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Space Exploration is Taking Off

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Space Exploration is Taking Off

Space Exploration is Taking Off

Up until recent years, the momentum associated with space exploration had more or less fizzled. While it would seem that rapid innovation is occurring in every other technology field worldwide, the hardware and business models used in space exploration have remained static aside from small, incremental improvements.

It is mind boggling that the last time humans walked on the moon was over 40 years ago.

However, since the 2010 there have been signs of great ambition in space exploration. We catalogued many of these interesting developments from the private sector just months ago, covering the endeavours of future asteroid miners, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and many other big names.

This year is set to be one of the more exciting years on record for those interested in the last human frontier. Between SpaceX resupply missions to the ISS and Virgin Galactic test launches, there are also many other interesting events to stay tuned to in 2015.

The first high-res pictures of Pluto will be beamed back to us on July 14th and sometime later this year, NASA plans to finalize its mission to capture an asteroid. XCOR’s Mark I prototype for its commercial, sub-orbital Lynx plane will also be tested.

If all of those happenings are not exciting enough, don’t forget to check out whatever the latest controversy is with Mars One. There may be more to come.

Regardless, it is an exciting time for investors and enthusiasts to think about space exploration. Mankind is aiming to land on asteroids by 2025, visit Mars by 2030, and even fund deep space exploration in the near future.

In the coming decades, asteroids will be harvested for minerals and tourists will fly in space on regularly scheduled spaceflights. That said, finding ways for investors to profit off this last frontier will be the real undertaking.

Original graphic from: Kapitall

Space Wars: The Private Sector Strikes Back
Space Wars: The Private Sector Strikes Back
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Space

The Celestial Zoo: A Map of 200+ Objects in Our Universe

This detailed map highlights 200+ celestial objects that astronomers have discovered about our universe and provides facts about each one.

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Detailed Map of Outer Space and the Known Universe

The Celestial Zoo: A Map of 200+ Objects in our Universe

Humans have been observing the universe for thousands of years.

And while we haven’t figured out all the answers quite yet, we’ve made some remarkable discoveries when it comes to learning about outer space.

What are some of the most notable observations that scientists have discovered so far? This map of outer space by Pablo Carlos Budassi highlights more than 200 celestial objects in our universe and provides details and facts about each one.

The Types of Celestial Objects Mapped

To create this graphic, Budassi used a combination of logarithmic astronomical maps from Princeton University, as well as images from NASA.

The visualization highlights 216 different celestial objects that are color-coded and organized into five overarching categories:

  • Moons and Asteroids
  • Planets
  • Galaxies
  • Star System
  • Great Scales/Superclusters

At the center of the map is the Sun, which is the largest object in our Solar System. According to NASA, the Sun’s volume is equivalent to 1.3 million Earths. The Sun is the powerhouse of life here on Earth—its energy provides our planet with a mild, warm climate that keeps us alive, keeping the Earth from becoming a frozen rock.

While the Sun is the only star in the Solar System, there is a neighboring star system called Alpha Centauri that’s approximately 4.37 light-years away. It’s made up of three stars—Proxima Centauri, Alpha Centauri A, and Alpha Centauri B.

Proxima Centauri, as the Latin name indicates, is the closest of the three to Earth and has an Earth-sized planet in its habitable zone.

The Life of a Star

In a star’s early stages, it’s powered by hydrogen. However, when its hydrogen stores are depleted, some stars are able to fuse helium or even heavier elements.

Stars similar to the size of the Sun will grow, cool down, and eventually transform into a red giant. The Sun has about 5,000 million more years before it reaches its red giant stage, but when that happens, it will likely expand to the point where it swallows up the Earth.

While stars emit energy for years, it’s important to note that they don’t shine for eternity. Their exact life span depends on their size, with bigger stars burning out faster than their smaller counterparts.

But as light from distant objects millions of light-years away takes a long time to reach us here on Earth, the largest of stars shine for hundreds of millions of years after they die.

Just How Big is Our Universe?

Some experts believe that the universe is infinite, while others argue that we can’t yet know for certain because current measurements aren’t accurate enough.

However, scientists believe that our observable universe extends about 46 billion light-years in every direction, giving it a diameter of roughly 93 billion light-years.

But just how much of the universe extends beyond what we can see? We may never find out.

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