Astronomy and Science Fun Facts

People have been identifying objects in the Solar System since ancient times.

Mercury was named for the messenger of the Roman gods.

Venus is the most brilliant object in the sky, except for the sun & moon.

Earth is the only planet to have liquid water on its surface and to harbor life.

Mars is often called the Red Planet because of its reddish-colored soil.

Jupiter is circled by 3 rings and has a great red spot that is actually a huge, swirling storm.

Each of Saturn's rings is believed to be made up of billions of pieces of ice and rock.

It wasn't until 1977 that astronomers discovered that Uranus also had a band of rings around it.

Neptune appears blue due to a layer of methane gas that surrounds it.

The average estimated temperature on Pluto is -356 degrees Fahrenheit.

The sun is located about 93 million miles away from Earth. The light from the sun takes about 8 minutes to reach the Earth and warm us.

Eris, Ceres, and Pluto are Dwarf Planets. Eris is larger than Pluto and is farther away from the sun than Pluto. Eris is almost 10 billion miles from the sun. The smallest dwarf planet is Ceres, which used to be considered an asteroid and was first discovered in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi.

In 2880, asteroid 1950 DA will pass close to Earth. This will pose the greatest known impact hazard since recorded time.

The last comet seen easily from Earth was Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. The next time it will pass by on its way around the sun will be the year 4377.

The heaviest rock meteorite found on Earth weighs 2200 pounds.

Meteorite impacts and volcanic eruptions since the Earth's infancy have caused changes in the Earth's atmosphere.

The United States isn't expected to see a total solar eclipse again until August 21, 2017.

It is believed that black holes warp time and space to such a degree that time practically stops at the edge of the black hole.

Earth's gravitational pull is what allows us to keep our atmosphere.

Celestial bodies are also called "heavenly" bodies.

Planets spin around their axis while they move on their orbital paths around the sun.

The Hubble telescope is about the size of a school bus but can still fit inside the Space Shuttle's cargo bay.

Our solar system resides in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is about 150.000 light years wide.

The part of the Milky Way Galaxy that we reside in is called the Sagittarius arm.

Jovian planets may have a rocky core underneath all that gas (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune).

The terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars), have some type of atmosphere, but none is as developed as Earth's.

The sun goes through solar cycles in which activity, such as sun spots, increases.

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Astronomy & Planets educational flashcards