familiar patterns of stars to hop from one part of the sky to another; this is done through the use of a telescope and the naked eye.

Star party – Gathering of friends and other like-minded people to observe the night sky.

Starburst galaxy – Galaxy going through a high rate of star formation.

Stellar evolution – Process, that include changes a star goes through during its existence.

Stellar wind – Torrent of charged atomic particles emanating from stars. Release of gas from a star’s surface.

Sterocomparator – Device that allows astronomers to view two separate images of the same region in the sky at the same time.

Stone Meteorite – Meteorite resembling a terrestrial rock made of similar materials.

Sublimate – Transition of solid substance that is evaporated into a gas without reaching the liquid phase.

Summer – Season in the northern hemisphere that commences around June 21.

Sunspot – Dark, temporary cool spot found on the surface of the sun.

Sunspot cycle – Cycle that averages eleven years at which the number of sunspots decreases and increases.

Supercluster – Huge congregation of galaxy clusters that span hundreds and millions of light years away.

Superfluid – State of matter exhibiting frictionless flow. Liquid helium is the one element that produces this when cooled to absolute zero.

Superior conjunction – Constitution of an inferior planet when it lies on the far side of the sun.

Superior planet – Planets that are farther from the sun than earth: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

Superluminal motion – Movement that looks to be faster than the speed of light.

Supermassive black hole – Black hole located at the center of a galaxy containing millions or billions of solar masses.

Supernova – Destructive explosion of a star.

Supernova remnant – Growing cloud of gas that is the outer layers of star that just exploded.

Synchronous rotation – Identical rate of rotation of a satellite or moon to the main and bigger object it orbits.

Synchrotron emission – Electromagnetic field from high-energy electrons that are moving in a given magnetic field.

Synodic Period – Interval between points of opposition in a superior planet. -T-

Telescope – Instrument used to brighten and magnify the view of astronomical objects.

Tera (trillion) – American use, one followed by 12 zeros

Terminator – Boundary of a planet or moon separating the lighted from the unlighted sides.

Terrestrial – Related to the earth.

Terrestrial planet – Small and rocky planet which includes Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Venus.

Thermal radiation – Electromagnetic radiation coming from an object that is not at absolute zero.

Tidal force – disparity in gravitational force between two points on an object caused by the gravity of another object; this leads to a deformation of an object.

Tides – Distortion of a body caused by the gravitational influence on another body.

Trans-Neptunion Object – Object in our solar system lying beyond the orbit of Neptune.

Transit – Passage of a smaller body in front of a larger body. Passage of a celestial body across an observer’s meridian.

Transparency – Clarity of the sky.

Trapezium – Open cluster of young stars, protostars, gas, and dust in the Orion Nebula that feature four stars forming a the trapezium.

Tremolite – Common mineral in metamorphic rocks, made up mainly of calcium and magnesium.

Trojan – Asteroid lying in or near the Lagrange points 60 degrees for or aft Jupiter along the planet’s orbit.

Tropical year – Time earth revolves around the sun in relation to the vernal equinox.

True field of view – Angle of sky viewed through an eyepiece attached to a telescope.

Type la supernova – the explosion of a white dwarf that occurs when it accretes enough mass from a companion star to go above the Chandrasekhar limit.

Type II quasars – a quasar enshrouded in gas and dust that emits very little visible light, however, is easily seen in the infrared and x-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum

Type II supernova – the explosion of a massive star that occurs when its core runs out of nuclear fuel; these explosions leave behind a neutron star or a black hole -U-

Ultraviolet light or radiation – Radiation with a higher amount of energy than visible light, not as much as x-rays.

Umbra – Perfect and whole shadow of an opaque body, like a planet, wherein direct light from the source of brightness is totally reduced. 2) Area of complete darkness on the shadow made by an eclipse.

UIB – unidentified infrared bands – Unknown objects in space that produce unidentifiable infrared emission patterns.

Universal time – Also recognized as Greenwich Mean Time, forming the basis in all civil time keeping. Local time centered in Greenwich, England.

