Since the seventeenth century, observers have seen a huge, oval red spot south of Jupiter’s equator. The Great Red Spot has a greater surface area than Earth: 8,400 miles (13,440 km) wide by 24,000 miles (38,400 km) long. Scientists have determined that the spot is a huge atmospheric storm. It appears as a hollow, or […]
Space
Do All the Moons That Orbit Jupiter Revolve around the Planet Jupiter Together?
The moons all revolve around their host planet, Jupiter, but their orbits are different in distance, speed, and inclination of orbital plane. This all makes for quite a bit of activity. Jupiter’s moons act something like a microcosm, or a miniature version of the solar system, and astronomers have learned a lot about the whole […]
Is Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Always In the Same Place and Is the Great Red Spot On Jupiter Visible From Earth?
One of the best known features of the planet Jupiter is the Great Red Spot. The Great Red Spot is a permanent anticyclonic storm, and is significantly larger than the Earth. The spot on Jupiter usually can be found 22° south of the equator, in or near the South Equatorial Belt. It rotates counterclockwise, with […]
How Far Away From Jupiter Do the Moons Orbit and How Many Different Groups Of Moons Orbit Jupiter?
Jupiter’s sixteen known moons travel in three distinct groups. The first, including the four Galilean moons, ranges from 77,000 miles (124,000 km) to over 600,000 miles (960,000 km). The next group orbits from 6.6 million miles (10.56 million km) to almost 7.2 million miles (11.52 million km) away. The third family of satellites is almost […]
How Big Is the Planet Jupiter and How Big Does Jupiter Have To Be To Become a Star Like the Sun?
If Jupiter had just eighty times more mass, it could be a star. However, if it were a star, Earth would not exist. Jupiter and the Sun would be a binary star system and the solar system would be completely different. The largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter measures near 88,700 miles (141,920 km) […]
How Hot Is the Planet Jupiter and and What Is the Temperature Of Jupiter’s Core?
Although Jupiter is a great distance from the Sun, it is a relatively hot planet. Scientists have discovered that almost twice as much heat radiates from the planet’s rocky core than is received from the Sun. The core’s exact temperature is unknown, but it is probably around 30,000°K (53,500°F/30,000°C). Jupiter continues, from the time of […]
What Color Is the Planet Jupiter and What Causes the Different Colors Of the Cloud Bands On the Planet Jupiter?
Jupiter’s primary gases, hydrogen and helium, are colorless. Trace chemicals within the planet’s gas layers, such as methane, ammonia, and phosphine, are responsible for the colors of the belts and zones. The colors range from cream and yellow through pink, orange, and brown to brick red. Brighter areas suggest hotter temperatures, and darker areas, cooler […]
How Big Is the the Great Red Spot On Jupiter and Is the Great Red Spot On the Planet Jupiter Permanent?
The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a persistent anticyclonic storm that is about 24–40,000 km × 12–14,000 km, and is large enough to contain two or three planets the size of Earth. We don’t know whether or not the Great Red Spot will disappear for good one day. Storms on Earth sooner or later […]
How Many Moons Does Jupiter Have and What Is the Biggest Moon That Orbits the Planet Jupiter?
Jupiter has sixteen known satellites, but astronomers believe there could be more. The discovery of the four largest, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa, is credited to Galileo, who recorded them in 1610. The average diameter of the Galilean moons measures 2,540 miles (4,230 km), whereas the average diameter of the other Jovian moons is a […]
What Are the Outer Planets In the Solar System and What Are the Characteristics Of the Five Outer Planets?
Size and composition are the two major characteristics shared by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The smallest outer planet, with the exception of Pluto, which is in a category by itself, is Neptune, and Neptune is almost four times larger than Earth. The outer planets have small cores and huge gaseous outer surfaces. When the […]
What Is Jupiter Like and How Big Is the Planet Jupiter Compared To the Other Planets In the Universe?
