December 15, 2013
Comet ISON Dead:
Unfortuneatly, comet ISON did not live up to the expectations of most. The comet vaporized, or become a gas like the air we breathe, as it passed only 750,000 miles from the surface of the Sun! It took scientists days to find out the condition of the comet. In early December, NASA declared that Comet ISON was dead. It would have put on a spectacular show had the comet survived. So now, all we can do is look for another comet in the vast night sky.
Comet ISON Dead:
Unfortuneatly, comet ISON did not live up to the expectations of most. The comet vaporized, or become a gas like the air we breathe, as it passed only 750,000 miles from the surface of the Sun! It took scientists days to find out the condition of the comet. In early December, NASA declared that Comet ISON was dead. It would have put on a spectacular show had the comet survived. So now, all we can do is look for another comet in the vast night sky.
November 27, 2013
Comet ISON:
It will be passing within less than 1 million miles of the surface of the sun on Thanksgiving. In case you are wondering, that comet is comet ISON. Comet ISON was discovered about 1.5 years ago and scientists were anticipating an amazing show to be put on by the comet. It was questionable whether the comet would survive its close brush with the sun. Most scientists thought that it would stay intact because a similar comet passed closer to the Sun and was most likely smaller than comet ISON and put on a show for sky-gazers in the Southern Hemisphere. Now that the comet isn't appearing in the night-sky to people without telescopes, it is questionable whether this comet was really the "Comet of the Century" like most people thought. As it is right now, the next few days will show how the comet will turn out. More will be coming on Comet ISON.
Comet ISON:
It will be passing within less than 1 million miles of the surface of the sun on Thanksgiving. In case you are wondering, that comet is comet ISON. Comet ISON was discovered about 1.5 years ago and scientists were anticipating an amazing show to be put on by the comet. It was questionable whether the comet would survive its close brush with the sun. Most scientists thought that it would stay intact because a similar comet passed closer to the Sun and was most likely smaller than comet ISON and put on a show for sky-gazers in the Southern Hemisphere. Now that the comet isn't appearing in the night-sky to people without telescopes, it is questionable whether this comet was really the "Comet of the Century" like most people thought. As it is right now, the next few days will show how the comet will turn out. More will be coming on Comet ISON.
November 17, 2013
Outer Solar System:
Last week, you will remember, we looked at the Inner Solar System, the area between the Sun and the Asteroid Belt. This week we will take a look at the area beyond that, also known as the Outer Solar System. The first planet in the outer solar system is Jupiter. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system at 143,000 kilometers (89,000 miles) across! You could fit all the planets in the Solar System inside of it with room to spare! Jupiter has a lot of moons, 63 to be exact, and 1 of those moons, Ganymede, is the largest moon in the Solar System and is larger than Mercury! One of its moons, Europa, might support life in a huge ocean under its icy surface! Jupiter also has a giant storm 2 times the size of Earth on it! It is called the Great Red Spot and has winds at 400 mph! The next planet is Saturn. Saturn is known for its amazing rings and is the second largest planet in the solar system at 120,540 kilometers (74,900 miles) across! Winds whip around Saturn's equator, or middle line that runs around the planet, at 1,800 kph (1,100 mph)! It has a giant moon named Titan that is also larger than Mercury! The next planet is Uranus. It is tilted on a 180 degree angle. That was probably caused by the passing of another large planet-like body. It is 51,120 kilometers (31,765 miles) across! It is also very cold at a chilly -216 degrees Celsius (-357 degrees Fahrenheit! The last planet is Neptune. Neptune is a medium-sized planet at 49,500 kilometers (30,760 miles) across. Like Jupiter it also has a giant storm on it called the Great Dark Spot. Now you know all about the Outer Solar System!
Outer Solar System:
Last week, you will remember, we looked at the Inner Solar System, the area between the Sun and the Asteroid Belt. This week we will take a look at the area beyond that, also known as the Outer Solar System. The first planet in the outer solar system is Jupiter. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system at 143,000 kilometers (89,000 miles) across! You could fit all the planets in the Solar System inside of it with room to spare! Jupiter has a lot of moons, 63 to be exact, and 1 of those moons, Ganymede, is the largest moon in the Solar System and is larger than Mercury! One of its moons, Europa, might support life in a huge ocean under its icy surface! Jupiter also has a giant storm 2 times the size of Earth on it! It is called the Great Red Spot and has winds at 400 mph! The next planet is Saturn. Saturn is known for its amazing rings and is the second largest planet in the solar system at 120,540 kilometers (74,900 miles) across! Winds whip around Saturn's equator, or middle line that runs around the planet, at 1,800 kph (1,100 mph)! It has a giant moon named Titan that is also larger than Mercury! The next planet is Uranus. It is tilted on a 180 degree angle. That was probably caused by the passing of another large planet-like body. It is 51,120 kilometers (31,765 miles) across! It is also very cold at a chilly -216 degrees Celsius (-357 degrees Fahrenheit! The last planet is Neptune. Neptune is a medium-sized planet at 49,500 kilometers (30,760 miles) across. Like Jupiter it also has a giant storm on it called the Great Dark Spot. Now you know all about the Outer Solar System!
November 3, 2013
Inner Solar System:
Our solar system consists of two main parts: the inner solar system and the outer solar system. This week, we are looking at the inner solar system. The inner solar system is the planets between the sun and the asteroid belt, which is a belt of giant rocks floating in space between Mars and Jupiter. The inner solar system is also known as the rocky planets, because their surfaces are made of rock. The inner solar system contains the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Let's first take a look at Mercury. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, at only 4,875 kilometers (3,030 miles) across. Some moons in the solar system are actually BIGGER than Mercury. Mercury does not have an atmosphere, but small patches of two elements called sodium and helium float above its surface as a gas (the form of matter we breathe in and is invisible). Next we have Venus. Venus is a planet about the same size as Earth at about 12,100 kilometers (7,520 miles) across. You could not live on it because the pressure on the surface would crush you and the temperature is a sweltering 460 degrees Celsius (865 degrees Fahrenheit)! Then there is our home, Earth. It is a comfortable place with an average temperature of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit). It is about 12,760 kilometers (7,930 miles) across. It has an atmosphere made mostly of two elements called Nitrogen and Oxygen. The last planet in the inner solar system is Mars. It is the 2nd smallest planet at 6,800 kilometers (4,200 miles) across. It is also very cold. It has an average temperature of -125 to 25 degrees Celsius (-195 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit)! Now you know all about the inner solar system.
Inner Solar System:
Our solar system consists of two main parts: the inner solar system and the outer solar system. This week, we are looking at the inner solar system. The inner solar system is the planets between the sun and the asteroid belt, which is a belt of giant rocks floating in space between Mars and Jupiter. The inner solar system is also known as the rocky planets, because their surfaces are made of rock. The inner solar system contains the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Let's first take a look at Mercury. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, at only 4,875 kilometers (3,030 miles) across. Some moons in the solar system are actually BIGGER than Mercury. Mercury does not have an atmosphere, but small patches of two elements called sodium and helium float above its surface as a gas (the form of matter we breathe in and is invisible). Next we have Venus. Venus is a planet about the same size as Earth at about 12,100 kilometers (7,520 miles) across. You could not live on it because the pressure on the surface would crush you and the temperature is a sweltering 460 degrees Celsius (865 degrees Fahrenheit)! Then there is our home, Earth. It is a comfortable place with an average temperature of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit). It is about 12,760 kilometers (7,930 miles) across. It has an atmosphere made mostly of two elements called Nitrogen and Oxygen. The last planet in the inner solar system is Mars. It is the 2nd smallest planet at 6,800 kilometers (4,200 miles) across. It is also very cold. It has an average temperature of -125 to 25 degrees Celsius (-195 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit)! Now you know all about the inner solar system.
October 27, 2013
Our Solar System At A Glance:
Our solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago in a cloud of gas and dust called a nebula. Our solar system contains 8 planets, 5 dwarf planets, 166 moons, and a huge number of comets, asteroids, and meteoroids. There is also an uncountable number of dust particles, some of which are older than our solar system. Our solar system spreads out for 1 light-year. A light-year is the distance light can travel in one year. The farthest a spacecraft has ever gone from Earth is Voyager 1, which is an unmanned space probe. The farthest a manned spacecraft has ever gone from earth was the Apollo 13 mission, which went to the dark side of the moon (the side of the moon we can't see). Over the next month of November 2013, I will be giving you information all about the place we call home, our solar system.
Our Solar System At A Glance:
Our solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago in a cloud of gas and dust called a nebula. Our solar system contains 8 planets, 5 dwarf planets, 166 moons, and a huge number of comets, asteroids, and meteoroids. There is also an uncountable number of dust particles, some of which are older than our solar system. Our solar system spreads out for 1 light-year. A light-year is the distance light can travel in one year. The farthest a spacecraft has ever gone from Earth is Voyager 1, which is an unmanned space probe. The farthest a manned spacecraft has ever gone from earth was the Apollo 13 mission, which went to the dark side of the moon (the side of the moon we can't see). Over the next month of November 2013, I will be giving you information all about the place we call home, our solar system.