Our solar system is a busy place, full of planets, moons, and other objects all moving in space. Most things follow a pretty clear set of rules. For instance, all the planets, including Earth, orbit the Sun in the same direction, which is counterclockwise if you look down from above the Sun’s North Pole. This … Read more
When we look up at the night sky, we see our one Moon. It is a familiar, constant companion. But when we look at the giant of our solar system, Jupiter, the story is completely different. Jupiter is not just a planet; it’s the center of its own massive system, almost like a mini solar … Read more
Our solar system is a busy place, filled with planets, moons, and comets. It is also filled with millions of asteroids, which are large and small rocks left over from when our solar system first formed. Most of these asteroids stay far away from Earth, orbiting the Sun in a large ring called the asteroid … Read more
The thought of a massive space rock hitting Earth is scary. We have all seen movies that show a global disaster caused by an asteroid impact, and it is a real danger that scientists take very seriously. While the chances of a truly huge, extinction-level asteroid hitting us soon are extremely low, smaller objects enter … Read more
Our solar system is a familiar place, at least in our minds. We learn about the eight planets in school: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. For a long time, we also counted Pluto, but scientists decided in 2006 that it was too small to be in the main club and called … Read more
The label ice giant is key to understanding the difference between Uranus and the bigger planets, Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter and Saturn are truly gigantic, mainly composed of hydrogen and helium throughout their bulk, with small, dense cores. Uranus, however, has a much larger share of water, ammonia, and methane compounds. Even though it is … Read more
Our Moon is a beautiful and constant sight in the night sky. It controls our tides and lights up our nights. For thousands of years, people have looked up and wondered, “Where did it come from?” It seems so close and so familiar, yet its true origin story has been one of the biggest puzzles … Read more
Saturn is the planet almost everyone can recognize. It’s the beautiful jewel of our solar system, famous for the stunning, wide rings that circle it. For a very long time, we looked at these rings through telescopes and thought they were a permanent, ancient feature, as old as the planet itself. They seemed like a … Read more
The idea of people living on Mars is one of the biggest dreams in space exploration. For decades, scientists, engineers, and many others have worked toward making a human presence on the Red Planet a reality. It’s not just about a short trip there and back, like the Apollo missions to the Moon, but about … Read more
Jupiter is the king of the planets. It is the biggest planet in our solar system, a giant ball of gas with no solid surface to stand on. For hundreds of years, astronomers have known Jupiter by its most famous feature: the Great Red Spot. This giant, swirling storm is so big that it makes … Read more