Universe – All that exists

UT – short for Universal time

UV (ultraviolet) – short for Ultra Violet. -V-

Van Allen Belts – Dual belts of charged particles from a solar wind trapped in earth’s magnetic field above the atmosphere. Radiation zone of charged particles surrounding Earth. Shape of Van Allen belts is determined by Earth’s magnetic field.

Variable star – Star with varying luminosity.

Vernal equinox – Time of the year when the sun moves across the celestial equator towards the north, usually around March 21.

Vignetting – Decreased illumination over an image plane in a camera or in some cases a telescope, this causes a distortion close to the edge of an image.

Virgo Cluster – 2,500 known galaxies near the north galactic pole of the constellation Virgo that is 60 million light years from earth.

Visible light – Wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can see.

Voids – Big regions of empty space found amidst galaxy clusters and superclusters.

Volatiles – Chemical compounds that become gaseous at very low temperatures. -W-

Waning/Waxing – Interval between full and new moon

Wavelength – Distance between two wave crests.

Weight – Force applied on an object because of gravity.

White dwarf – Dense remains of an intermediate mass star like the sun that has collapsed and is the same size as earth.

Winter – Season in the Northern Hemisphere that begins December 21.

Wolf-Rayet star – Luminous and hot star having temperatures reaching 90,000 kelvins.

X-rays – Type of electromagnetic radiation that is like light but has a shorter wavelength capable of penetrating solid objects and ionizing gases.

X-class flares – Most energetic kind of solar flares and the brightest.

X ray star – Bright object emitting x rays as a primary component of its radiation.

Yellow dwarf – Ordinary star, like the sun and is at its stable point in its transformation.

Zenith – Point on the celestial sphere directly above an observer.

Zenith hourly rate – Meteorites expected to be viewed per hour during a meteor shower, where the meteor showers radiance is at an observer’s zenith.

Zodiac – Imaginary belt across the sky wherein the solar system can always be found.

Zodiacal light – Cone of light that can be observed above the horizon before sunrise or after sunset. This is caused by small particles of reflected sunlight.

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The Space Race

By: History.com Editors

Updated: February 21, 2020 | Original: February 22, 2010

After World War II drew to a close in the mid-20th century, a new conflict began. Known as the Cold War, this battle pitted the world’s two great powers—the democratic, capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union—against each other. Beginning in the late 1950s, space became another dramatic arena for this competition, as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and–by extension–its political-economic system.

Causes of the Space Race

By the mid-1950s, the U.S.-Soviet Cold War had worked its way into the fabric of everyday life in both countries, fueled by the arms race and the growing threat of nuclear weapons, wide-ranging espionage and counter-espionage between the two countries, war in Korea and a clash of words and ideas carried out in the media. These tensions would continue throughout the space race, exacerbated by such events as the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and the outbreak of war in Southeast Asia.

Space exploration served as another dramatic arena for Cold War competition. On October 4, 1957, a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile launched Sputnik (Russian for “traveler”), the world’s first artificial satellite and the first man-made object to be placed into the Earth’s orbit. Sputnik’s launch came as a surprise, and not a pleasant one, to most Americans. In the United States, space was seen as the next frontier, a logical extension of the grand American tradition of exploration, and it was crucial not to lose too much ground to the Soviets. In addition, this demonstration of the overwhelming power of the R-7 missile–seemingly capable of delivering a nuclear warhead into U.S. air space–made gathering intelligence about Soviet military activities particularly urgent.

Did you know? After Apollo 11 landed on the moon's surface in July 1969, six more Apollo missions followed by the end of 1972. Arguably the most famous was Apollo 13, whose crew managed to survive an explosion of the oxygen tank in their spacecraft's service module on the way to the moon.

NASA Is Created

In 1958, the United States launched its own satellite, Explorer I, designed by the U.S. Army under the direction of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun . That same year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a public order creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ), a federal agency dedicated to space exploration.

Eisenhower also created two national security-oriented space programs that would operate simultaneously with NASA’s program. The first, spearheaded by the U.S. Air Force, dedicated itself to exploiting the military potential of space. The second, led by the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ), the Air Force and a new organization called the National Reconnaissance Office (the existence of which was kept classified until the early 1990s) was code-named Corona; it would use orbiting satellites to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union and its allies.

