🌠 What Is Space?

Space is a vast, seemingly infinite expanse beyond Earth's atmosphere. It's a vacuum with extremely low pressure and temperature, where sound cannot travel and gravity behaves in fascinating ways. It contains everything from stars and planets to black holes and dark matter.

🌀 Types of Galaxies

• Spiral Galaxies: Like our Milky Way, these have rotating arms and a central bulge.
• Elliptical Galaxies: Rounded and older, with little star formation.
• Irregular Galaxies: Chaotic shapes, often formed by galactic collisions.

🌍 Our Home Galaxy: The Milky Way

The Milky Way spans over 100,000 light-years and contains hundreds of billions of stars. Earth is located in the Orion Arm, about halfway from the galactic center. It’s part of the Local Group, which includes over 50 galaxies like Andromeda and the Magellanic Clouds.

🚀 Space Missions That Shaped History

• Apollo Program: Landed humans on the Moon (1969–1972).
• Voyager 1 & 2: Launched in 1977, now exploring interstellar space.
• Hubble Space Telescope: Provided breathtaking images and data since 1990.
• James Webb Space Telescope: Launched in 2021, peering into the early universe.
• Artemis Missions: NASA’s current program to return humans to the Moon.
• Mars Rovers: Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance have explored the Martian surface.
• JUICE & Europa Clipper: Future missions to study Jupiter’s icy moons.

🧠 Fun Space Facts

• There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on Earth.
• Neutron stars can spin up to 600 times per second.
• Venus is hotter than Mercury due to its thick atmosphere.
• The largest volcano in the solar system is Olympus Mons on Mars.
• The Moon’s footprints may last millions of years due to lack of wind.