Jupiter is a big planet. The planet Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System, with a diameter of 142,984 km at its equator. It’s larger than all the other planets and their moons combined, almost big enough to be a star. 1321 earths could fit inside Jupiter. Most of its bulk comes from […]
How Fast Does Jupiter Rotate On Its Axis and Why Does the Atmosphere On Jupiter Rotate At Different Speeds?
The planet Jupiter’s rotation is the fastest of all the Solar System’s planets. Jupiter does not rotate as a solid body does, all at the same speed, because it is made out of hydrogen and helium. Around the equator, the gas layer of Jupiter has a rotation period of 5 hours, 50 minutes, and 30 […]
What Is the Planet Jupiter Made Of and What Gases Make Up Jupiter’s Atmosphere and Core?
According to current speculation, Jupiter probably has a small, solid core of silica. Above that lies a shell of a different form of liquid hydrogen. Jupiter’s core is surrounded by dense metallic hydrogen, which extends outward to about 78 percent of the radius of the planet. Droplets of helium and neon precipitate downward through this […]
What Are the Different Bands of Clouds That Appear Across Jupiter and How Are the Bands On Jupiter Formed?
Some eighteen zones and belts can be identified by their different colors, brightness, spots, and rotation periods. Zones are dark bands; belts are bright bands. The main two are the North Equatorial Belt, at approximately 7° to 20° latitude, and the South Equatorial Belt, at approximately –7° to –21° latitude. Both change in width, with […]
What Is Mars Made Of and Why Doesn’t the Planet Mars Have a Magnetic Field Like Earth?
The planet Mars seems to have a rocky crust approximately 30 miles (50 km) deep. Its mantle is rich in the element silica, like Earth, but it is solid, unlike Earth’s partially molten mantle. There is no magnetic field on Mars, so presumably its core is solid. It is likely to be solid iron. While […]
Why Does Mars Appear Red and and What Is the Fine Dust On the Surface of the Planet Mars Made Of?
The surface of Mars is covered in a fine dust that is rich in iron oxide, also known as rust. There are massive winds on the planet that create dust storms, and so a red-pink smog always hangs over it. Consequently, Mars’s general appearance is red, but powerful telescopes reveal that the surface is multicolored. […]
How Do We Know If There Is Life On Mars and Why Did Percival Lowell Believe That Martians Built Canals On Mars?
Experiments on Earth have concluded that certain cells can survive a simulated Martian environment. In 1996, a meteorite that originated on Mars was discovered. The announcement that this rock contained possible evidence of life on Mars or evidence that life once existed on Mars, has sped up plans to send missions back there. Remember, however, […]
Was There Ever Life On Mars and Why Is Life On Mars a Big Deal To Astronomers?
One of the most intriguing, and fanciful, photographs taken of Mars by Voyager 1 showed what appeared to be a mask-like face of a human being buried just under the surface. Imagine the uproar in the scientific and science fiction communities. The “face on Mars” turned out to be a purely natural surface formation that, […]
What Are the Outer Planets, What Are The Names of the Outer Planets, and Where Are the Outer Planets Located?
The planets that orbit the Sun beyond the asteroid belt in our solar system are known as the outer planets. Besides their location, they share many other similarities, except for Pluto, which is a highly unusual planet. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are all much larger than Earth and are made mostly of gas. This […]
What Is the Atmosphere On Mars Like and How Much Carbon Dioxide Is There On the Planet Mars?
The atmosphere on Mars is relatively weak. It is so thin that damaging ultraviolet solar radiation makes its way unimpeded to the planet’s surface. Carbon dioxide makes up 95 percent of the atmosphere, followed by nitrogen (2.7 percent) and argon (1.6 percent). Oxygen, water vapor, neon, krypton, xenon, and ozone comprise less than 1 percent […]
What Is the Tallest Mountain and Volcano In the Solar System and Is There Still Volcanic Activity On Mars?