Space Race Heats Up: Men (And Chimps) Orbit Earth

In 1959, the Soviet space program took another step forward with the launch of Luna 2, the first space probe to hit the moon. In April 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit Earth , traveling in the capsule-like spacecraft Vostok 1. For the U.S. effort to send a man into space, dubbed Project Mercury, NASA engineers designed a smaller, cone-shaped capsule far lighter than Vostok; they tested the craft with chimpanzees  and held a final test flight in March 1961 before the Soviets were able to pull ahead with Gagarin’s launch. On May 5, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space (though not in orbit).

Later that May, President John F. Kennedy made the bold, public claim that the U.S. would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade. In February 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, and by the end of that year, the foundations of NASA’s lunar landing program–dubbed Project Apollo –were in place.

Achievements of Apollo

From 1961 to 1964, NASA’s budget was increased almost 500 percent, and the lunar landing program eventually involved some 34,000 NASA employees and 375,000 employees of industrial and university contractors. Apollo suffered a setback in January 1967, when three astronauts were killed after their spacecraft caught fire during a launch simulation. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union’s lunar landing program proceeded tentatively, partly due to internal debate over its necessity and to the untimely death (in January 1966) of Sergey Korolyov, chief engineer of the Soviet space program.

December 1968 saw the launch of Apollo 8, the first manned space mission to orbit the moon, from NASA’s massive launch facility on Merritt Island, near Cape Canaveral, Florida . On July 16, 1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong , Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins set off on the Apollo 11 space mission, the first lunar landing attempt. After landing successfully on July 20, Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon’s surface; he famously called the momen t “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Who Won the Space Race?

By landing on the moon, the United States effectively “won” the space race that had begun with Sputnik’s launch in 1957. For their part, the Soviets made four failed attempts to launch a lunar landing craft between 1969 and 1972, including a spectacular launch-pad explosion in July 1969. From beginning to end, the American public’s attention was captivated by the space race, and the various developments by the Soviet and U.S. space programs were heavily covered in the national media. This frenzy of interest was further encouraged by the new medium of television. Astronauts came to be seen as the ultimate American heroes, and earth-bound men and women seemed to enjoy living vicariously through them. Soviets, in turn, were pictured as the ultimate villains, with their massive, relentless efforts to surpass America and prove the power of the communist system.

With the conclusion of the space race, U.S. government interest in lunar missions waned after the early 1970s. In 1975, the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission sent three U.S. astronauts into space aboard an Apollo spacecraft that docked in orbit with a Soviet-made Soyuz vehicle. When the commanders of the two crafts officially greeted each other, their “ handshake in space ” served to symbolize the gradual improvement of U.S.-Soviet relations in the late Cold War era.

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Space Tourism

• Living reference work entry
• First Online: 14 June 2022
• Cite this living reference work entry

• Sam Spector 3  

Space tourism often refers to nonprofessional astronauts traveling into outer space for recreational purposes (Cohen and Spector 2019 ). Activities such as traveling to watch a rocket launch, tour a space museum, or visit a planetarium are sometimes categorized as forms of “terrestrial” space tourism (Cater 2010 ). High altitude fighter jet flights, zero-gravity experiences, and virtual reality simulations can also be conceptualized as related to space tourism.

Touristic travel into outer space is commonly demarcated as necessitating reaching the “Kármán line” at 100 km above Earth’s surface. This boundary, while widely used, is artificial, as the atmosphere becomes progressively thinner rather than ending abruptly. Travel into outer space can be divided into three main categories: suborbital, orbital, and beyond orbit.

Suborbital spaceflights briefly travel beyond the Kármán line and then return. For a few minutes, passengers experience weightlessness, see the curvature of Earth, and...

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Cater, C. 2010. Steps to space; opportunities for astrotourism. Tourism Management 31: 838–845.

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Cohen, E., and S. Spector. 2019. Space tourism: The elusive dream . Bingley: Emerald.

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Crouch, G., T. Devinney, J. Louviere, and T. Islam. 2009. Modelling consumer choice behavior in space tourism. Tourism Management 30: 441–454.

Damjanov, K., and G. Crouch. 2019. Virtual reality and space tourism. In Space tourism: The elusive dream , ed. E. Cohen and S. Spector. Bingley: Emerald.

