is there a difference between....?

Question

space and outer space?
i never really thought about it.

Answer 1

Space is all around us. It's the air you breathe, the tiny space inbetween your socks in your top bureau drawer. There's way too much of it at the top of that bag of potato chips.
OUTERspace however, generally refers to the space that is outside of our atmosphere where there is no air and no gravity.

Answer 2

I think the answer to your question may determine on how people interpret the meaning of the word 'space' (in terms of Astronomy). This is because, for example, some people may think that 'space' is genuinely the word to indicate that the Universe is infinitely huge, and therefore there is no such thing as 'outer space'. However, some people may think that it is just a word to show that the Universe is the only 'space' that is currently being observed by human beings on planet Earth (or wherever else in 'our' universe), and that there must be something outside this 'space'. And, by all means, the difference between the two spaces is that one ('outer space') surrounds the other ('space').

Answer 3

Lots of interesting chit-chat above. I especially like the first two answers, which are sort of correct, in that "space" has a general meaning that "outer space" a more specific meaning.

But in astronomy the terms are interchangeable. In fact "outer space" is an older expression, dating from the late 19th Century, when popular interest in astronomy began in the USA. In that sense, "space" is just a shortened form for "outer space."

"Outer space" was used in the 1950s space monster genre because it was still the more formal way of saying "that which is beyond the earth's atmosphere."

Answer 4

Space is 'the Final Frontier' (reference :the Opening monologue of Star Trek narrated by William Shatner)

Outer Space is where "It": came from
(reference; the movie " It Came From Outer Space")

Answer 5

Space is where everything happens, as opposed to when. Outer space is everything above 50 miles from the surface of the earth's oceans. At least that is the definition that NASA uses.

Answer 6

Space is what's in your room, or out in a yard. It's what most people mean when they say, "give me some space!"

Outer space is what beyond the atmosphere.

Answer 7

in astronomical terms, space is what lies beyond our atmosphere; or more precisely, beyond any atmosphere, or beyond the surface of an object (assuming that one day we will survive to colonize other planets).

outer space usually referrs to the place where aliens are thought to come from, or otherwise being inhabited by other civilizations. (much like the term outer lands was used by the ancient greeks and romans to refer to lands inhabited by distant civilizations) on the other hand inner space is a term from astrophysics (and previously used by astrologers for about 2000 years) which refers to the interdimensional space that is thought to exist between fractional dimensions (in string theory). inner space is thought to be the origin of dark energy (which is not to be confused with dark matter).

Answer 8

They are distances apart, outer space is the black hole region., outside the line of the planets.