Planets
5 Notable Planets Located Outside of Solar System with Pictures
The planets located in our own solar system are by far the most well-known planets for the majority of people. Yet, as you might guess, there are many planets located outside of our own solar system. These planets are known as extrasolar planets, or exoplanets. While you might think there are thousands of known exoplanets, scientists have only identified around 650 of them to date. Here are 5 of the more notable planets located outside our own solar system:
What are the Colors of the 9 Planets in Our Solar System?
Colors of the 9 Planets
Not only is this a trick question, it’s a tricky question to answer. When you think about the colors of the 9 planets in the Solar System, you are actually thinking about the old definition of the Solar System. There are now only 8 planets – 5 years ago (on August 24, 2006) Pluto was demoted to the classification of a dwarf planet. It’s a tricky question because each planet has more than one color so it’s not easy to describe each planet with only one color. Trick questions and tricky answers never scare us here at Outer Space Universe so we’ll give you the answer!
April is the Best Month to See Saturn this Year
The Planet Saturn
Saturn will rule the night sky throughout the month of April this year. The Earth is between the Sun and Saturn and Saturn’s rings are tilted toward the Earth almost nine degrees. Both of these factors will make for some great viewing.
Messenger Spacecraft Orbits Planet Mercury
Messenger Spacecraft Orbiting Mercury
On March 18, 2011, NASA’s Messenger Spacecraft entered into an orbit around the planet Mercury. This is another first for the human race! No other man-made machine has ever pulled off this gravitational balancing act!
How are Planetary Rings Formed and Which Planets Have Them?
Planetary Rings around Saturn
Most of us have seen the pictures of the lone planet out in space with a dusty looking flat ring orbiting all of the way around it. These rings seem both alien and intriguing – why is it that some planets have rings and our own Earth does not, and which planets in our solar system have such rings?