Joe Malan: What is space?

May 14—What is space?

It is a rather uncreative way to begin a column, but we might as well confront the question right away.

What is this vastness, this emptiness, that separates planets from other planets, stars from other stars, galaxies from other galaxies, and so on?

Though of course not empty, space separates objects from each other by thousands of miles, millions of miles, even light years.

Let's start by looking at what we do know about space.

First, there is no air or oxygen to breathe in space. Were you to float off in space and take off your helmet, you would die pretty much instantly.

Second, there is no sound — at least that us humans can hear. That's because there is nothing in space to carry it across vast distances to our ears. So if a star were to explode, or objects were to collide into each other, you wouldn't hear anything.

Third, it is extremely cold — about minus 455 degrees Fahrenheit. That's twice as cold as it gets on Mars in the middle of the night.

Fourth — if we're talking about space being the universe as a whole — it is estimated at more than 90 billion light years across. So if you were to try to cross the entire universe at light speed, it would still take you 90 billion years.

Fifth, there really is no up or down. Now, I suppose if we were talking about our position in respect to the galactic plane, there would be positions of above and within, but if you were to leave the Milky Way, it's not as if there would a top of space/the universe and a bottom of space/universe. Our galaxy is not positioned in any special way to the rest of the cosmos, at least that we know of.

Finally, and perhaps the most famous point, the human body floats in space because there is no gravity to hold it down.

But there are some things that we don't know about space, either.

That makes us come back around to our original question: What IS space? No, really, what is it?

Is there perhaps some sort of material undetectable by us that binds the universe together (dark matter)? Also, what role do black holes (to borrow off last week's topic) play in the universe? It has been suggested that a black hole has an exit somewhere else in space called a white hole, where matter goes out, not in.

The most intriguing question might be, is there a way to get across space that allows for a certain "bending of the rules"? Going faster than light, but using a different method?

Perhaps something to explore in a column in the near future.

Joe Malan is presentation editor and astronomy writer at the Enid News & Eagle. Email him at jmalan@enidnews.com.

Joe Malan is astronomy writer and presentation editor for the Enid News & Eagle. Email him at jmalan@enidnews.com.

Have a question about this story? Do you see something we missed? Do you have a story idea for Joe? Send an email to jmalan@enidnews.com.