Mons Olympus, the tallest known volcano, and mountain, in the solar system, is one of many large volcanoes on Mars. Mons Olympus is about 27 km tall, and can be found in the vast upland region Tharsis, which contains several other large volcanoes. Mons Olympus is Latin for “Mount Olympus”, and is believed to have […]
How Hot Is Mars and Why Does the Surface Temperature On the Planet Mars Vary So Much?
Mars is a pretty cold planet. The average air temperature is –22°F (-30°C) in the day and –148°F (-100°C) at night. Surface temperatures on Mars vary from lows of about -87 °C during the polar winters to highs of up to -5 °C during the summers. The highest temperatures occur during the summer at the […]
What Are the Ice Caps On the Planet Mars Made of and What Happens When the Ice Caps On Mars Melt?
The northern ice cap is permanently frozen water covered by frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice), which solidifies from the atmosphere at cold temperatures. During summer in the north, the ice cap shrinks, as some of the carbon dioxide reverts to gas in the atmosphere. In the winter, it grows much larger again. The ice cap […]
How Much Water Is There On Mars and What Are the Most Prominent Features on the Surface of the Planet Mars?
Evidence of water has fed scientific debates on the possibility of life on Mars for centuries. A well-known twentieth-century astronomer, Percival Lowell, spent his career mapping what he believed were irrigation canals built by Martians. His findings have been proven false, but there are dry channels on Mars that look like they were created by […]
Is the Southern Hemisphere On Mars Older Than the Northern Hemisphere and What Happened To the Craters There?
More craters are found in the southern hemisphere on Mars. This makes astronomers think that the surface there is older than in the northern hemisphere. Something happened in the north, perhaps volcanic activity or water erosion, to cause craters to disappear. There is further evidence supporting the astronomers’ theory: the surface of the northern hemisphere […]
What Is the Lowest Point On Mars and What Is the Deepest Canyon On the Planet Mars?
Mars has the deepest canyon in the solar system, the Vallis Marinaris, measuring 4.2 miles (6.7 km) deep, 300 miles (500 km) wide, and 2,800 miles (4,500 km) long. The nearby canyons average about 1.8 miles (3 km) deep. The deepest crater on Mars is the Hellas Planitia, some 3.6 miles (6 km) deep. Mars’s […]
What Is the Highest Point on the Planet Mars and How Tall Is Mons Olympus Compared To Mount Everest?
Mars is home to the tallest and largest known volcano in the solar system: Mons Olympus. This extinct shield volcano has a base of about 420 miles (700 km) and reaches 15 miles (25 km) into the atmosphere. Its caldera (large opening) measures 53 miles (85 km) in diameter. By comparison, Mt. Everest, the tallest […]
How Do We Know So Much About the Planet Venus and How Much of Venus Has been Mapped By Astronomers?
How Do We Know So Much About the Planet Venus and How Much of Venus Has been Mapped By Astronomers? A number of unmanned spacecraft have flown by and even landed on the planet to take photographs. The views aren’t terribly appealing, dry broken rocks, small mounds, flat terrain, but they are informative. The probes […]
What Is the Planet Mars Like and Why Is Mars Called the Red Planet?
Mars, the closest superior planet to Earth, and the fourth planet from the Sun, frequently looks red, so it is sometimes called the red planet. We know a lot about Mars because it comes closer to Earth than any other planet in favorable opposition, in the best position for viewing, and because we have sent […]
Why Is the Orbit of Mars Around the Sun Not a Perfect Circle and How Long Does Mars Take To Orbit the Sun?
No planet has a truly circular orbit around the Sun. Mars’s orbit is particularly elongated, which affects the planet’s seasons. Mars takes 788 Earth days to orbit the Sun. At its farthest (aphelion), it is about 155 million miles (250 million km) from the Sun. At its closest (perihelion), Mars is some 130 million miles […]
What Effect Does Summer Have On Mars and How Do the Ice Caps Cause Dust Storms On the Planet Mars?
