Outer space (often simply called space) comprises the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace and terrestrial locations.
Contrary to popular understanding, outer space is not completely empty (i.e. a perfect vacuum), but contains a low density of particles, predominantly hydrogen plasma, as well as electromagnetic radiation and neutrinos. Hypothetically, it also contains dark matter and dark energy.
The term outer space was first recorded by the English poet Lady Emmeline Stuart Wortley in her poem "The Maiden of Moscow" in 1842,[1] and also later attested to the writings of HG Wells in 1901.[2]. The shorter term space is actually older, first used to mean the region beyond Earth's sky in John Milton's Paradise Lost in 1667.[3]
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