Named for the Roman god of War, Mars probably got this name due to its red color. It is sometimes referred to as the Red Planet. The name of the month March derives from Mars. Known since prehistoric times, Mars is still a favorite of choice for human exploration. The density of Mars is about [...]
Rock and ice are the main ingredients of asteroids, comets and meteors. These flying rocks orbit the sun and sometimes come close enough to Earth to see. The Asteroid Gaspra.
Asteroids are made of rocky and/or iron-nickel material and most are found in an orbit between Mars and Jupiter. Most are pitted with impact craters and [...]
Blue Neptune is one of the solar system’s gas giants. Unlike Earth, gas giants are mostly hydrogen, helium, and methane gases. The methane gas on Neptune gives the planet its blue color because the gas absorbs red light and reflects the blue back into space. Although not seen in the image the planet has a [...]
Mercury is a battered and baked planet just larger than Earth’s moon. Evidence of heavy bombardment from the chaos of the formation of the solar system is left in the hundreds of craters and resulting lava flows on this small, barren planet. The largest crater is Beethoven at 643 km in diameter and is [...]
All satellites today get into orbit by riding on a rocket or by riding in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle. Several countries and businesses have rocket launch capabilities, and satellites as large as several tons make it safely into orbit on a regular basis. For most satellite launches, the scheduled launch rocket is [...]
Asteroids are small, rocky bodies that orbit the sun in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, which is anywhere from 2.1 AU (1.95×108 mi / 3.15×108 km) to 3.2 AU (3.0×108 mi / 4.8×108 km) from the sun. There are more than 20,000 known asteroids. They are irregularly shaped and vary in size [...]
As you probably know, our Sun is just a star. It’s our closest, most familiar star, but it’s still just a star. With a great big Universe out there, populated with countless stars, astronomers have been able to see examples of stars in all shapes, sizes, metal content and ages.According to their system of classification, [...]
The last time man set foot on the moon was nearly 40 years ago, and plans are in the works for a reunion tour of sorts. A big part of this focus will be setting up shop on the moon and using it as a launch pad for a manned expedition to Mars. Just returning [...]
A Cicada passes eggs through its ovipositor.
Cats are feline, dogs are canine, and sheep are ovine.
A pigs snout is called a gruntle.
When they mate, a yak and a cow produce a dzo.
A cat’s whiskers are called vibrissae.
Goats produce cashmere.
The common term for a member of the bee genus ‘Bombus’ is the bumblebee
A ‘bitch’ is more [...]
