• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Universe / Were There Always Nine Planets?

Were There Always Nine Planets?

June 7, 2020 by Karen Hill

So far, we know of nine planets in our solar system. Some astronomers think that there may be a tenth planet beyond the orbit of Pluto, the farthest known planet from the sun. And others think there was once a tenth planet that doesn’t exist anymore!

The space between Mars, the fourth planet from the sun, and Jupiter, the fifth planet, is filled with thousands of asteroids, small rocky bodies that revolve around the sun. The biggest asteroid is about 600 miles across, but most are less than a mile in diameter.

Some astronomers believe that these asteroids may be all that’s left of a planet that exploded millions or billions of years ago. But these asteroids may also be just pieces of space dust that never formed into a planet.

The orbit of one asteroid occasionally brings it “only” 485,000 miles away from earth!

Related Facts

  • The Best 20 Inventions Ever Invented
  • How do astronomers know how far away stars and galaxies are from earth?
  • What are the differences between comets, asteroids, and meteors?
  • How Many Minor Planets Are There In Our Solar System and Where Are the Main Belt Asteroids Located?
  • Where does the term cat-o’-nine-tails come from and What does cat-o’-nine-tails mean?
  • Where Did Minor Planets In Our Solar System Come From and What Are the Minor Planets Made Of?

Filed Under: Universe

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Did the Planets Get Their Names?
Next Post: How Old Is the Moon? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy