Astronomy

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun! It may be small, but it is full of extremes. Temperatures range between -300 and 800 degrees Fahrenheit! As it zooms around the Sun every 88 days,… More →

Neptune is the outermost planet in the solar system! It may look a calm blue, but this huge planet is swirling with activity. A thick layer of clouds gives way to whirls of rocks and ice.… More →

In 2006, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. Small, rocky dwarf planets make their home on the outer edges of the solar system. Scientists use telescopes to study Pluto and the dwarf… More →

If humans ever make it to Saturn, they won’t be able to land on its surface. This enormous planet has no solid ground! Beyond its seven magnificent rings, Saturn swirls with dense clouds of… More →

Only 12 humans have walked on the Moon. But scientists have learned a lot about Earth’s night light. We know how it was formed, about its relationship with Earth, and its surface features.… More →

Uranus is an ice giant that spins completely on its side! Scientists have studied it since its discovery in 1781, but Uranus remains one of the solar system’s most mysterious planets. In… More →

A single day is longer than a year on Venus! This hot, rocky planet is much like Earth, but it holds many mysteries that scientists work hard to unravel. How did it form? What is it made of?… More →

About 120,000 pounds of space dust falls to Earth every day. All of this dust comes from asteroids! Asteroids are chunks of rock and metal that orbit around the sun, but some venture near… More →

What has a nucleus, coma, and two tails? Why, a comet, of course! The wonder and mystery of comets has excited humans for centuries, and they continue to provide valuable information about… More →

On the darkest of nights, the white sparkle spanning the sky provides a glimpse at the far reaches of the Milky Way galaxy. But there are trillions more just in the observable universe! This… More →

Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s 53 moons, is the largest moon in the solar system. It is even larger than the planet Mercury! Moons are found throughout the solar system and beyond, circling… More →

In 2014, exoplanet Kepler-186f was found in the habitable zone of its system’s star. It is just one of 40 discovered exoplanets providing information about the potential for life outside… More →