Related topics: orbit · satellite · nasa · international space station · space

Curiosity rover captures shining clouds on Mars

Cloudy days are rare in the thin, dry atmosphere of Mars. Clouds are typically found at the planet's equator in the coldest time of year, when Mars is the farthest from the Sun in its oval-shaped orbit. But one full Martian ...

Virgin Galactic shows off passenger spaceship cabin interior

Passengers flying Virgin Galactic on suborbital trips into space will be able to see themselves floating weightless against the backdrop of the Earth below while 16 cameras document the adventures, the company said Tuesday.

Pressure mounts on aviation industry over climate change

Under pressure from frequent flyers alarmed over climate change, the airline industry says it is "hellbent" on reducing emissions—but the technology needed to drastically reduce its carbon footprint is still out of reach.

Virgin Galactic rocket ship ascends from New Mexico

Virgin Galactic on Saturday made its first rocket-powered flight from New Mexico to the fringe of space in a manned shuttle, as the company forges toward offering tourist flights to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere.

Heaviest element yet detected in an exoplanet atmosphere

Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT), astronomers have discovered the heaviest element ever found in an exoplanet atmosphere—barium. They were surprised to discover barium at high altitudes ...

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Altitude

Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used (aviation, geometry, geographical survey, sport, and more). As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context. Although the term altitude is commonly used to mean the height above sea level of a location, in geography the term elevation is often preferred for this usage.

Vertical distance measurements in the "down" direction are commonly referred to as depth.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA