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Mounting Evidence of Geysers on Europa

The biggest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, has an incredible 67 known moons, with its 4th biggest satellite, Europa, containing all the key elements necessary for the origins of life, namely water, energy, and …

The eight planets of the Solar System from Mercury to Neptune

How were the Planets of our Solar System Discovered?

James Miller

No single person discovered all the planets in our Solar System. Five of them — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn — have been known since ancient times because they are bright enough to see …

How Frequently Do Meteorites Strike The Earth?

James Miller

A number of movies have been made about what would happen if a large enough meteor collided with the Earth. For instance, one like the 10 km (6.2 mile) Chicxulub asteroid that struck the Yucatán …

Is Planet 9 Fact or Fiction?

James Miller

How many planets are there in the solar system? If you went to school prior to the 2000s, you’re likely to quickly respond with, “Nine”, but the answer is not as clear cut as many …

10 Interesting Facts About Our Sun

James Miller

The Sun is the most familiar star in the sky, but there is much more to it than the light and heat we experience on Earth. It contains almost all the mass in the Solar …

Detailed view of the near side of the Moon

10 Fun Facts About the Moon

James Miller

The Moon is the most familiar object in the night sky. Humans have watched its changing appearance for thousands of years, used its phases to mark the passage of time, and imagined faces and figures …

The Perseids: Most Famous of all Meteor Showers

James Miller

The Perseids is an unusually rich meteor shower that is one of the 10 biggest meteor showers of the year. It is also a sky watcher’s favorite, not just for the abundance of its meteors …

Illustration of the spherical Oort Cloud surrounding the Solar System, with the Kuiper Belt and planetary region labeled.

Oort Cloud: The Solar System’s Icy Shell

James Miller

Also known as the Öpik–Oort cloud, after Dutch and Estonian astronomers Jan Oort and Ernst Öpik, the cloud is a spherical swarm of planetesimals composed mainly of various ices (notably water, methane, and ammonia ice) …

What is the Origin of the Kuiper Belt?

James Miller

Also known as the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt, this is a region of space that falls in an area outside of the orbits of the major planets but still within the gravitational influence of the Sun, thus …

The Main Asteroid Belt of The Solar System

James Miller

In general terms, the asteroid belt is defined as the relatively thickly populated region approximately between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. Also known as the main-asteroid belt to differentiate between it and …