Summer in the southern hemisphere causes the most weather activity on Mars. The temperature increase shrinks the southern polar ice cap, at the same time, the northern ice cap, experiencing winter, grows larger, which increases the air pressure. Increased air pressure causes severe winds to blow toward the equator. The winds can reach up to […]
What Causes Seasons On Mars and How Are the Seasons On Mars Different From the Seasons On Earth?
Mars’s axis is tilted 25.2°, compared to Earth’s 23.5°, and Mars is tilted in the same direction. This causes the planet Mars to have summer and winter, like Earth. Martian seasons are longer because it takes Mars longer to orbit the Sun. The seasonal temperatures on Mars stay much colder than on Earth because Mars […]
What Is Winter Like on Mars and How Low Do Temperatures Get On the Planet Mars During the Winter Season?
During winter in the southern hemisphere on Mars, the polar ice cap grows to cover almost one-quarter of the planet. At the same time, during summer in the northern hemisphere, the northern ice cap is shrinking. Temperatures on Mars can reach as low as –190°F (-123°C). Sometimes a frost consisting of water and dust covers […]
Why Aren’t There Many Impact Craters On the Planet Venus and Why Do Most Small Asteroids Burn Up?
If all those planetesimals and asteroids were flying around some 4 billion years ago, colliding, accreting, and taking chunks out of planets, why don’t we see much evidence of them on Venus? Asteroids probably did hit Venus as much as any other planet; they just didn’t leave behind much visible evidence. Venus’s atmosphere would have […]
Why Does the Planet Venus Have Phases Like Mercury and Why Does Venus Sometimes Appear As a Crescent?
Because both Venus and Mercury are inferior planets, lying between Earth and the Sun, they exhibit phases, just like the Moon does, as they orbit the Sun. Venus is full during superior conjunction, on the other side of the Sun from Earth, and new during inferior conjunction, between the Sun and Earth. As it cycles […]
How Often Does Venus Transit the Sun and Why Doesn’t Venus Transit the Sun With Every Revolution?
Venus transits the Sun, but not with every revolution. The reason for this is that its orbital plane is at a 3 percent incline to the ecliptic, the Sun’s apparent path around Earth. Only when Venus crosses the ecliptic at the time of its inferior conjunction will it transit the Sun. It usually passes above […]
How Long Is a Day and a Year On Venus and How Many Earth Days Is One Solar Day On the Planet Venus?
The planet Venus makes one rotation on its axis in 243 Earth days. Its solar day, the time it takes the Sun to reappear in the same place in the sky, is 118 Earth days. On Earth, the two are almost identical, 24 hours, so the Sun rises at approximately the same place every morning. […]
Why Does the Planet Venus Shine So Brightly In the Sky and How Much Sunlight Does Venus Reflect?
Why Does the Planet Venus Shine So Brightly In the Sky and How Much Sunlight Does Venus Reflect? Oddly enough, Venus is so brilliant because it is covered in clouds. These clouds are about 10 miles (16.5 km) thick and begin about 50 miles (83 km) above the ground. From the surface of a planet, […]
How Do the Clouds On Venus Move and How Long Do the Clouds On Venus Take To Rotate Around the Planet?
The clouds on Venus move, but not like clouds on Earth. Venus’s atmosphere is very thick and heavy. There are no major temperature or air pressure changes to cause air currents, as on Earth, but Venus’s atmosphere rotates around the planet at a fairly steady rate of 225 miles (360 km) per hour. The cloud […]
Why Is the Planet Venus Covered In Clouds and How Were the Clouds On Venus Formed From Sulfur Dioxide?
On Earth, clouds are created through water evaporation and condensation. The clouds are water-based. Venus’s clouds are made by a process called photochemistry, whereby the Sun’s ultraviolet rays react with chemicals in Venus’s atmosphere. The clouds around Venus have an acid base, sulfur dioxide. On Earth, sulfur dioxide is released during volcanic activity. It’s what […]
How Hot Is the Planet Venus and Why Is Venus Known As the Hottest Planet In the Solar System?
