What is Outer space?
[[File:LH 95.jpg|thumb|right|A [[star]] forming region in the [[Large Magellanic Cloud]], perhaps the closest galaxy to Earth's [[Milky Way]]]][[File:1000px-Atmosphere layers-en.PNG|thumb|200px|The boundaries between the Earth's surface and outer space, at the [[Kármán line]], {{Convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}} and [[exosphere]] at {{Convert|690|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Not to scale.|alt=A dark blue shaded diagram subdivided by horizontal lines, with the names of the five atmospheric regions arranged along the left. From bottom to top, the troposphere section shows Mount Everest and an airplane icon, the stratosphere displays a weather balloon, the mesosphere shows meteors, and the thermosphere includes an aurora and the Space Shuttle. At the top, the exosphere shows only stars.]] '''Outer space''', commonly shortened to '''[[space]]''', is the near-[[vacuum]] between [[Astronomical object|celestial bodies]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Collins Dictionary of Astronomy|publisher=HarperCollins|date=2012|origyear=2006|edition=Fifth|first1=John|last1=Daintith|first2=William|last2=Gould|isbn=9780007918485|page=414}}</ref> It is where all of the [[planet]]s, [[star]]s, [[galaxy|galaxies]] and [[Astronomical object|objects]] are found. It is the expanse that exists beyond [[Earth]] and [[Atmosphere of Earth|its atmosphere]]. On [[Earth]], space begins at the Kármán line (100&nbsp;km above [[sea level]]).<ref>{{citation|title=Where does space start?|newspaper=All About Space|publisher=Imagine Publishing|issue=1|page=84|date=2012-06-28}}</ref> This is where [[Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]] is said to stop and outer space begins. This is not a natural boundary but is a [[wikt:convention|convention]] used by scientists and diplomats. However, the space near Earth is quite crowded by astronomical standards. A list of spaces goes like this: #'''Geospace''' is the region of outer space near Earth: it includes the upper region of the atmosphere and the [[magnetosphere]].<ref>Schrijver, Carolus J. & Siscoe, George L. 2010. ''Helioph