Did You Know: Space – What are planets made of? In our solar system, the four inner rocky planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—have solid surfaces that you could walk on. The surfaces of the two gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, and the two ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, aren’t solid, and you could not walk … Read more
Did You Know: Space – What is the solar system? The solar system is our home in the universe. It is made up of our sun at the center, with planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets orbiting around it. Our solar system is just one of many similar systems in space. Asteroids Asteroids are lumps … Read more
Did You Know: Space – Can you scream in space? In space, nobody can hear you scream. This is because it is a vacuum, which means that there is no air. Sound can’t travel through a vacuum. When astronauts are inside a spacecraft, they can talk and hear sounds because there is air in the … Read more
Did You Know: Space – What is an orbit? An orbit is a path that one object in space takes around another. In the solar system, the Earth and all the other planets orbit around the sun. Also, many planets, including the Earth, have moons that orbit around them. What keeps the moon in orbit? … Read more
Did You Know: Space – How cold is it in space? In the huge areas between the stars and galaxies, space can get very, very cold. In these regions, the temperature can drop as low as -454ºF (-270ºC). However, the objects in space, such as stars and planets, can be lots of different temperatures. Do … Read more
Did You Know: Space – How big is the universe? The universe is really, really, really big! It is so huge that it is difficult to imagine the size of it. Our sun, which is the biggest object in our solar system, is like a speck of dust when compared with the vastness of the … Read more
Did You Know: Space – Where did the universe come from? Everything that exists all began to form around 13.8 billion years ago, during an event called the big bang. The big bang started the creation of the universe and everything in it, including us! How do we know how old the universe is? Universe … Read more
Where does space begin? Space begins at the Karman Line, which is 62 miles (100 km) above the Earth. This is the height you need to reach to become an astronaut. Humans can’t survive in space, but are protected by layers of gas that surround the Earth. These layers are called the atmosphere. What is … Read more
Did You Know: Space – What is space? On cloudless nights when you look up at the dark sky, you can see space. It stretches much farther than the eye can see and contains the moon, the sun, all the planets, as well as the Earth, and the stars. Space also contains many things that … Read more