The Planet Venus is very hot indeed. The surface temperature averages almost 900°F (480°C) around the whole planet. This extreme heat results from the greenhouse effect, which occurs when infrared, or heat-producing rays from the Sun enter an atmosphere and cannot get back out. Carbon dioxide, which makes up 96.5 percent of Venus’s atmosphere, lets […]
What Is the Surface of Planet Venus Like and Why Is Venus So Hot and Dry?
The first few things you would notice if you could stand on Venus would probably be the heat, the relatively constant calm weather, and the orange-colored rocks and dry dirt at your feet. In general, it might feel like you were in one of the Great Plains states in the middle of a billion-year-long drought. […]
Who Discovered the Planet Venus and What Is the Planet Venus Best Known For?
The transit of Venus was first observed in 1032 by the Persian astronomer Avicenna, but Venus has long been known to ancient civilizations as the “morning star” or “evening star”. He concluded that Venus is closer to the Earth than the Sun. Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is sometimes called the twin of […]
Why Does the Planet Venus Rotate Backwards and What Is the Reverse Rotation of a Planet Called?
All of the other planets besides Venus, and Pluto, rotate on their axes from west to east, causing the Sun to rise in the east and set in the west. Venus’s rotation is called retrograde, moving from east to west. All eight planets in our solar system orbit the sun in the direction that the […]
What Is the Atmosphere On the Planet Venus Made Of and Why Is Venus Permanently Covered By Dense Cloud?
The planet Venus has an extremely dense atmosphere. The atmosphere on Venus, the second planet from the Sun, consists primarily of carbon dioxide (96.5 precent). Nitrogen makes up 3.5 percent of the atmosphere. Traces of gases such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrochloric acid, and oxygen (0.00003 percent) have also been detected. The atmospheric mass […]
How Did the Planet Venus Get Its Name and What Does Venus Mean In Latin?
The Romans who derived their religious pantheon from the Greek tradition, named the planet Venus after their goddess of love. On Venus, all topographical features except one are named for women, Venus being a goddess of womanhood. For instance, the main craters include Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), the prima ballerina of her lifetime; Sacajewea (c. 1789-1812), […]
What Is the Best Way To Observe the Planet Venus and Why Is Venus the Brightest Planet In the Sky?
Like Mercury, Venus is relatively close to the Sun. It is often called the evening or morning star because it is so bright at sunset and sunrise. Venus is the brightest planet in the sky, even brighter than the stars; therefore, it is a pretty easy object to find in the night sky. As a […]
What Effect Does the Atmosphere Have On the Planet Venus and Why Is Venus Hotter Than Mercury?
The two major results of Venus’s atmosphere are the amount of pressure it exerts on the planet’s surface and the heat it traps. Carbon dioxide is a heavier gas than nitrogen. Because the atmosphere is more than 96 percent carbon dioxide, the pressure is ninety times greater on Venus than on Earth. Without state-of-the-art, space-age […]
What Is the Planet Mercury Made of and How Do Astronomers Know If Mercury’s Core Is Molten?
Mercury is thought to be the densest of all the planets, which makes sense when you consider the theory that during the early phases of the solar system’s formation, the lightest materials were sent farthest into space. For a planet so small to be so dense, it may be mostly solid metal. Scientists believe that […]
How Did Land Form On Other Planets In the Solar System and How Do We Find Evidence of Volcanic Activity?
We look at the way land, terra in Latin, was formed on Earth to understand how the surfaces of other terrestrial planets evolved. Volcanoes created most of Earth’s terrain. Molten material from Earth’s mantle bubbled up 4 billion years ago to form the first continents. On Mercury, land ridges provide evidence of extreme volcanic activity […]
What Are the Phases of the Planet Mercury and Why Do Inferior Planets Have Phases Like the Moon?
