The more we get to know about space, the more it turns out to be weird. But just how weird might surprise you. According to NASA, space is dominated by invisible electromagnetic forces that we typically don't feel. It is also full of bizarre types of matter that we never experience on Earth. Here are five unearthly things that happen almost exclusively in outer space.
1. Plasma: On Earth, matter typically assumes one of three states: solid, liquid, or gas. But in space, 99.9 percent of normal matter is entirely different form — plasma. Made of loose ions and electrons, this substance is in a supercharged state beyond gas that's created when matter is heated to extreme temperatures or is plied with a strong electric current. According to NASA, we see plasma all the time. Wondering how? All the stars in the night sky, including the Sun, are mostly made of plasma. It even appears occasionally on Earth in the form of bolts of lightning and in neon signs.
2. Extreme Temperatures: What is the maximum and minimum temperature noted on Earth? As per NASA, records exist as high as 134°F and all the way down to -129°F (57°C to -89°C). But what we consider extreme on Earth is average in space. On planets without an insulating atmosphere, temperatures wildly fluctuate between day and night. Mercury regularly sees days around 840°F (449°C) and frigid nights as low as -275°F (-171°C). And in space itself, some spacecraft experience temperature differences of 60°F (33°C) just between their sunlit and shady sides.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe, at closest approach to the Sun, will experience differences over 2,000 degrees. The satellites and instruments NASA sends into space are carefully designed to withstand these extremes. Also, astronaut
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