Did you know that the Moon and space itself have a smell? Space has a lot of surprises. Here are the 10 lesser-known space facts.
Category Archives: Solar System
Ancient distance and apparent size of the Moon (video)
Today, on average, the Moon is 384,400 km (238,000 miles) away from the Earth. But that was not always the case. Our satellite was much closer in the past. Now, Dr. James O’Donoghue (@physicsJ on Twitter) Dr. James O’Donoghue (@physicsJ on Twitter) created the animation below showing the ancient distances and apparent size of the …
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Earthrise: Amazing imagery from JAXA Kaguya/SELENE Lunar Orbiter
The amazing video below is a showcase of spectacular imagery obtained by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Kaguya/SELENE spacecraft which orbited the Moon for a year and eight months and returned stunning views from its HDTV camera suite. A must-watch!
Can we create a lake on the Moon?
What if we fill a crater on the moon with water? Can we create a lake on the moon? Would the water stay in this artificial lake?
Comet C/2019 Q4 Borisov [our new interstellar visitor]
After ʻOumuamua, now we are likely to have another interstellar visitor beyond our solar system: comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov). So the interstellar objects entering the solar system may not be rare at all.
Hubble’s latest portrait of Saturn and its rings
On June 20, 2019, Hubble Space Telescope snapped this beautiful portrait of Saturn and its rings at the ringed planet’s closest approach to Earth. The image was published on September 12, 2019.
Where are the spacecraft and planets now? [NASA animation]
To see exactly where the spacecraft and the celestial bodies (planets and other astronomical objects) really are, right now, you can use NASA’s real-time, 3D solar system model.
How Earth Could Die [12 Horrible Ways!]
Now we’re living on a warm, hospitable planet. As Carl Sagan has said “That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.” We, humans, are the unquestionable rulers of our little oasis in a hostile universe. But …
Solar System through the eyes of Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24, 1990, and entered service on May 20, 1990. Since then, it has observed all the planets in our Solar System, apart from Earth and Mercury. Earth is far better studied by geologists on the ground and specialized probes in orbit. Hubble can’t observe Mercury as it is …
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What if Ganymede was the Earth’s second moon?
Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is the largest and most massive of the Solar System’s moons. It has a mean radius of 2634.1±0.3 km (about 1636 miles, 0.413 Earths). For comparison, our Moon’s radius is 1,737.1 km (1079 mi). What if Ganymede was the Earth’s second moon? How would it look in the sky, if it was …
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