Top 8 amazing facts about space.

1. Some planets have no surface to land on

There are four gas giants in our solar system — Jupiter, Saturn, Uran, Neptune — where it wouldn’t be possible to land on. Although different in composition, a gas giant is usually made out of hydrogen and helium and has a small rocky center.

2. How far did humanity travel in space?

Voyager 1 has been flying through space for almost 44 years — NASA

Both Voyager 1 and 2 are space probes launched to explore the solar system in 1977 and have been in space for almost 44 years. 

Voyager 1 is now 152.5 AU away from our sun, making it the furthest human-made object from Earth. In 2012 it reached interstellar space.

3. interstellar objects are passing through our solar systems

The first interstellar object (ISO) was detected in 2017 and called ʻOumuamua (it gets its name from the Hawaiian word “scout”). It is a small red object (no longer than 1,000 meters and wider than 167 meters) formed in a different star system. It travels about 500 million miles per year and will re-enter interstellar space in the late 2030s.

4. Exoplanet that rains glass sideways

This exoplanet rains glass sideways — Wikimedia Commons

A large exoplanet HD 189733 b’s bright blue color might look pretty from far off, but its weather is deadly. The atmosphere contains silicate particles which cause it to rain molten glass, and with the winds reaching speeds of 8,700 kph (5,400 mph), the glass rains sideways!

5. Sun makes up 99.8 percent of the solar system’s mass

The sun makes up 99.8 percent of our entire solar system’s mass — Wikimedia Commons

The sun is so large that it would fit one million planet Earth inside of it. It makes up 99.8 percent of our entire solar system’s mass and holds everything within it together thanks to its gravity, from the smallest particles to the biggest planets. Despite its huge mass, the star is just a ball of hot gas and would be impossible to stand on.

6. Saturn would float in water

Hypothetically, that’s true. Saturn’s less dense than water, which means that it would float if put in a huge bowl of water. However, as Saturn is a gaseous planet, placing it in water would probably dissolve the gases, and its small rocky center would sink to the bottom of the bowl.

7. It would take 9.5 years to walk to the moon 

With a distance of 400,000 kilometers (250,000 miles) from Earth, it would take over 83,000 hours, or 9.5 years, to walk to the moon at an average pace.

8. Temperature of outer space is close to absolute zero 

The temperature in space depends on how empty it is. With atoms having vast distances between one another, the heat won’t get transferred easily, and life comes to an almost standstill point.

The average temperature in areas of space is minus 270.15 C (minus 457.87 F). This temperature is not far from absolute zero, measured at minus 273.15 C (minus 459.67 F).

9. More black holes than we can count

Astrophysicists have estimated there is one black hole for every thousand stars that exist. Considering the average number of stars in a galaxy and the estimated number of galaxies in the observable universe, that makes a truly astronomical figure of 10 quadrillions (or 10 followed by 15 zeros) black holes in the entire universe!

10.

Mercury & Venus are the only 2 planets in our solar system that have no moons.

In total, 176 confirmed moons orbit the planets in our solar system, with some of them being bigger than Mercury itself!

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