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You are here: Home / Universe / Is Outer Space Completely Empty?

Is Outer Space Completely Empty?

March 18, 2020 by Karen Hill

The space between planets, or between stars, only appears to be empty.

Actually, it’s filled with tiny particles of gas or dust too small to be seen. In fact, about ten percent of all the matter in our galaxy is gas and dust particles floating through space.

But these particles are scattered very thinly through space. A thimbleful of our air contains trillions upon trillions of atoms, but a thimbleful of outer space may hold just ten atoms!

If a sphere the size of earth were filled with outer space, it would weigh only eight pounds!

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Filed Under: Universe

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Big Is the Universe?
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