Like i understand there isn’t a lot of things for the heat from Stars to bounce off of but what causes Space itself to be cold? Is it naturally always cold and if so why?
In: Planetary Science
Technically speaking, space is actually neither hot nor cold.
In the parts of space where there is literally nothing, there is nothing to *be* hot or cold. Words like “hot” and “cold” talk about the motion of molecules and atoms. If they’re moving very fast, they’re hot. If they’re moving very slow, they’re cold.
Space has no atoms in it to be hot or cold.
In direct sunlight, things in space can actually get hot very fast. This is because the radiation from the sun heats up molecules it touches.
But when you aren’t in direct sunlight, there’s nothing to hold onto heat or bounce it back to you. You may lose heat very fast via your own form of radiation, and there’s nothing to trap it close to you.
So space gets a reputation for being cold, when it’s actually *neither* hot nor cold.
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