• Question: is there up or down in space

    Asked by to Andrei, Ekbal, Gemma, Helen, Ruth on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by , .
    • Photo: Ekbal Hussain

      Ekbal Hussain answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      Hi @parsnips,

      That’s a really great question! On Earth we know what is up and what is down because of gravity. Gravity pulls everything towards the Earth, that’s why if you throw an apple into the air it comes back down to Earth.

      But in empty space where gravity has no effect, there is nothing to help you decide which direction is up and which is down. So, there is in fact no up or down in space.

    • Photo: Andrei Luchici

      Andrei Luchici answered on 20 Jun 2014:

      As Helen is saying there is no up and down in space. This is one of the reasons why our brain has some problems adjusting to life in space… It simply gets confused of where is up or down!

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