An inferior planet, closer to the Sun, will appear in phases, like the Moon. As Mercury orbits, we generally only see it as a waxing or waning crescent. At a superior conjunction, lined up Earth-Sun-planet, Mercury is full, but it usually can’t be seen from Earth because it’s behind the Sun. We also cannot see […]
Why Is a Day Longer Than a Year On the Planet Mercury and How Long Is a Day On Mercury?
A Mercurial year, or the time it takes for Mercury to revolve around the Sun once, is the equivalent of about 88 Earth days (2,112 hours). A Mercurial solar day, the time it takes for the Sun to go from high noon to high noon as seen from Mercury’s surface, takes 176 Earth days (4,224 […]
How Hot Does the Planet Mercury Get and Does the Planet Mercury Have an Atmosphere?
The planet Mercury is too small for its gravity to retain any significant atmosphere over an extended period of time. However, Mercury does have a “tenuous surface-bounded exosphere” containing hydrogen, helium, oxygen, potassium, and other elements. The hydrogen and helium that make up Mercury’s very thin atmosphere don’t actually originate on the planet. The gases […]
How Do Astronomers Know So Many Details About Mercury and When Did the First Spacecraft Visit Mercury?
Just looking at the planet Mercury doesn’t give astronomers very much information. Fortunately, electromagnetic waves, mostly radio waves, from Mercury are picked up around the world. They have helped establish the topography and composition of Mercury. Also, twice in 1974 and once in 1975, the spacecraft Mariner flew by Mercury and photographed as much of […]
When Was the Planet Mercury First Discovered, How Did It Get Its Name, and What Does Mercury Mean In Latin?
The earliest known recorded observations of Mercury are from the Mul.Apin tablets around the 14th century BC. The ancient Greeks called the planet Στίλβων (Stilbon), which means “the gleaming”. The Romans named the planet Mercury after the swift-footed Roman messenger god, Mercury, or Mercurius in Latin. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system […]
Why Are There So Many Impact Craters On the Planet Mercury and How Many Surface Craters Does Mercury Have?
The planet Mercury seems to have been hit by a lot of asteroids. Just under 50 percent of Mercury’s surface has been photographed by spacecraft. The photos show an average of one hundred to one thousand 6-mile (10-km) craters per each 600,000 square miles, or 1 million square kilometers. The appearance of so many craters, […]
What Does Mercury’s Orbit Look Like From Earth and How Often Does the Planet Mercury Orbit the Sun?
Mercury orbits the Sun once every 88 days at a speed of 29.8 miles (48 km) per second. Its aphelion (farthest point from the Sun) is at a distance of 43 million miles (69 million km). Mercury’s perihelion (closest distance from the Sun) is 30 million miles (46 million km). Because this orbit is not […]
What Is the Best Way To See the Planet Mercury From Earth and When Is the Best Time Of Day To Look At Mercury?
Consider where Mercury is located, an average of 36 million miles from the Sun. Since Mercury never travels far from the Sun, it is not visible at night. But looking for it during the day is dangerous, because of its proximity to the Sun. If you scan the sky, with binoculars, a telescope, or your […]
What Is the Largest Crater Photographed On the Planet Mercury and Who Was the Crater Named After?
The largest crater photographed so far has been named Beethoven, after the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Mercury’s topographic features are named for famous people, such as Shakespeare and Michelangelo; exploration ships, including the Santa Maria; radar installations, such as the Russian (Soviet) Vostok; and other gods, such as the Scandinavian king of gods, Odin. […]
What Is the Most Obvious Physical Feature On the Planet Mercury and How Many Impact Craters Does Mercury Have?
What Is the Most Obvious Physical Feature On the Planet Mercury and How Many Impact Craters Does Mercury Have? The largest topographic feature seen on Mercury is the Carolis Basin, a depression as wide as Texas about 800 miles (1,280 km in diameter). It is bordered on one side by tall mountains, called scarps, which […]