Astronaut Questions

Outer space is an interesting and mysterious place. Here are some curious facts about outer space everyone should know. 

• The average temperature of outer space is -455 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• On a clear night, you can see up to 2,000 stars with the naked eye. 
• There are more stars in space than grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth. 
• If you were to weigh all the molecules in the vacuum of space, they would only weigh 50 grams. 
• Outer space is not completely dark. It actually emits a soft glow called “background radiation.” 
• The first object made by humans that reached outer space was a Nazi V-2 rocket, which exploded shortly after reaching an altitude of 65 miles in 1946. 
• The first spacecraft to leave our solar system was Pioneer 10, which launched in 1972 and is now about 11 billion miles from Earth. 
• The median age of stars in our galaxy is about 10 billion years old. 
• Our Sun will eventually turn into a red giant and expand to consume Earth (this won’t happen for another 5 billion years). 
• The Sun is thought to be about 4.6 billion years old.
• There are an estimated 100 billion galaxies in the universe.
• And each of those galaxies contains an average of 100 billion stars.
• The average distance from the Earth to the Moon is about 238,855 miles.

Curious facts indeed! Learning about outer space can help us to better understand our place in the universe. In short, outer space is huge, and there’s a lot we still don’t know about it. But that doesn’t stop us from being fascinated by what we do know. So the next time you look up at the night sky, remember these curious facts and wonder at the immense size and scope of the universe.