The Solar System
Ganymede, The Largest Moon In Our Solar System
Ganymede - The Largest Moon in the Solar System
Did you know that the largest moon in our Solar System orbits the largest planet in our Solar System? Ganymede, a moon orbiting Jupiter wins the prize as the largest moon in our Solar System.
Where in the Solar System is the Asteroid Belt?
NASA Rendering of the Asteroid Belt
I’ve been thinking about asteroids this week. Did you know that on October 12, 2010 an asteroid called 2010 TD54 passed within 28,000 miles of the Earth? That’s pretty close. In fact, it passed within the orbit of the moon and close to the orbit of some of our own satellites. Read the rest of this entry >>
Comet Origins: Blame the Solar Nebula!
As we’ve discussed before, many comets are thought to exist in the Oort Cloud. Others exist in the Kuiper Belt (more about that later). I thought it would be interesting to explore the origin of the comets themselves. Where did they come from?
Our Solar System is in a Boring Part of the Milky Way Galaxy!
Earth's Location in the Milky Way Galaxy
I know you’ve all been thinking it! The Solar System is in a really boring part of the Milky Way Galaxy. We are marooned out here in one of the remote (some may say back water) areas of the Orion Spiral Arm about 20 degrees above the galactic plane and about 28,000 light years from the center of the galaxy.
The Oort Cloud: Made of Comets, Has Massive Diameter
Not only fun to spell, fun to say as well! Oort. Not too many words begin with more than one o! The Oort Cloud is named after Dutch astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort.