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10 Interesting Facts About The Planet Mercury

Mercury is both the solar system’s smallest planet and the planet closest to the Sun. It’s relatively easy to see before sunrise or at dusk and has been known about since ancient times. It also …

The Moon: Earth’s Natural Satellite

James Miller

The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite and the brightest object in our night sky. Although it appears familiar, it is an entire rocky world with mountains, plains, enormous impact craters and deposits of water …

Planet Neptune’s 14th Moon Discovered

James Miller

Astronomers using the Hubble Space telescope have discovered a 14th moon orbiting the planet Neptune, which was too small to be spotted by Voyager 2 when it completed its flyby in 1989. The new moon, …

Over 10,000 Near-Earth Objects Discovered

James Miller

The number of asteroids and comets which pass close to our planet has now passed the 10,000 mark, after the Pan-STARRS-1 telescope on the Hawaiian Island of Maui added asteroid 2013 MZ5 to the list …

Exoplanet Studies Suggests Our Solar System Far From Ordinary

James Miller

The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet came in 1992, followed by the first detection of an exoplanet orbiting a star in 1995. Improved observational techniques have since seen the rate of discoveries accelerate and …

Meteoroids and Meteorites Explained

James Miller

This article will explain the differences between a meteoroid, meteor and meteorite. It will also provide details on some of the 10 biggest meteor showers of the year. Meteoroids Meteoroids are pieces of rock or …

The Next Gold Rush: Asteroid Mining?

James Miller

After asteroid 433 Eros flew close to the Earth in 1998, scientists estimated that the rocky body contained around 20 billion tons of precious metals, including gold, platinum and titanium. This would have an equivalent …

The Sun, eight planets, asteroids and a comet in our Solar System

10 Interesting Facts About Our Solar System

James Miller

Our Solar System is far more than the Sun and eight planets. It also contains hundreds of moons, five officially recognized dwarf planets, countless asteroids and comets, and distant regions that have barely been explored. …

Did Gold Fall From Outer Space?

James Miller

Ever wondered where gold comes from, what inspired mankind’s fascination with the shiny precious metal and where the next gold rush may be found? The following articles presents some interesting facts about gold which should …

The Leonid Meteor Shower Explained

James Miller

Every November the region of the night sky associated with the constellation of Leo is filled with a prolific meteor shower, known as the Leonids. The Leonids generally occur each year between November 13th and …