– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

How big is space?

We Asked a NASA Scientist.

Space is really big.

Thinking about our solar system, let's imagine you could get in a car

and drive to Pluto at highway speeds.

It would take you about 6,000 years to get there.

When we start to think about other stars outside of our solar system,

we need to think about another unit of distance.

This is why astronomers use the unit light-years.

Light travels at 186,000 miles per second.

One light year is about 6 trillion miles.

The closest star to our Sun is about four light years away.

Our own Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light-years across.

We know from deep field images of the universe that there are hundreds

of billions, perhaps a trillion other galaxies.

Using some of the deepest images yet from JWST,

we've been able to see galaxies

that emitted their light about 13 and a half billion years ago.

Now, here's a really important thing. Because the universe is expanding,

those most distant galaxies

are actually much further away than 13 and a half billion light years.

I'm glossing over some math here, but we can estimate that the observable

universe is about 92 billion light-years across.

But we're pretty sure that the universe is even bigger than what we can see.

And here's where things get really weird,

we don't actually know if the universe is finite or infinite.

As much as we've learned about the universe, science has no reliable

estimate of the actual size of the entire universe.

We Asked a NASA Scientist.

NASA. A NASA 360 Production.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
space /speɪs/ B1	noun - the physical universe beyond Earth's atmosphere, especially the universe as a whole
universe /ˈjuːnɪvɜːrs/ B2	noun - all existing matter and space considered as a whole
galaxy /ˈɡæləksi/ B2	noun - a system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction
star /stɑːr/ A1	noun - a fixed luminous point in the night sky, a celestial body
light /laɪt/ A1	noun - the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible verb - to provide with light or to ignite adjective - having a considerable or sufficient amount of natural light; not dark
year /jɪər/ A1	noun - a period of 365 or 366 days, the time taken by the earth to make one revolution around the sun
mile /maɪl/ A1	noun - a unit of linear measure equal to 1,760 yards (approximately 1.609 kilometres)
drive /draɪv/ A2	verb - to operate and control the direction and speed of a motor vehicle
see /siː/ A1	verb - to perceive with the eyes; to observe
know /noʊ/ A1	verb - to be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information
imagine /ɪˈmædʒɪn/ A2	verb - to form a mental image or concept of
big /bɪɡ/ A1	adjective - of considerable size, extent, or intensity
solar /ˈsoʊlər/ B1	adjective - of or relating to the sun
deep /diːp/ A2	adjective - extending or situated far in or down
distant /ˈdɪstənt/ B1	adjective - far away in space or time
observable /əbˈzɜːrvəbl/ C1	adjective - able to be noticed or perceived; discernible
finite /ˈfaɪnaɪt/ C1	adjective - having limits or bounds
infinite /ˈɪnfɪnɪt/ C1	adjective - limitless or endless in supply, quantity, or extent
entire /ɪnˈtaɪər/ A2	adjective - whole or complete; not lacking or excepting any part
weird /wɪərd/ B1	adjective - suggesting something supernatural; uncanny