Christopher Palma, Pennsylvania State University As an astronomer, the question I hear the most is why isn’t Pluto a planet anymore? More than 10 years ago, astronomers famously voted to change Pluto’s classification. But the question still comes up.
Tag Archives: Saturn
10 lesser-known space facts
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.
Saturn now has 20 more moons
A team of astronomers led by Carnegie’s Scott S. Sheppard have recently found 20 new moons around Saturn These new moons bring the total number to 82, which makes Saturn the mooniest planet in the solar system. What’s more, you can help name the new ones!
Hubble’s last 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.
Saturn on steroids: J1407b
If you read Isaac Asimov’s 1986 novel “Foundation and Earth”, you’ll remember how the main characters of the book (Councilman Golan Trevize, historian Janov Pelorat, and Gaian Bliss) were amazed by Saturn’s rings. They were thinking the gas giant with preeminent rings in old stories was just a myth. But after seeing Saturn, they made […]
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 […]
8 Things that make Life on Earth Possible
Earth, our blue planet is a tiny oasis in the vast, cold, and dark space. It is the only planet we know of that can support life. The fossil record tells us that life on Earth has lasted at least 3.5 billion years (the Earth is about 4.54 billion years old), with the oldest physical […]
Top 10 Largest Non-Planets In Our Solar System
There are eight planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Two of the largest moons are bigger than the smallest planet, Mercury. Here are the top 10 largest non-planets in our solar system (eight of them are moons and two of them are dwarf planets).
Apparent Size of the Sun from other planets
Have you ever wondered how the Sun would look from the other planets in our solar system? Here is a visual showing the apparent size of the Sun from the planets of the solar system, including Earth.
The sidereal days and axial tilts of the Planets
NASA Goddard Planetary Scientist James O’ Donoghue created a nice animation showing the sidereal days and axial tilts of the solar system planets.