Ormrod, J., and P. Dickens. 2017. The Palgrave handbook of society, culture and outer space . Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Ross, M., and J. Vedda. 2018. The policy and science of rocket emissions . The Aerospace Corporation. https://aerospace.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/RocketEmissions_0.pdf

Toivonen, A. 2020. Sustainable space tourism . Bristol: Channel View.

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Jafar Jafari

School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Honggen Xiao

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School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK

David Airey

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Spector, S. (2021). Space Tourism. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_755-1

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Politics latest: 'Major moment' in SNP leadership race - as serviceman 'turned away' from polling station

Former SNP leader John Swinney is "heading for a coronation" after Kate Forbes, widely tipped to go up against him in the party's latest leadership contest, announced she would not run. Meanwhile, England and Wales are holding local elections that may be defining for Rishi Sunak.

Thursday 2 May 2024 16:09, UK

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• John Swinney to run for SNP leader
• Former leadership contender Kate Forbes rules out running
• Connor Gillies: Major moment as Swinney heads for coronation
• Voting under way in local elections
• London among crucial mayoral contests
• By-election also taking place in Blackpool South
• Results night: How and where to watch Sky News coverage

Downing Street has said it will "look into" voter ID rules after a serviceman was turned away from a polling station. 

The serviceman was unable to use his veterans ID card, introduced at the start of the year, to vote. 

Responding on X, veterans' affairs minister Johnny Mercer said: "The legislation on acceptable forms of ID came out before the veterans ID cards started coming out in January this year. 

"I will do all I can to change it before the next one."

The prime minister's spokesperson reiterated that this form of ID was introduced "very, very recently". 

"I think it's something that we will want to look into," the spokesperson said.

"There's already a very wide range of acceptable documents -  including a free voter authority certificate -  which is accepted at all polling stations so anyone who is eligible to vote can continue to do so."

However, the spokesperson said Downing Street had no concerns about voter ID more generally, adding: "We don't want to see anyone turned away from polling stations, we want everyone to be able to vote.

"Experience from the last local elections was that 99.75% of people were able to cast their vote successfully."

We have compiled a list of what counts as voter ID below:

By Faye Brown , political reporter

Pint-sized bottles of wine will be allowed on UK shelves from autumn under new post-Brexit trade rules - but doubts have been raised over their demand.

Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said seven changes to pre-packaged wine sizes are due to come into force on 19 September.

Announcing the date in the House of Commons, he said the measure will support the "thriving" UK wine sector by providing opportunities for "innovation and greater choice".

But the SNP's Patrick Grady said the government should admit there is "little to no demand or interest for this supposedly glorious Brexit benefit".

Read more below:

As we've been reporting today, the race is on to find a new SNP leader and first minister of Scotland.

John Swinney is the first to announce his candidacy, and the woman tipped to run against him - Kate Forbes - has since said she won't.

So, could we be heading for more of a coronation than a race?

And if so, who is the man that would be crowned first minister?

Our Scotland reporter Jenness Mitchell has more on Mr Swinney's life and political career to date…

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has just given Sky News his take on today's developments in the SNP leadership race.

As a reminder, former leader John Swinney has announced his candidacy and could-be rival Kate Forbes has said she won't run after all.

Mr Sarwar said: "It's clear there's going to be a stitch-up and coronation for John Swinney."

Swinney is 'yesterday's man'

Speaking to our  Scotland correspondent  Connor Gillies , he reflected on what former first minister Nicola Sturgeon said when Rishi Sunak took over from Liz Truss in Downing Street.

"She said the door of Downing Street was not a revolving door, that the office of prime minister was not the gift of one political party, that it would be a democratic outrage if it didn't go back to the people to decide who should run the country," he said.

"And she now sees the SNP hold Scotland to a lower standard than the UK and the Conservative Party."

He described Mr Swinney as "yesterday's man" who "doesn't represent change" and described the SNP as being in "chaos".

John Swinney, the man who looks set to become the next leader of the SNP, has admitted the party is going through a tough time.

He spoke to our  Scotland correspondent  Connor Gillies   after announcing his leadership bid this morning.

You can watch it below:

Protesters in Peckham, south London, have blocked a coach due to take asylum seekers who have been housed in a local hotel to the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset.

