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Showing posts from April, 2019

SATURN FACTS

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Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the most distant that can be seen with the naked eye. Saturn is the second largest planet and is best known for its fabulous ring system that was first observed in 1610 by the astronomer Galileo Galilei. Like Jupiter, Saturn is a gas giant and is composed of similar gasses including hydrogen, helium and methane. Saturn Planet Profile Equatorial Diameter: 120,536 km Polar Diameter: 108,728 km Mass: 5.68 × 10^26 kg (95 Earths) Moons: 62 ( Titan ,  Enceladus ,  Iapetus  &  Rhea ) Rings: 30+ (7 Groups) Orbit Distance: 1,426,666,422 km (9.54 AU) Orbit Period: 10,756 days (29.5 years) Effective Temperature: -178 °C First Record: 8th century BC Recorded By: Assyrians Facts About Saturn Saturn can be seen with the naked eye. It is the fifth brightest object in the  solar system  and is also easily studied through binoculars or a small telescope. Saturn was known to the ancients, including the Babylonians and Far Ea

VENUS FACTS

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Venus is the second planet from the  Sun  and is the second brightest object in the night sky after the  Moon . Named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus is the second largest  terrestrial planet  and is sometimes referred to as the Earth’s sister planet due the their similar size and mass. The surface of the planet is obscured by an opaque layer of clouds made up of sulphuric acid. Venus Planet Profile Diameter: 12,104 km Mass: 4.87 x 10^24 kg (81.5% Earth) Moons: None Orbit Distance: 108,209,475 km (0.73 AU) Orbit Period: 225 days Surface Temperature: 462 °C First Record: 17th century BC Recorded By: Babylonian astronomers Facts About Venus QUICK VENUS FACTS Venus does not have any moons or rings. Venus is nearly as big as the Earth with a diameter of 12,104 km. Venus is thought to be made up of a central iron core, rocky mantle and silicate crust. A day on the surface of Venus (solar day) would appear to take 117 Earth days. A year

JUPITER FACTS

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The planet Jupiter is the fifth planet out from the  Sun , and is two and a half times more massive than all the other planets in the  solar system  combined. It is made primarily of gases and is therefore known as a “ gas giant ”. Jupiter Planet Profile Equatorial Diameter: 142,984 km Polar Diameter: 133,709 km Mass: 1.90 × 10^27 kg (318 Earths) Moons: 79 ( Io ,  Europa ,  Ganymede  &  Callisto ) Rings: 4 Orbit Distance: 778,340,821 km (5.20 AU) Orbit Period: 4,333 days (11.9 years) Effective Temperature: -148 °C First Record: 7th or 8th century BC Recorded By: Babylonian astronomers Facts About Jupiter Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the solar system. Only the Sun,  Moon  and  Venus  are brighter. It is one of five planets visible to the naked eye from Earth. The ancient Babylonians were the first to record their sightings of Jupiter. This was around the 7 th  or 8 th  century BC. Jupiter is named after the king of the Roman gods. To th

MERCURY FACTS

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Mercury is the closest planet to the  Sun  and due to its proximity it is not easily seen except during twilight. For every two orbits of the Sun, Mercury completes three rotations about its axis and up until 1965 it was thought that the same side of Mercury constantly faced the Sun. Thirteen times a century Mercury can be observed from the  Earth  passing across the face of the Sun in an event called a transit, the next will occur on the 9th May 2016. Mercury Planet Profile Diameter: 4,879 km Mass: 3.30 x 10^23 kg (5.5% Earth) Moons: None Orbit Distance: 57,909,227 km (0.39 AU) Orbit Period: 88 days Surface Temperature: -173 to 427°C First Record: 14th century BC Recorded By: Assyrian astronomers QUICK MERCURY FACTS Mercury does not have any moons or rings. Your weight on Mercury would be 38% of your weight on Earth. A day on the surface of Mercury lasts 176 Earth days. A year on Mercury takes 88 Earth days. Mercury has a diameter of 4,879 km, making i

space Facts

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INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SPACE Scientific, historical and cultural facts about space,  galaxies,  the  planets  and  other objects  in the  solar system . The latest discoveries and interesting space related features can be found on the blog, while the gallery highlights graphics and diagrams that illustrate more aspects of the the universe.