Police have warned the demonstrators will be arrested if they do not leave the scene.

Home Secretary James Cleverly has addressed the incident on social media, saying: "Housing migrants in hotels costs the British taxpayer millions of pounds every day. 

"We will not allow this small group of students, posing for social media, to deter us from doing what is right for the British public."

Our correspondent Sadiya Chowdhury is at the scene, and says protesters have been chanting in solidarity with migrants and voicing opposition to the police.

It is something of a tradition to show pictures of dogs at polling stations on an election day. 

Donkeys, not so much - until now. 

Please enjoy this glum looking donkey waiting in a parking bay at a village hall polling station in the New Forest. 

And in case you are wondering why dogs (and now donkeys) are such a feature of our election coverage today, it's (partly) down to reporting restrictions. 

On polling day, you won't see any coverage about politics or policy concerning the parties involved.

Instead, you will see coverage of people voting, politicians casting their ballots and yes …  lots of dogs at polling stations.

John Swinney is "heading for a coronation" as the next leader of the SNP after the decision by Kate Forbes not to run, says our Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies .

Ms Forbes was the main rival to Humza Yousaf in the last contest, amassing almost half of the vote.

With her choosing not to go up against former leader Mr Swinney, it's "incredibly unlikely any other candidate will throw their hat in the ring".

Connor describes it as a "major moment", coming after backroom discussions throughout today at Holyrood.

As of last night, he says Ms Forbes hadn't decided what to do - but she appears to have been swayed by Mr Swinney's speech this morning.

"Sources close to her were concerned there would be disappointment at her not throwing her hat in the ring," he says.

"But she says she is rallying behind a John Swinney premiership."

If anyone did want to run against him, they would have until midday next Monday to enter the race.

But Connor says the race is now all but over already.

Kate Forbes has announced she will not join the race to replace Humza Yousaf as SNP leader and first minister. 

There had been speculation the former Scottish finance secretary would join John Swinney, who threw his hat in the ring earlier today.

In a statement, Ms Forbes said: "Ultimately, I have concluded that the best way to deliver the urgent change Scotland needs is to join with John Swinney and advocate for that reform agenda within the Scottish government.

"It is now clear from this morning's statement that in John Swinney we have someone who not only understands that need for reform, but has now committed to delivering it.

"I look forward to playing my role in making that happen."

Posting on X, Ms Forbes added that she had spoken to Mr Swinney directly to "discuss the future of our party and our country". 

"What emerged was that we share a powerful common purpose for the country," she said.

Confirming he was standing for first minister and SNP leader earlier today, Mr Swinney said. he wanted to "unite the SNP and unite Scotland for independence".

He also said he would like to see Ms Forbes "play a significant part" in his team should he be appointed.

The leadership race comes after Mr Yousaf announced he was standing down as SNP leader and Scotland's first minister earlier this week.

As we just reported, a statement from Kate Forbes on the race to succeed Humza Yousaf as Scotland's first minister is expected shortly.

She lost out to Mr Yousaf in last year's SNP leadership contest and has already told Sky News she is considering entering the race again in the wake of Mr Yousaf's resignation.

The former finance secretary faced backlash during her campaign last year after admitting she would have voted against gay marriage in Scotland when it was made legal a decade ago.

The Free Church of Scotland member also told Sky News that having children out of marriage was "wrong" and something she would "seek to avoid".

However, the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch stressed that "in a free society you can do what you want".

Ms Forbes had argued that "continuity won't cut it".

After losing to Mr Yousaf by 48% to 52%, she said: "If we are to continue to win elections, we need to continue to listen and maintain trust."

Ms Forbes turned down the role of rural affairs minister, which at the time was seen as a demotion.

Although her views on social issues remain unpopular with some of her MSP colleagues, she was one of the few SNP ministers who did not delete her WhatsApp messages during the COVID pandemic.

Ms Forbes would face resistance from the Scottish Greens, who have previously ruled out working with her.

SNP colleague Fergus Ewing is backing Ms Forbes, saying she is "head and shoulders" above any other potential candidate.

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The Federal Register

The daily journal of the united states government, request access.

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An official website of the United States government.

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